Procedure and House Affairs committee  Fundamentally what I think is that if there were fraud in an electoral system, it should be eliminated. In fact, if there were anything harmful about the electoral system, I would think it should be eliminated. But there is no evidence of fraud or harm, and when you propose to eliminate a harm that doesn't exist and you weigh it against the harm that would be created....

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes I'm happy to. The short and the long version of the issue of public financial contributions is simply one of giving Canadians who have more money greater access to the vote. Every time the government decides to increase campaign contributions rather than decrease them, which is what they should do, they're making a decision about whose voice should count more.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you. I'd like to make several comments. The first is that, to be honest, I spent seven years living in the United States. I'm really reluctant to encourage you, in fact, on the contrary, I'd like to discourage you, from learning lessons about American electoral—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  But that matters. On the very specific point that you cited, on the question of whether voter ID requirements increase or decrease electoral turnout, the evidence from the United States is highly mixed. On average, taken as a sort of collection of evidence, suggests that the stricter the voter ID requirements are, the more they depress turnout.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'm happy to say that I think partisan polling is a really bad idea. We already have a system of international best practices, according to which partisans are not involved in selecting senior poll clerks in general, so I think that would be the next thing I would attack. I think the campaign finance changes that you're recommending to implement are a profoundly bad idea because they increase the influence of money in electoral politics in Canada, something that we are trying to reduce, not increase.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Absolutely.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you very much. Thank you very much for having us here today. I'm here representing the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I am also an assistant professor of applied ethics at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, and I am here as a research associate with the CCPA. I'm also—some of you may know this—a co-author with several Canadian professors of an open letter concerning Bill C-23, published in the National Post earlier in March.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It's Professor Patti Tamara Lenard.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I am here.