Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, I will repeat what Mr. Manning said. I have them here in front of me. This legislation, which is a commendable democratic initiative, seeks to eliminate those practices—robo-calling, misuse of the vouching provision, misuse of election contributions, etc.—which di

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, according to the current elections act, the first and second parties have the power to nominate election officers in all ridings across Canada. For example, the revising agents, in section 33; deputy returning officers, in section 34; poll clerks, in section 35; reg

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, of course, we welcome Mr. Manning's comments, also in their entirety, which I will read. This legislation, which is a commendable democratic initiative, seeks to eliminate those practices—robo-calling, misuse of...vouching..., misuse of election contributions, etc.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, it is too bad that the NDP has taken such a partisan approach to this bill. They announced their opposition to the fair elections act before they even read a single word of it. If they had read it, they would know that the bill gives more power to investigators, imp

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, according to the former chief electoral officer, the bill is an A minus. The committee, of which all parties have some membership, can work together to turn it into an A plus. As to the issue of the investigator, he is the watchdog, and the fair elections act would

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, one of the reforms in the fair elections act will create a registry of automated calls or mass dialling of voters. This will enable authorities to monitor calls and will provide evidence to investigators, should allegations be made. This will all be put on a list.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, if the member wants people to provide input on the fair elections act, then he should simply put together a list of witnesses he wants to have testify on that very act. The committee in question would then take into consideration their ideas and consider the amendmen

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, the member talks about partisanship, which is why I regret so much that his party has taken such a partisan approach to this bill. NDP members announced before they even read the bill that they were opposed to it simply because it came from a different party. That

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, we have already conducted consultations and will continue to do so. The fair elections act will ensure that political power stays in the hands of average Canadians by preventing special interest groups from wielding power and preventing violations of the law. It giv

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, that is clearly the work of a committee. We will hear witnesses and will agree to worthwhile amendments. Earlier, the leader of the NDP suggested that it was somehow unusual that the investigator would contact the subject of an investigation. This is what the curren

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, I think she is speaking about the voter contact registry, which will require anyone making an automated or mass call to make, for the first time ever, a formal registry with the CRTC. That would provide data that investigators could rely upon in the event there are a

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, the causal link is actually with the misdirection of the publicity away from the basic information that people need to cast their ballots. According to Elections Canada's own information, 60% of people who do not vote fail to do so because of everyday life issues, su

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, actually, the ones that were done for the satirical show were real examples, for which Elections Canada had to sign compliance agreements with the violators who undertook them. They called it Elections Canada's 2 for 1 voting special. Each of them received two voting

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, this provision already exists for other officers of Parliament who work independently of Parliament and have to investigate both Canadians and politicians. This provision is normal and already exists in the legislation.

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, the fact that a comedy show could execute this kind of fraud is evidence of how easy it is to carry it out. He makes a joke out of the whole process when he refuses to acknowledge what Elections Canada said, that there are errors with one in six cases of voter inform