Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to rise to speak to this bill today. The cause of fair elections is one that is close to my heart, ever since Guelph became ground zero for a concerted and malicious campaign, in the last election, to wilfully mislead non-Conservative voters to the wrong polling locations on election day, May 2, 2011.
The subsequent investigation has demonstrated where we lack the ability to effectively pursue electoral fraudsters, yet it is as if the Conservative government and its minister have learned nothing from what happened in Guelph. Instead, it seems as if they are more interested in punishing Elections Canada and the Chief Electoral Officer for some imagined anti-Conservative transgression. How else could they explain that our top election official was left out in the cold and not consulted when it came to expansive legislation that would make significant changes to how we conduct our elections?
Frankly, over the past couple of days of debate and questions, the minister has seemed quite proud of the fact that he sat through a meeting with Mr. Mayrand, only to ignore his most pertinent recommendations and to go on to draft the same toothless bill they planned to draft before they met with him.
I know that the minister claims there was consultation. However, it is quite clear from the immediate comments from Elections Canada's spokesperson, John Enright, in the immediate wake of the minister's statement, that “the Chief Electoral Officer has not been consulted” and “there's been no consultation on the bill”.
Had there been true consultation, the bill might have provided the resources and tools requested by Mr. Mayrand in October, when he said:
Without that power to compel it adds time and complexity to investigations and sometimes they get into a dead end for lack of co-operation from witnesses.
Similarly, this echoes the statement of the Commissioner of Canada Elections, Yves Côte, who asked for further investigative powers and the ability to compel the provision of information. He explained, in his first annual report:
It regularly happens, in the course of our investigations, that we approach individuals who we know will have information relevant to a file we are working on, only to be told that they do not wish to talk to us—they refuse to say anything.
We have all seen this to be the case in Guelph, where two and a half years later, we still do not have any more of an idea of who Pierre Poutine is and just how coordinated a plot it was to misdirect voters, forcing them to the wrong polling stations.
On election day 2011, a fraud was perpetrated across Canada, in over 200 ridings, and yet to this day, only one charge has been laid, in large part because Elections Canada lacks the teeth or the tools it needs to seize documents before they are destroyed or to compel testimony so as to advance the case and find the perpetrators.
The minister has stated that his reforms would enable the Commissioner of Canada Elections to seek stiffer penalties for a wider range of offences. However, what would that really accomplish, when there has been no augmentation to the commissioner's investigative powers? What good are stiffer penalties if one cannot find and convict the perpetrators?
Rhetorical flourishes such as “sharper teeth”, “longer reach”, and a “freer hand” may paint a delightful picture for government messaging, but they are hollow words in the face of an enforcement regime that has no ability to find those who perpetrate frauds or to effectively enforce the Canada Elections Act. It is like raising the fine for speeding but taking away the radar guns.
Equally concerning is the bizarre move of the Commissioner of Canada Elections from Elections Canada to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Not only does moving the commissioner's desk not increase his investigative powers, it effectively silos him off from Elections Canada and the data it possesses.
Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise you and ask your permission to split my time with the member for Winnipeg North.