Chris Charlton

[Democratic Reform, February 11th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the question was about seniors voting. Is the minister really suggesting that the very people who fought for our right to vote are now defrauding the system?

In the same report, the Chief Electoral Officer said 62% of students use their voter information cards to cast their ballots. When young people vote, they form habits that make them lifelong voters, but for students at school, proving their residency can often be a challenge.

Why is the government making it harder for young people to cast their votes?

[Democratic Reform, February 11th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Chief Electoral Officer's report from the last campaign says that the proportion of electors who use their voter information cards with another authorized piece of identification—for example, a hospital bracelet—to cast their vote in seniors residences and long-term care facilities was about 73%.

Conservative changes to the act would remove this option for voter identification. Why would the government remove the voter information card and make it harder for seniors to vote?

[Democratic Reform, February 10th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has to stop playing fast and loose with the facts and start answering questions.

The minister knows full well that the 25% statistic for vouching while voting has nothing to do with fraud. It refers to the fact that “the tick [box] confirming that vouching was required was not checked”.

Does the minister really think that unchecked tick boxes are the biggest dangers that our voting system faces, and does he really feel this justifies making it harder for Canadians to exercise their right to vote?

[Democratic Reform, February 10th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are tilting the playing field to their advantage. Their removal of the ability to take an oath and vouch at the polls would impact some groups more than others.

The Chief Electoral Officer said, “Groups that come to mind are aboriginals, young people, even seniors who...have increasing difficulty producing proper ID documents”.

Experts are warning that these changes are likely unconstitutional.

Why does the minister want to make changes that would make it harder to vote and that are likely unconstitutional?

[Democratic Reform, February 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative majority in the unelected, unaccountable Senate has no legitimate role to play in deciding how MPs are elected.

The Minister of State for Democratic Reform has made a number of bizarre claims in recent days, including implying that voter participation has declined because of efforts by Elections Canada to educate the public.

Does the minister have any evidence to support this claim, or does he really not understand the difference between coincidence and causality?

[Democratic Reform, February 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Senate does not even believe in having television in its own house.

Instead of giving the democratically elected House of Commons the ability to decide if an e-voting pilot project is worthwhile, the Minister of State for Democratic Reform has handed a veto to the unelected, undemocratic Senate.

It is not as if Elections Canada would be able to unilaterally change how voting works. That is a power the minister reserves for himself.

Why is the minister hell bent on giving this veto power to the unelected, undemocratic Senate?

[Democratic Reform, February 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of State for Democratic Reform bizarrely claimed that giving the unelected and undemocratic Senate a veto over electronic voting was “...the best way to ensure the integrity of our electoral system.”

Why does the minister think that the Senate, which was created before the invention of the telephone and is exempt from ever facing voters, should have a veto on electronic voting?

[Democratic Reform, February 6th, 2014]

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?

[Democratic Reform, February 6th, 2014]

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?

[Democratic Reform, February 5th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, Elections Canada has been working to get people without fixed addresses registered and voting. It has been doing outreach to young people and engaging first nations communities to increase voter turnout, but the Conservatives new bill slams the door on all of that very important work.

The minister claims his bill would target special interests, but in reality it would reduce Elections Canada's powers and remove its ability to do public education. Why? Does the minister believe that Elections Canada is now a special interest?