Procedure and House Affairs committee  I would say the problem I have mentioned in a couple of answers is not simply that there's a lack of information, but a lack of reflection in the candidates and in the parties on the issues of youth. I think some other members have cited that as well. When you don't see a candidate who stands for election, somebody for you to choose that is talking about the issues that matter to you, or political parties more generally that are talking to issues that matter to youth, not just during elections but in between, then there's not that vested interest in engaging in democracy.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We are a membership-driven organization. At our two national assemblies each year students bring forward their priorities as engaged citizens, whether it pertains to party politics or other issues that matter to students. Then I carry out those priorities in my day-to-day responsibilities, one of which is making it easier for students to vote.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think that I've already said that I believe Elections Canada has a significant role to play outside of just the political parties taking on that for some of the reasons you've outlined. Beyond that, I think that youth and student voters oftentimes don't identify with a particular political party, but I think would value the information and the reasons it's important to engage in democracy even if they aren't a member of a party.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I would say it's not just me that is saying it's not a lack of information issue; it's actually in the reports from Elections Canada that say only 7% of the people who didn't vote cited a lack of information. In terms of what we had been doing with Elections Canada, prior to the tabling of this bill, to encourage youth voter turnout, we had been working with them to develop a strategy to implement polling stations on campuses and identifying larger campuses to run a pilot project.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I do think that would, in fact, be the case. It's not a bad thing that we are taking a look at the Elections Act. We should be taking steps to improve it and create a more flexible system of voting. The survey that was done after the last federal election cited a number of different reasons why people weren't casting a ballot.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, absolutely. I agree very much with what my colleague has said. I think that there certainly is a role for politicians to play in all this. That being said, I think that a lot of the youth disengagement that we see right now is as a result of not seeing the issues that matter to them being reflected in the candidates who have put their names forward, or in the platforms of the political parties, for that matter.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'd like to thank the committee members for allowing me to testify this evening. My name is Jessica McCormick. I'm the national chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students, Canada's largest and oldest student organization, uniting more than 600,000 students across the country.