House of Commons Hansard #98 of the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was election.

Topics

Question No.580Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

6:40 p.m.

Conservative

Tim Uppal Conservative Edmonton Mill Woods, AB

With regard to the Prime Minister's comments in the Chamber on March 23, 2021, that "We will continue to ground our decisions based in science and evidence": what specific science or evidence does the government have that proves that quarantining at a hotel is safer than quarantining at home?

(Return tabled)

Question No.581Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

6:40 p.m.

Conservative

Tim Uppal Conservative Edmonton Mill Woods, AB

With regard to allegations of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces and the actions of the Minister of National Defence, since November 4, 2015: (a) how many reports of alleged sexual misconduct were brought to the attention, either formally or informally, of the (i) Minister of National Defence, (ii) Office of the Minister of National Defence, broken down by year; and (b) for each instance in (a), what specific action, if any, was taken?

(Return tabled)

Question No.582Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

6:40 p.m.

Conservative

Bob Saroya Conservative Markham—Unionville, ON

With regard to the government's decision to extend the interval between certain COVID-19 vaccines by up to 105 days: (a) what assessment has the government made on the impact of this decision of those who are suffering from cancer; and (b) what is the government's response to concerns raised by a study from King's College London and the Francis Crick Institute, which found that delays in administering the second dose of more than 21 days leave cancer patients vulnerable to COVID-19?

(Return tabled)

Question No.583Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

6:40 p.m.

Conservative

Bob Saroya Conservative Markham—Unionville, ON

With regard to accounts locked by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) between March 13, 2021, and March 22, 2021, over concerns that usernames and passwords may have been hacked: (a) how many accounts were locked; (b) what was the average number of days impacted accounts were locked; (c) did the CRA notify each account holder in (a) that their account would be locked, and, if so, how were they contacted; (d) on what date did the CRA become aware that usernames and passwords may have been hacked; (e) how did the CRA become aware of the hacking; (f) is any recourse or compensation available to individuals whose information has been compromised as a result of their CRA information being hacked, and, if so, how do they access such recourse or compensation; and (g) have any specific measures been taken since March 13, 2021, to ensure the future safety of information shared online with the CRA, and, if so, what are the details of each measure, including the date of implementation?

(Return tabled)

Question No.584Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

6:40 p.m.

Bloc

Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC

With regard to federal spending in the constituency of Papineau, in each fiscal year since 2018-19, inclusively: what are the details of all grants and contributions and all loans to any organization, group, business or municipality, broken down by the (i) name of the recipient, (ii) municipality in which the recipient is located, (iii) date the funding was received, (iv) amount received, (v) department or agency that provided the funding, (vi) program under which the grant, contribution or loan was made, (vii) nature or purpose?

(Return tabled)

Question No.585Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

6:40 p.m.

Bloc

Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC

With regard to federal spending in the constituency of Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot, in each fiscal year since 2018-19, inclusively: what are the details of all grants and contributions and all loans to any organization, group, business or municipality, broken down by the (i) name of the recipient, (ii) municipality in which the recipient is located, (iii) date the funding was received, (iv) amount received, (v) department or agency that provided the funding, (vi) program under which the grant, contribution or loan was made, (vii) nature or purpose?

(Return tabled)

Question No.587Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

6:40 p.m.

Conservative

James Cumming Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB

With regard to government advertisements launched on Facebook since March 13, 2020: (a) how many advertisements have been launched by month and what were the corresponding campaigns for each (e.g. employment insurance, citizenship services, tax credits, grants, etc.); (b) for how long was each advertisement active online; (c) what were the insights for the advertisements launched, broken down by each advertisement, including the (i) number of people reached, (ii) percentage of women and men reached, (iii) age­group ranges reached, (iv) federal, provincial, or municipal regions targeted, including postal codes, if applicable; and (d) how many staff are provided with or have access to the Facebook advertisement data collected from each campaign, broken down by ministerial exempt and departmental staff?

(Return tabled)

Question No.588Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

6:40 p.m.

