Procedure and House Affairs committee  The proposal in the legislation is to extend the hours of advance polling from nine to nine. It has more in mind, I think, to provide a little more flexibility to the adults who have day jobs. You're quite right. Advance polling has been a big success story in recent years in ge

Procedure and House Affairs committee  A couple of things in the proposed legislation address that issue. One of them is more flexibility on the part of Elections Canada to deploy their staff more effectively. There are a lot of hidebound rules in the current legislation; people can do some things but not others. The

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Exactly.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It's June 30.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Next election year.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  History would tell you that you wouldn't get to the fixed election date.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'm just trying to help. If the government were to fall prior to the fixed election date, you would run under the regular rules, so there would be no pre-election period. It would not be possible to set up because you wouldn't know in advance when the government was going to fall

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  You're correct, Mr. Reid. The provision around the 50-day maximum would not apply, either.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  No, it's simply a 50-day maximum.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  No, just what Mr. Richards said, that in the nine months proceeding the fixed-date election you could not call a by-election.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'm just checking. Manon simply adds that the 50-day maximum also applies to the by-election.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  As you know, the Prime Minister has 180 days to call a by-election. If he were to call the by-election before royal assent, then the new legislation would not apply. If he were to call it after, then it would apply.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I want to make sure, and I'll look to Manon on this. In your scenario, the Prime Minister has not initiated the action to call the by-election. Am I understanding that correctly?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Just what would apply.