Thank you, Mr. Chair.
This amendment would specify that information published by the Chief Electoral Officer with respect to a contributor would limit information related to the address and location of the donor. As it stands right now, for anyone who donates $200 or more, if one goes into the Elections Canada database, they can find out the postal code and name of the donor. That can lead to it being relatively easy, with perhaps some additional pieces of information, to track down donors. In many instances, these could be public officials, cabinet ministers or senior members of Parliament.
This measure is aimed at safeguarding the location of donors and, at the same time, ensuring that there continues to be transparency as to who those individuals are and what amounts they donate to candidates or political parties.