Conservative

Kerry Diotte Conservative Edmonton Griesbach, AB

With regard to accommodating the work from home environment for government employees since September 23, 2020: (a) what is the total amount spent on furniture, equipment, including IT equipment, and services, including home Internet reimbursement; (b) of the purchases in (a), what is the breakdown per department by (i) date of purchase, (ii) object code it was purchased under, (iii) type of furniture, equipment or services, (iv) final cost of furniture, equipment or services; (c) what were the costs incurred for delivery of items in (a); and (d) were subscriptions purchased during this period, and, if so, what were the (i) subscriptions for, (ii) costs associated for these subscriptions?

(Return tabled)

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

6:40 p.m.

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all remaining questions be allowed to stand.

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

6:40 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

Is it agreed?

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

6:40 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-19, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (COVID-19 response), be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Canada Elections ActGovernment Orders

May 10th, 2021 / 6:45 p.m.

Liberal

Emmanuella Lambropoulos Liberal Saint-Laurent, QC

Mr. Speaker, thank you for allowing me the time this afternoon to speak to Bill C-19, an act to amend the Canada Elections Act, COVID-19 response.

For obvious reasons, I think this is an important bill that should be taken very seriously for the health and safety of Canadians. For over a year now, we have been dealing with a pandemic, and despite how long we have lived with it, we still do not know enough about this virus.

We are making progress in Quebec, where the numbers are down. The lockdown could be lifted soon, perhaps in the summer. If Quebeckers are lucky, they could return to a more or less normal life like last summer. However, in other provinces, like Ontario, the situation is less positive. There are variants circulating that make COVID more contagious. Fortunately, more and more people are getting vaccinated. That is great, but the truth is, we do not know how long the immunity will last.

That is why we must implement measures to protect Canadians. If possible, we must find ways to avoid endangering the public. For these reasons, I am happy to speak to Bill C-19, as it is an important initiative that will help Elections Canada hold an election safely if necessary during the current pandemic.

Worldwide, it has been more than a year now that events have been cancelled, a necessary measure to keep the public safe. Since we do not know how long this situation will last, we must find ways to ensure the health of our democratic institutions. If a general election were to be held, it would have to happen in a way that is safe for everyone, including electors, volunteers and election officials.

While the need for physical distancing and other public health measures resulted in the postponement of elections at the provincial and municipal levels in some provinces last year, we have realized that, because so little is known about how long we will be in this situation of living with the pandemic, we must find solutions rather than postpone. In a democracy such as Canada, it is important to give the population the right to choose its government and representatives when the time comes to do so.

We can no longer indefinitely postpone elections. Instead, we must make the necessary changes and adapt to our current reality so as to protect Canadians and also the health of our democratic institutions. Some elections have been held worldwide since the start of the pandemic, and efforts have been made to put strict public health measures in place, such as requiring people to wear masks and practice physical distancing, or providing hand sanitizer or disposable gloves to voters.

Bill C-19 would add a new part to the Canada Elections Act that would further protect Canadians in the context of an election. This new part would include extending the Chief Electoral Officer's power to adapt the provisions of the act to ensure the health and safety of electors and election officers; authorizing a returning officer to constitute polling divisions that consist of a single institution where seniors or persons with disabilities reside, or a part of such an institution, and to set the days and hours a polling station would be open; providing for a polling period of three consecutive days, consisting of a Saturday, Sunday and Monday; providing for the hours of voting during the polling period; providing for the opening and closing measures at polling stations; setting the days for voting at advance polling stations; authorizing the Chief Electoral Officer to modify the day on which certain things are authorized, or required to be done, before the polling period by moving that day backward or forward by up to two days, or the starting date or ending date of a period in which certain things are authorized, or required to be done, by up to two days; providing that an elector may submit an application for registration and special ballot under division 4 of part 11 in written or electronic form; and providing that an elector whose application for registration and special ballot were accepted by the returning officer in their electoral district may deposit the outer envelope containing their special ballot in a secure reception box.

This would allow some flexibility to the Chief Electoral Officer to make changes, as he or she sees fit, that would better protect Canadians. It would make voting more accessible to seniors and people living with disabilities, who would have more of an opportunity to have polling stations within the buildings where they reside. Furthermore, more Canadians would have access to mailing in their ballots. This may be a great option for many vulnerable Canadians who are at higher risk of getting sick, or even for Canadians who are afraid of going to polling stations and would prefer not to do so.

