Canada Elections Act  I think that we should pay serious attention to one particular witness I heard at the Special Committee on Electoral Reform. He is considered a leading expert on electoral laws. His name is Jean-Pierre Kingsley. I asked him a very simple question about the link between political party financing and a more equitable electoral system. He said that the per-vote public subsidies to political parties should be restored as soon as possible.

An Act to change the name of the electoral district of Châteauguay—Lacolle  Normally this goes smoothly, though in 2003-04 there were objections from the Chief Electoral Officer at the time, Jean-Pierre Kingsley. Mr. Kingsley pointed out that there was an excessive administrative burden imposed because it took place so close to the 2004 election. He also voiced concern that the change could lead to public confusion and additional costs because electoral materials would have to be reprinted and software reconfigured.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think what Mr. Kingsley was talking about and what we're dealing with here are two different issues.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Just to quote again from the points that Jean-Pierre Kingsley made, “There are staff members in the Canadian political system who are exceedingly important”—and I hate to say it, but I'm adding my own little subtext here—and who are sometimes considered more important to donors than elected MPs.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I mean, the big policy question before this committee is this: do you want to amend the act to deal with the concern raised by Jean-Pierre Kingsley that it's during an election when Canadians particularly want to know who's donating to different parties and candidates?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you. Again, it was Mr. Kingsley and I think Mr. Nater, to give credit for the thought, who suggested that without some kind of backup insurance policy, you could end up with senior people just showing up at the last minute; some might know they were coming—wink, wink, nudge, nudge—and some might not.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'd like to follow up on the five days, because it has been the focus, as Mr. Nater said, of a fair bit of discussion here. One of the things that Mr. Kingsley just kind of threw out there and I grabbed immediately, as I thought it solved one of our problems, was this issue of the notice of who's going to be there in five days. I think it was Mr.

World Martial Arts Championship  Speaker, today I rise to recognize four athletes from my riding who put in outstanding performances at the world martial arts championship in Dublin, Ireland, in October. Representing Canada, Antoine, Félix, Kingsley, and Ruth Ann, along with their sensei, Danny Griffith, returned home with a total of 11 medals. Ten-year-old Felix was crowned world soft kata champion, and Ruth Ann took home top honours in the 35 and over soft kata division.

Status of Women committee  Thank you very much for your testimony, all of you. I'm going to suspend for about two minutes while we set up for Dr. Zinger and Ms. Kingsley.

Government Appointments  Where is the action? This is deeply troubling. Canadians are not taking this matter lightly. Jean-Pierre Kingsley, the former chief electoral officer, said today, and I quote: This delay in making appointments is exasperating. It shows a lack of democratic conscience on the part of a government that I find unacceptable.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It raises the penalty from $1,000 to $5,000. Elizabeth's amendment would use the Kingsley formula of double the amount that was raised. Those are the two.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  With all due respect to the analyst, I don't think that's unclear. That would be, as Jean-Pierre Kingsley's testimony suggested, specific to how much was achieved, how much was raised by committing the offence. It's not the entire event.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It's very straightforward. Again, and particularly I suppose, I looked to the testimony of Jean-Pierre Kingsley, who thought that a $1,000 penalty was not going to have much of an impact. With the help of drafters, I put before you his suggestion that the penalty be related to the offence and be basically a doubling of whatever money was received that violated the scheme of this particular fundraising code.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I believe it would be an oversight to not give consideration to, for example, members of Parliament or high-ranking political staffers, such as chiefs of staff, when it comes to attendance at fundraising events. Many of them have a level of influence that is important to recognize. Mr. Jean-Pierre Kingsley also raised this when he presented to you on this bill, and I concur with his rationale. As the committee continues to debate this legislation and additional changes to election finances, I once again remind you to closely examine all provisions of the bill to ensure that unintended consequences do not arise.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Well, the age of 18 is a reasonable one. Perhaps it might be lowered a bit. I wouldn't, however, go as far as Mr. Kingsley did. I think he talked about reporting on the presence of seven-year-olds. I may be wrong. I may have got that number wrong, but I know it was a single digit. I wouldn't go any lower than 16.