House of Commons Hansard #43 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was voting.
Nycole Turmel NDP Hull—Aylmer, QC
Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives are trying to stifle the opposition by ending debate on their reform of the Canada Elections Act. They are using the same strategy they use with a partisan, poorly written omnibus budget bill.
The Canada Elections Act, however, should not be dealt with in a partisan way. This is the 46th gag order since May 2011.
Are the Conservatives simply trying to avoid having to deal with the matter of their fraudulent phone calls?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of State (Democratic Reform)
Mr. Speaker, the NDP has to make up its mind. First of all, New Democrats did not want any debate at all on the fair elections act. They sent their NDP critic out to declare his opposition to it seconds before he admitted he had not read it. Now they are saying they want more debate, so we are saying, great, let us send it to committee so that it can be debated and studied there, and they are opposed to that, too.
The fair elections act would ensure that our democracy rests in the hands of everyday Canadians by putting special interest groups on the sidelines and rule breakers right out of business.
Nycole Turmel NDP Hull—Aylmer, QC
Mr. Speaker, in addition to gagging Parliament, the Conservatives are trying to gag the Chief Electoral Officer by limiting the number of matters on which he can and cannot express an opinion.
The Conservatives are now bringing into Parliament the battle against Elections Canada that they have fought so often before the courts.
Why do the Conservatives want to gag the Chief Electoral Officer?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of State (Democratic Reform)
Mr. Speaker, according to Elections Canada's own data, in 2011, 60% of non-voters cited everyday issues as reasons for not voting. Those included things like not having enough time, being too busy, or being away from home when the election was held.
The way we help them to vote is by providing better customer service. That includes an extra day of voting, less congestion at the voting booth, and getting Elections Canada's advertising back to the basics of where, when, and what ID to bring.
Chris Charlton NDP Hamilton Mountain, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government has decided that Elections Canada should no longer play a role in educating Canadians about voting. The minister pays lip service to democratic reform and increasing voter turnout, but then introduces a law that would do the exact opposite.
Why is the minister blocking Elections Canada from doing outreach and education to increase voter turnout? Why is he afraid of people voting?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of State (Democratic Reform)
Mr. Speaker, to the contrary, since Elections Canada began its promotional campaigns, voter turnout has plummeted from 75% to 61%. The reality is that Elections Canada data show that the leading reason young voters do not cast ballots is that they do not have all the necessary information.
For example, half of young people are not aware they can vote in advance by mail, or by special ballot at the Elections Canada office. That means that one in two youth voters who is busy on election day does not have any other option to vote. We want to inform them of those options so they get out and cast their ballots.
Chris Charlton NDP Hamilton Mountain, ON
Mr. Speaker, the minister is doing his very best to strip the opposition members of our right to fair debate on this bill on behalf of Canadians. Conservatives are rewriting how Elections Canada works and hiding their changes behind closure motions. Yesterday, the minister refused to send the bill to committee for immediate and open study. Today, the Conservatives are shutting down debate. New concerns are being raised daily about this bill.
Will the government accept amendments to fix all of the problems with this bill?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of State (Democratic Reform)
Mr. Speaker, we have only begun debate. We have already begun with five hours of debate. Then we will send the matter to committee after it is voted on at second reading, at which time members can consider it and send it back for yet more debate in the House of Commons.
I hope the members will consider, for example, the amendments we propose to make to section 18 of the Canada Elections Act to require that Elections Canada inform Canadians of how they can have their names added to the list, how they can vote, which ID they need to take to the polling stations, and the information that is necessary for disabled voters to employ the special tools available to hep them vote.
Matthew Dubé NDP Chambly—Borduas, QC
Mr. Speaker, the minister no longer wants Elections Canada to interact with young people to encourage them to vote.
In the last election, however, the voter turnout rate for 18- to 24-year-olds was only 38.8%. That is almost half the rate for Canadians 65 and older.
Why should politicians be the only ones to encourage young people to vote? Why not let Elections Canada, an independent, non-partisan entity, do its job?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of State (Democratic Reform)
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member just proved my point.
Elections Canada's efforts are not working. In fact, their own data show that young people are not voting because they do not have the information they need to do so. Half of young people do not even know that they can vote before election day. A quarter of young people who did not vote said it was because they did not know where, when or how to vote.
Our bill will give them that information.
Matthew Dubé NDP Chambly—Borduas, QC
Mr. Speaker, if I understand, “it is not working so let us make it worse” is the minister's solution.
While the minister accuses him of wearing a team jersey, the Chief Electoral Officer said, “What I know from this bill is that the referee will no longer be on the ice”.
Conservatives are preventing Elections Canada from doing outreach to encourage young people to vote. That is a fact. Young people are more transient and harder to get engaged in the election process. So why is the minister ignoring the problem and attacking Elections Canada's efforts to get more young people to vote? Maybe there is something the Conservatives are afraid of.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of State (Democratic Reform)
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member misunderstands the roles of the various players at Elections Canada.