Elections Canada estimates that up to five million electors could choose to vote by mail if the election had to be held during the pandemic. To meet this demand, Bill C-19 provides for the installation of secure reception boxes to receive online applications for mail-in ballots and would allow identification numbers to be accepted as proof of identity for these applications.

Furthermore, it would allow electors who have requested a mail-in ballot to change their minds and subsequently vote in person. Certain conditions are attached to this measure to protect the integrity of the electoral system.

We have to understand that in the context of the current pandemic many Canadians will prefer to vote using the mail-in options. The mail-in vote measures outlined in the bill are designed to strengthen a mail-in vote system that is expected to see a significant surge in electors opting to vote in this manner. The overall goal is to facilitate the use of this voting method for Canadians who may not feel safe to show up at the polling station in person. Electors would have the option of using an identification number rather than a copy of their ID to establish their identity and residence when registering to vote by mail.

Furthermore, extending the voting period from one day to three days would allow Canadians more flexibility as to when to go vote, which would allow for less gathering to take place at a given polling station. After having lived with physical distancing for over a year now, I am sure we can all see the reason behind extending the voting period.

With regard to long-term care considerations, the federal government recognizes that our most vulnerable Canadians should be able to exercise their right to vote in a safe way that does not endanger their health in any way. Bill C-19 proposes specific measures to ensure we protect the right to participate in the democratic process while allowing them to do so in a healthy and safe environment.

Specifically, it would provide a 13-day period during which election workers can safely deliver the vote to residents of these facilities. The period would provide election staff with enough time to determine, along with employees of these facilities, specific dates during which the vote can be safely delivered. Furthermore, it would allow election workers to create polling stations even on certain floors within a given building in recognition of hot spots or quarantine areas that have been established across these many facilities.

In short, this bill would make elections safer for Canadians. It is important to remember that elections can occur at any time when there is a minority government. We must take precautions to protect Canadians in the event that an election is called.

As I mentioned earlier, we do not know when this pandemic will be over. If it lasts longer and there is a fourth or fifth wave after this one, we will not have a choice about holding an election during the pandemic. Let us do the right thing and make elections safer for Canadians.

Let us vote in favour of this bill to ensure if there are elections held during this pandemic, even though all of us do not want it to be case, we can do so in a safe way. Hopefully we will be over this pandemic soon enough and before the next election.

Canada Elections ActGovernment Orders

6:50 p.m.

Conservative

Damien Kurek Conservative Battle River—Crowfoot, AB

Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of discussion today about the idea of a sunset clause. I know certain members of the Liberal Party have taken shots at the Conservatives, saying it is clear that it is in section 11 of the bill. I read the bill quite extensively and followed some of the experts who examined it, and the problem is that it lacks clarity and democracy, among many other things.

Specifically, this place being the custodian of Canada's democratic infrastructure, clarity is such a vital part of ensuring elections are held with certainty for Canadians. Could the member opposite maybe add some clarity to what supposedly is the sunset clause? I certainly do not see it being that in section 11 of the bill.

Canada Elections ActGovernment Orders

6:55 p.m.

Liberal

Emmanuella Lambropoulos Liberal Saint-Laurent, QC

Mr. Speaker, I agree that clarity is extremely important when discussing these bills and putting them into law. It is absolutely important the members on the committee take these comments into consideration. It is being sent to committee, so hopefully members of all parties can discuss and try to improve the bill even further before we vote on it.

Canada Elections ActGovernment Orders

6:55 p.m.

Bloc

Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC

Mr. Speaker, I will read a quote from the member for Winnipeg North. In 2014, after closure was imposed on debate of the Canada Elections Act, he stated:

Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the member could provide comment on the fact that the Elections Act and the Parliament of Canada Act are fundamental to our democracy, and changes to them must be achieved by a broad consensus and backed by solid evidence.

Could the member comment on that?

Canada Elections ActGovernment Orders

6:55 p.m.

Liberal

Emmanuella Lambropoulos Liberal Saint-Laurent, QC

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question.

As members know, we are in the middle of a pandemic. Parliament has done all kinds of things that have never been done before. For example, we used new special powers to help all Canadians. It is very important that we take this reality into consideration.

These are not normal times. While more time should have been allocated for studying the bill, as is the case for most of the bills we have introduced this year, the fact remains that these are extraordinary times.