Fair Elections Act  Mr. Speaker, the member suggested that the Director of Public Prosecutions is not independent enough to house, in his office, the Commissioner of Canada Elections. These criticisms mark the first occasion when we have had any suggestion from the opposition that the Director of Public Prosecutions is anything but independent.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, the provisions that the member describes are features of the existing Canada Elections Act. They are not new provisions created by the fair elections act. I note that he has made some suggestions and I invite him to bring them to me for my consideration. He might also consider sending them on to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, which is responsible for studying the matter.

41st General Election  Mr. Speaker, the question was about the powers of the existing election commissioner. Let us clarify. First of all, he can compel testimony before the courts after charges are laid through something called a subpoena. He can compel documents by seeking a warrant from a judge, and all of his powers of investigation are the same as those of police officers investigating the most heinous of crimes.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, the member does not want any debate at all. In fact, he declared his opposition to the bill before he even read a single word of it. But that being said, all Canadians will be able to have their voice heard. We encourage them to make submissions to the committee and the committee can decide which witnesses it wants to hear from right across the country.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary committee will obviously be able to hear testimony from Canadians from all regions of Canada. That is still the case and will be for these discussions. At the same time, we will protect the integrity of the vote by preventing methods that have shown a high rate of error and giving more powers to the commissioner to enforce the law.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, here is what I really think. I think that Elections Canada's own report should be listened to. Here is what it says: Averaged across 308 ridings, elections officials made over 500 serious administrative errors per electoral district on Election Day. Obviously, this is unacceptable.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, the question is based on misinformation. Firstly, the changes we are making to section 17 of the Canada Elections Act will shift Elections Canada's ads to more practical notions such as how, where and when to vote. That is the information that Canadians need, young Canadians in particular.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, the NDP members have not read the Canada Elections Act. Sections 533, 534 and 535 already require the Chief Electoral Officer to testify and submit a report before Parliament, which automatically becomes public. These sections are not being changed in any way in the Fair Elections Act.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, in fact, the member is wrong. Twenty-five per cent of cases where vouching was used resulted in irregularities, according to Elections Canada's own reports. The same reports said that the irregularities were serious in nature. In fact, the Ontario Superior Court invalidated some votes as a result of the irregularities related to vouching.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition could not be further from the truth. In fact, the fair elections act would change section 18 of the Canada Elections Act to shift the advertising function of Elections Canada towards the basics of voting: where, when, and what ID to bring.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, one in six of those cards contains an error, so they are not a secure piece of identification. However, there are 39 other ways for people to identify themselves, including student cards, which is something students have, obviously. We will also require Elections Canada to do a better job of informing people, especially students, about acceptable pieces of identification.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, half of young people were not even aware that they could vote before election day. If they were working or studying on the day the vote was held, they did not have a chance to cast a ballot. The fair elections act would require Elections Canada to better inform young people of all of the voting opportunities available to them.

Fair Elections Act  Even me.

Fair Elections Act  Mr. Speaker, of course, all Canadians who want to testify will be welcome to make submissions to the committee, and those submissions will be considered by the members of that committee. I want to address one important section of the fair elections act, clause 7, which would amend section 18 of the Canada Elections Act, to do the following: The Chief Electoral Officer may provide the public...with information on...: (d) how an elector may establish their identity and residence in order to vote, including the pieces of identification that they may use to that end; Members of the opposition have said that it is not necessary to require that of the CEO of Elections Canada.

Fair Elections Act  I will answer the simple question, Mr. Speaker. The power that the hon. member is asking for is a power that police officers do not have, even when they are investigating far more heinous crimes than the alleged offences that the member across has listed. My question to him, though, is about the issue of illegal loans.