Mr. Speaker, I want to make sure my colleague is fully aware that whenever the minister lists 39 original documents, the fact of the matter is that an individual needs to have two pieces of ID for the most part, and the biggest problem for many people in the country is showing their address. That is where the voter information card has been very useful, from Elections Canada's perspective.
I will read very briefly from a Toronto Star op-ed piece by Marjaleena Repo, on March 14, entitled “...government's Fair Elections Act: bad news for voters”. She is a senior, and she gives a few examples of how people are not as lucky as she to be able to put together pieces of ID:
A few examples suffice: A utility bill is usually in one person's name, so others in the household cannot use that. People with pre-paid cellphones have no phone bills. Bank/credit card statements are available for those who have them; many Canadians do not have either. Correspondence issued by a school, college and university might not exist, and might not have a current address on it. Statement of government benefits applies only to those who have them. Attestation of Residence to be issued by First Nations to band members are not necessarily available, and on it goes, with the rest.
The fact of the matter is that only something like 13 documents have addresses, and only one or two have the potential to apply to many groups in society. That is why the voter information card has proven to be so useful, with absolutely no strong possibility of it being used for fraud because it is a second piece of ID. It cannot be used on its own.
I am wondering if my hon. colleague can acknowledge that it can only be used as a second piece of ID and that he and his party are overstating big-time the potential for fraud with using such cards.