Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to speak to this bill. The Canada Elections Act is perhaps the most important piece of legislation upon which our democracy is built in Canada.
It is based on three principles: equity, transparency and accessibility.
Above all this act is about the participation of Canadians in the most fundamental democratic right, that is the right to choose their government and the right to replace their government.
One of the fundamental principles of the existing act, and one which the amendments to the act we are bringing forward propose to continue and enhance is the right of Canadians to have a broad selection of candidates from which to choose; candidates that do not present themselves only on the basis of having adequate financial resources, but candidates who can present themselves on the basis of a broad range of experiences comparable to those of their fellow Canadians.
One of the fundamental principles of this act is and has been for 30 years that money should not determine who is able to run for election or who is able to influence voters sufficiently to get themselves elected. This law continues the principle of limits on expenses for election purposes. It continues the principle of the right of every Canadian to consider becoming a candidate.
Members of the Reform Party have spoken at great length about how unfair it is to limit third party advertising during election campaigns. We have made sure that candidates are able to put their views before Canadians on a fair and equal basis. In other words, they have a limit on how much they can spend to promote their views to their voters.
The government believes it is only fair that others who participate in the electoral process by putting forward political views about a party or a candidate should be similarly limited and should not be able to spend in an unlimited way and therefore have an undue influence on the formation of public opinion and on the outcome of an election.
We are doing other things in this act to enlarge the capacity of Canadians to participate in the voting process like extending voting hours and allowing people out of the country to vote more easily and more freely at embassies anywhere in the world. We are making sure that Canadians who want to participate in a campaign by showing their support for one or another candidate through signs or volunteer participation are able to do so whether they live in their own private home or they live in a multiple residential dwelling unit.
I would also like to say a few words about certain amendments that were brought forward with regard to financial contributions to candidates during an election campaign.
Some have proposed that the right to make a contribution during a campaign be restricted to voters, which means to Canadian citizens. I have very strong feelings about the right of new Canadians to participate in every aspect of Canadian life from the moment they arrive in our country. I am particularly in favour of their participation in the electoral process.
A large number of new Canadians came here because they were born in a country where democracy did not exist. We have heard the views of a number of separatists on the right of new Canadians to take part in an election. On this side of the House, we encourage them and are not at all in favour of limiting their participation, whether it be as volunteers or as financial contributors.
I will speak about some of the particular provisions in this group of motions. The member for Verchères—Les-Patriotes has made a great point about it not being a very democratic process. He and I sit on the same committee. He knows as well as I do just how long the committee has worked on this matter and of the hearings we held with the media, interested Canadians and all political parties, no matter how small or how large or whether they do or do not have elected members in the House of Commons.
He also knows that a number of the amendments the government has put forward today are in response to suggestions from his party or from other opposition parties. To suggest that there has not been any opportunity for the opposition to influence the outcome of this act is simply not fair.
I point out, for instance in this group, the amendment of the government that gives the Chief Electoral Officer the power to extend voting hours where an emergency has closed the polls for a certain period of time during the day. We have responded to the opposition by making sure that the Chief Electoral Officer extends the hours where there has been an interruption in voting.
We have not agreed with the opposition on the appointment of returning officers. I go back to the Lortie commission. established earlier on in this decade, that consulted broadly with Canadians. It recommended that we not change that aspect of the election process and that it was a far more efficient and cost effective way of running elections in 300 constituencies across the country to have people involved who have experience at the constituency level of the electoral process.
There is not a great deal more to say on this matter, but I ask Canadians to remember that the bill is not about parliamentarians, not about government, but about their right to choose and their right to know that the candidates presenting themselves to them are not advantaged by being privileged, by having a lot of money, by having powerful and rich friends. We all campaign, every party, every member of the House and every candidate who was not elected, on the same financial basis, on a fair and equal footing and on a level playing field. That is exactly what we are trying to do, to ensure that continues under the new act.