Madam Speaker, it may be the impression of the hon. member that this is some kind of cynical political ploy. It is not. Quite frankly, when we are looking at savings of $30 million per election the Canadian taxpayers who, after all, pay for these elections would applaud this move by the federal government.
May I add that in all of the discussions I have had in and outside my riding in the province of Ontario and with members of the Quebec community that people are quite happy we are introducing automation, that we are introducing technology in the election campaign, that we are saving the type of money we are. Over one hundred million dollars is quite a few dollars to save.
Given the fact that Canadians want more and greater accountability for every tax dollar that is invested, whether it is in the electoral process or government programs we will find that this bill has widespread support from British Columbia to Newfoundland. The issue of automation and technology is something about which I am personally quite pleased.
The creation of a permanent voters' list is something that I personally advocated back in 1990 when I was making my contribution as a member of Parliament. I say this with a bit of experience, representing an area with 260,000 people. A permanent voters' list certainly would have benefited myself and the electoral process back in 1988 when I ran for the first time. The people of York North will in large measure support the initiatives that I stated in this bill and that the government has clearly outlined in the legislation.