It's extremely difficult to measure, as I said earlier, but we are quite sure that it would have a negative impact. Would the impact be mild or moderate? We don't know, but we are sure that it would be negative, so in that respect, I see it as a problem. In terms of people's attitudes, voter fatigue results in a decline in voter turnout.
As far as organizing the elections is concerned, I can say that it will be very difficult. If Elections Canada is on the ground, which it necessarily will be, it's going to rent space for its polling stations. That will make it much harder for institutions like Élections Montréal to rent locations for advance polling, which would take place during the federal election campaign. From an organizational point of view, it would probably be a nightmare for municipal election authorities.
In addition—and Ms. Garnett mentioned this—elections administrators are often short-staffed. That's pretty typical. Finding election workers is tough nowadays and has been for a few years, actually. The retention rate among those who have previously worked a federal election is significant, since it tends to be the same people who want to be deputy returning officers. That may make it even harder for municipal election authorities to find the necessary staff to ensure that voting runs smoothly both for advance polling and on election day. In terms of organizing elections, that would be the impact.
The effects could be felt in various ways, but they would all be negative.