Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, I recommend that the hon. member read the Director of Public Prosecutions Act. If he did, he would know that he and every single member of the House has the responsibility to vote on removing a Director of Public Prosecutions. The government cannot fire him by itself

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, the Fair Elections Act will allow donations of small amounts and will exclude those from the wealthiest. We will also eliminate the practice of using unpaid loans to get around donation rules. I want to add that a small increase in the limits will enable small donor

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, in addition to the measures mentioned, the hon. member should be happy to hear that the bill would also crack down on voter fraud by removing the use of vouching and voter information cards. It would make rules easier to follow for all. It would allow small donatio

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, the former minister of democratic reform did a terrific job. This excellent legislation to bring fair elections in Canada would not be possible without the hard work of he and his staff. He continues to serve all Canadians as the Minister for Multiculturalism. In th

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, the fair elections act will protect voters from rogue calls and impersonation. We will do that with a mandatory public registry for mass calling, prison time for impersonating Elections Canada officials, and harsher penalties for deceiving people ou

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, I do not know why the member is trumpeting his plan to impose just monetary fines. In fact, the fair elections act would impose prison time for election fraud, which goes much further. We will ensure that the election watchdog, the commissioner, has sharper teeth,

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, when someone lies about their identity or residence in order to vote illegally, they are stealing or cancelling out another person's vote. That is an attack on honest Canadians who are trying to have a legitimate influence within our voting system. Some identificati

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, Election Canada's own reports show that the majority of people who do not vote do so for a practical reason. They do not have the information or they are too busy. That is why the fair elections act will enable people to vote another day. The information provided wil

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, the member should have started by reading the motion that he voted for and that he trumpets on the floor of the House of Commons today. What it actually says is that the government should give the power to Elections Canada to request documents from political partie

Democratic Reform  Mr. Speaker, certainly the wrong way to start discussions is to do what the member did, which was to walk out and announce his opposition to a bill that he admitted he had not even read. As for consultations, I did meet with the Chief Electoral Officer, on August 22, for about

Canada Elections Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-23, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and other Acts and to make consequential amendments to certain Acts. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Elections Canada  Mr. Speaker, I do not know why the member wants to ask questions based on facts that are not true. The truth is that I had an excellent meeting with the CEO of Elections Canada, and I read his reports thoroughly before we drafted the bill that will be introduced.

Elections Canada  Mr. Speaker, the fair elections bill will keep everyday Canadians in charge of democracy by putting special interests on the sidelines and pushing rule breakers out of the game altogether. It will close loopholes to big money, and it will give law enforcement sharper teeth, a lo

Elections Canada  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's question is false. I did meet with the CEO of Elections Canada some time ago, and we had a terrific and a very long meeting, at which I listened carefully to all of his ideas. The fair elections act would keep everyday citizens in charge of democrac

Elections Canada  Mr. Speaker, the bill that the member mentioned will be introduced in time for implementation before the next election.