First, the referee in elections is the Commissioner of Elections Canada. He is the one whose job it is to enforce the law, and he would gain new independence and new powers under the fair elections act.
Second, as for the issue of youth voter turnout, the approach of Elections Canada has not worked. Since it started, youth turnout is vastly down, and we are focusing those promotions on the practical information that young people need to cast their ballots.
Jonathan Genest-Jourdain NDP Manicouagan, QC
Mr. Speaker, first nations people sometimes encounter problems when they need to get official government identification cards. Having an acquaintance vouch for them or using the cards sent by Elections Canada is therefore vital. Oddly enough, these two options will disappear in the reform of the Canada Elections Act.
Why are the Conservatives using tactics to suppress the voting rights of first nations communities?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of State (Democratic Reform)
Mr. Speaker, 73% of aboriginal young people did not receive the information that would allow them to vote ahead of the election. If those young people are working on election day, are at school or are not available to vote, not having information on voting opportunities was what prevented them from doing so.
The bill before the House will help aboriginal people receive complete information on voting opportunities.
Marc Garneau Liberal Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, in the last budget, the Conservatives announced a bogus job program that does not exist. They have wasted millions of dollars on pointless ads, slashed services to veterans and increased taxes for the middle class, small businesses and credit unions. They have also increased tariffs on consumer goods. That budget resulted in the worst job creation record since the recession. Economic growth has been slowing down for the past three years.
Will the government take a different approach this time?
Kevin Sorenson ConservativeMinister of State (Finance)
Mr. Speaker, according to the IMF report, “The Canadian economy strengthened in 2013...and economic growth is expected to accelerate...”. The IMF went on to say: “Executive Directors commended the authorities for their continued sound macroeconomic and financial sector management”.
The IMF recognizes it. The OECD recognizes it. Bloomberg says that Canada is the second best place in the world to do business. It is time the Liberals recognized that our plan and strategy is working.
Joyce Murray Liberal Vancouver Quadra, BC
Mr. Speaker, Conservatives claim that soldiers' concerns about seeking help for mental injury is all in their heads, but yesterday the military ombudsman testified that most injured members who seek help end up being kicked out of the armed forces. To quote him: “90 per cent are probably going to find themselves on the street”. No wonder soldiers have described the process “as the equivalent of being pushed off a cliff”.
How will budget 2014 fix this mean-spirited and shameful assault on our injured Canadian Forces members?
Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, she has it absolutely wrong. There is no government in Canadian history that has invested more in assisting our men and women in uniform, ill and injured. We have increased the health care budget by $100 million. We have 400 full-time mental health workers and we are going to hire more because this is important to those men and women in uniform. That is why this is a government priority.
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
Mr. Speaker, today the Chief Electoral Officer did confirm this is indeed an attack on Elections Canada. We already heard the analogy he used about the referee now being taken off the ice altogether, despite whatever jersey they want to talk about him wearing. The commissioner, as he spoke about it earlier, is being removed from Elections Canada, being deprived of the powers he needs, which he has already stated.
I want to ask a very direct question about an amendment that I hope the government will accept, to give the commissioner the power to apply to a judge to compel information from witnesses during an investigation. Yes or no?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of State (Democratic Reform)
Mr. Speaker, it is important for the member to understand what powers the commissioner already has.
One, he can seek a warrant to obtain documents from a judge already. Two, if there are charges, a judge can issue a subpoena to compel testimony in a court. Three, the powers that the commissioner has right now are equal to those a police officer would have in conducting an investigation into the most heinous of crimes.
We are giving the commissioner new power by making it an offence to obstruct his investigations or to lie to one of his investigators. We are giving him sharper teeth, a longer reach, and a freer hand.
Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON
Mr. Speaker, budgets are about making choices, and for the NDP, first nations' education has long been a priority. I would hope we can all agree that every child deserves an equal chance in life, an equal opportunity to succeed.
To the Minister of Finance, will the upcoming budget finally include investments that close the first nations' education funding gap for our kids?
Bernard Valcourt ConservativeMinister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development
Mr. Speaker, maybe the member missed the question of her leader, which was the first question I answered.
As I indicated, we are committed to continuing to work with first nations and their leadership to ensure that we have in place a legislative framework that will produce a system that first nations can control, and to ensure that those gaps in educational attainment in the country are attained.
As I said, reform will not be replaced by investment. It will happen—
Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON
Mr. Speaker, I did not miss the answer; there simply was not one.
Funding for first nations education must not come at the expense of other investments. There are urgent needs in education, infrastructure, job training and health care, just to name a few.
Will the minister commit to including the necessary investments for education and these other urgent needs in his budget?
Bernard Valcourt ConservativeMinister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development
Mr. Speaker, our government remains focused on what matters to Canadians, and that includes aboriginal people across the country. What matters are jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity.
That is why, since 2006, we have taken a series of actions in partnership with first nations to improve the economic situation in all communities in Canada. This is a long-term undertaking. We are working on this in partnership and we will pursue this course of action.
