Mr. Speaker, over the last number of years we have seen a declining percentage of Canadians voting. New Democrats would like to encourage more Canadians to vote, to participate in our democratic system. The Conservatives are hoping that only people who vote Conservative are able to vote in the next election. It is clear that the elimination of vouching and the voter identification card will disenfranchise many Canadians who may or may not vote for the Conservatives.
My question to my colleague is this. We have seen cuts to the programs that encourage Canadian voters. Why are the Conservatives doing this? Why are they not encouraging Canadians to vote instead of suppressing their votes?