Electoral Reform committee  I don't want my case to become the centre of attention. Currently, the political pluralism in the population is not reflected in Parliament in Ottawa, at the Quebec National Assembly, or in any provincial legislature. I think that's a major problem on a democratic level. The votes are not equal.

Electoral Reform committee  A compensatory mixed-member proportional representation system means that we decide on the number of compensation seats and constituency seats. To properly correct the distortion of constituency seats, there must be a sufficient “bank“ of compensation seats. This must be monitored at the national level and at each sub-level, whatever it may be.

Electoral Reform committee  In what order should we continue? On what same path should we continue?

Electoral Reform committee  Therefore, in our proposals, we suggest financial improvements. Parties would be encouraged to increase the value of their reimbursements. We're not using a punitive framework, but an incentive framework. It can help.

Electoral Reform committee  I will expand your question to include the consultation process. I find it absurd that after almost 30 meetings of this committee, we're only the second group made up exclusively of women. That shouldn't have happened. Your committee should have conducted a gender-based analysis at the start of the process.

Electoral Reform committee  I didn't say it wasn't enough to change the electoral system. I said it was essential to change it and that it was just as essential, at the same time, to have mechanisms to achieve equal representation and inclusion. It's not the same. I don't see how, in the current first past the post system, we can achieve the same results as those we could obtain through the combination of a proportional electoral system and various measures.

Electoral Reform committee  When one woman is elected, we must not assume it will be as easy for others. Structural barriers and obstacles exist. The socio-economic level is statistically lower for woman and racialized people, and for some groups of men in relation to the total population. Therefore, an individual case does not represent the statistics, regardless of your case in particular.

Electoral Reform committee  It's important to send the public the message that we need an egalitarian Parliament that respects and favours political pluralism. That's how we will attract more women candidates who have a profile that is not well-represented at the moment. A change to the voting system is an opportunity to do this, but it needs to be done right the first time.

Electoral Reform committee  A compensatory system with lists would make it possible for a member elected informally via this method—once they are in the National Assembly or Parliament, it would be the same—to bring a specialty to bear. Even if he is not elected for a specific territory, he might have the Aboriginal nations file to deal with.

Electoral Reform committee  Definitely, because it would provide an additional incentive. In Quebec, the voting system reforms sought by Mouvement Démocratie Nouvelle were financial in nature as well. They, too, called for an increase in the annual allowance for parties, which was based on the number of votes.

Electoral Reform committee  No. What's important is that we ensure that society's fundamental components are represented; that they not only have the right to vote, but also the right to represent and be represented. When I used the term "right", it's understood that there is no rule that prevents this, but that there are obstacles that interfere.

Electoral Reform committee  Naturally, we will not be deciding the shape of the electoral map for the entire country in this committee, but it would make sense for Canada to have a subdivision—certainly by province, but possibly also by administrative region, or something similar to that. This would make sure, not only with regard to racialized persons—as a group, rather than one by one or any culture in particular—that the system would be aligned with the demographics, with their territorial presence, for allocation purposes.

Electoral Reform committee  There are several aspects. I don't know the source of the information the specialist you met with yesterday shared with you.

Electoral Reform committee  Okay. The people from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, from AceProject and from Quota Project say the same thing as me. They are international institutions that monitor the scores obtained by the various parties. There is a great deal of surveillance worldwide on the subject. The evidence is copious.

Electoral Reform committee  The mechanisms I mentioned should not be established outside the proportional voting system; they should be set up within it. It is all the more important that the Committee's findings include thoughts to the effect that, when changing the voting system, the mechanisms that will make it possible to achieve society's principles of equality and inclusion should immediately be made part of the system.