Evidence of meeting #130 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 44th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was voting.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ben Carr
Yes, I'm going to give you the two minutes or so that's remaining, Ms. Barron, because we did lose that as a result of the technical difficulties.
NDP
Lisa Marie Barron NDP Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Okay, that's great. Thank you so much.
My next question is for Dr. Garnett.
Dr. Garnett, I don't remember if you actually used the word, but you were speaking about the disenfranchisement that results from many of the barriers to people's full participation in the electoral system. I apologize if this is a poorly interpreted version of what you were saying, but can you speak a bit more about how important it is today, with the many challenges that we are experiencing as Canadians, that disenfranchisement is reduced and that Canadians feel they are fully invested and involved in our electoral systems?
Associate Professor, Royal Military College of Canada, As an Individual
Yes, of course.
I think there was a stream of thought for many years that if you build it, they will come. You know, if you make it legally possible, then people will be able to vote, and they will be able to exercise their political rights. However, the reality is that there are many different ways the system can be more difficult for certain population groups. The reality is that those population groups are generally the ones that are already more vulnerable. They're already not being represented in our political system. Think of those who are younger, who have a lower income or who have a lower educational background. These population groups may already be less likely to participate in other forums, and making the electoral system a little more difficult to participate in effectively then further alienates them from the political system.
It's having more inclusive voting procedures whereby, rather than just saying, “Okay, it's possible now. You have to go figure it out, and you have to go jump through the hoops to be able to vote,” we instead make it more inclusive insofar as the state takes some responsibility for helping to facilitate that process. It would be through things like on-campus voting offices to help facilitate special voting, as well as changes in what identification is required for those who are living in long-term care facilities. If you live there, I think we have pretty good proof of your residence in that specific spot.
It's essentially eliminating some of these barriers that really don't have to be there, so that people who have already been, you know, less likely to participate and less likely to be able to be involved in politics are starting on an equal footing to those of us who have a more stable address, perhaps, or more readily accepted forms of identification. It's really about putting everybody on equal footing and making sure that, rather than just ensuring that citizens have to kind of figure everything out themselves, additional supports are in place to help them participate and to help them exercise their vote.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ben Carr
Thank you very much, Ms. Barron.
Colleagues, we are running out of time on our resources here, partly because of some of the technicalities.
I'm going to adjourn, and we'll continue our conversation moving forward.
Thank you, colleagues.