Procedure and House Affairs committee  We have advanced our contingencies in that regard. We haven't done any public activities to suggest that we are actually getting ready, so that's why I insisted at the time—and would insist again today—that we needed six months' notice.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  There are several procurement activities, for example, that need to take place. Otherwise, we continue to refine what I call a contingency plan, describing in more detail what needs to be done if we were to run a referendum—by the spring, I guess.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Again, we have just identified the tasks to be performed, but we have not actually started to carry out those tasks. First we need to update the regulation under the Referendum Act. That's the very first thing that needs to be done, because that sets out the specific tasks and t

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We would need to have it in place very early on, when the notice is given, because it's a key instrument that determines what will go into the manuals for the training of poll officials.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Given the time, I think that would be the likely approach. To the extent that the tasks are similar under an election or a referendum, we would propose the same tariff. Again, unless there are changes to the Referendum Act, it would be carried very much in the same framework as a

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think there are two elements there. The regime for the administrative penalty is designed to ensure better compliance, and better compliance not for the sake of compliance but for the sake of ensuring transparency and consistency in the administration of the law. With regard

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think it would. That's one of the reasons for such a regime. I think it would be much quicker than relying on the criminal system, because we're talking here about an essentially administrative process. It involves elements of due process, of course, but it would be much quicke

Procedure and House Affairs committee  First of all, there's the evidence over the last two general elections, in 2011 and 2015. For those elections we had advance polls, in one case on an Easter weekend and in the latest example on a Thanksgiving weekend. On both occasions we saw a record turnout for advance polls, a

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Well, that's an option that I leave to your consideration. I didn't put it formally in the report, but it's certainly an option. Some countries have a statutory holiday.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  There are 80 countries around the world. About a dozen of them have it on Saturday and the rest on Sunday. I could provide the list to the committee.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Absolutely, yes.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We have evidence from the labour force survey conducted by Statistics Canada in October, right after the election. It showed that roughly 170,000 electors did not vote because of issues regarding their ability to establish their identity, mostly for lack of an address. It's inter

Procedure and House Affairs committee  There is a recommendation in the report that seeks to expand our education mandate, which is currently limited to those under the voting age. I think there are groups of eligible electors who face particular barriers whom we need to reach, particularly during the election but als

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good morning. I am very pleased to be here today to present my recommendations for improving the administration of the Canada Elections Act. The changes proposed in the report aim at building a more modern and inclusive electoral framework. I believe th

Electoral Reform committee  Again, it's an ongoing challenge for Elections Canada. Mind you, there has been progress. I think we need to take stock of things. The participation rate of first nations has increased consistently over the last several elections, and it's progressively closing the gap with the r