House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2021, with 35% of the vote.
Democratic Reform December 1st, 2016
To the contrary, Mr. Speaker, our Prime Minister asked that we bring together a special committee to study the options available to us and to recommend a specific system as an alternative to first past the post. We asked the committee to help answer very difficult questions for us. It did not do that. We now have to make those hard changes, and I am looking forward to continuing this conversation with Canadians.
Democratic Reform December 1st, 2016
Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, we have received the report, and we encourage all members of the House to do the same. My first impressions are that there are some good ideas in there. For example, the only way that we can engage Canadians on their preference for an alternative to first past the post is through a values-based conversation. But on the main question and the hard choices that we asked the committee to make, the members of the committee took a pass. The NDP critic said, choose your own adventure.
I thank the committee members for their time, and we will continue this conversation—
Democratic Reform December 1st, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the members of the special committee for their time and effort in studying this.
We have received the report. I am going to review it carefully and I urge every member of the House to do the same. I know this was a challenging process, and the report shows just how challenging electoral reform can be, because the only consensus that the committee found was that there is no consensus on electoral reform. In the coming days, we will be taking specific actions to continue this conversation with Canadians.
Democratic Reform November 30th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, it has been a while since I received a question from the hon. member. I thank him for the opportunity to talk about Bill C-33 in the House, where we repealed the unfair elements of the Fair Elections Act, and extended the right to vote to those Canadians living and working abroad.
Our Chief Electoral Officer, to whom we are all indebted, has provided a report based on the results of the last election. The Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs will be delivering its report and recommendations, and we will have an opportunity to debate them in the House.
Democratic Reform November 28th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, as Minister of Democratic Institutions, I have been committed to this file since I began my mandate. The member knows well that I have a great deal of respect for the work of this committee and for the committee's independence, and that I am looking forward with a lot of eagerness, probably more than any other member in this House, to receiving that report on December 1. We are going to take the time to give that report the respect it deserves and present this House with a thoughtful plan forward.
Democratic Reform November 28th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member opposite for his work on the committee. I am looking forward, in this House, to receiving that report on December 1.
The member asked what I was doing on television over the weekend. We introduced Bill C-33 in this House. We repealed the unfair elements of the Fair Elections Act. We extended voting rights to those Canadians living abroad. That is what I was doing.
Democratic Reform November 28th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows just as well as every member of this House that we have been committed to this file since we began our mandate. We gave the majority on the committee to study electoral reform to the opposition. My parliamentary secretary and I have been out there connecting with Canadians from coast to coast to coast, and we have been clear from the very beginning that we will not move forward on reform without the broad support of Canadians. I am looking forward to receiving in this House the committee's report, and moving forward then.
Democratic Reform November 25th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, it has been a while since I have heard from the hon. member, too.
We listened to Canadians when we proposed the special committee to go out and hear from Canadians. We listened to Canadians and the members of this House when they said to change the composition of the committee so that the majority would be with the opposition.
We will listen to Canadians in new and innovative ways. I am looking forward to receiving the committee's report on December 1. We will take that into consideration, along with the feedback we have received from Canadians, before we introduce legislation in this House.
Democratic Reform November 25th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for all of his hard work on this special committee that is focused on electoral reform. I am sure that the member opposite, who has been asking for a year that we reach out to as many Canadians as possible, will be fully supportive of the third pillar of our outreach. We will be reaching out to Canadians from all walks of life. We want to hear their values on their democratic institutions, and we are counting on every single member of this House to help ensure that their constituents have a say in this third pillar of our outreach.
Democratic Reform November 24th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Pickering—Uxbridge for this very thoughtful question.
I am pleased that today in this House we introduced Bill C-33. This bill is intended to repeal the unfair elements of the Fair Elections Act. We are going to remove unnecessary barriers for young people, seniors, indigenous persons, and homeless people who do not have access to proper identification, for example.
The bill will be debated in this House, and I am counting on our colleagues in this place to help further strengthen this bill.