Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think the Green Party would be satisfied with any rule that was clear. Let's say the rule was that a political party has to have at least 5% of the national vote to be at the next leaders debate. I think the Green Party would be prepared to accept that because now that 5% becom

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The last time? I can't recall.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes and no. Let's say the criteria was 2%. By the way, the Green Party would still be the last party that meets that criteria.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think even at 1% we'd still be the only one to qualify.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Right, my apologies. I think it has to be fair that some kind of criteria should be established, and I think that democracy and an electoral system need to be resilient enough to say if there is a movement or a party that is coming forward that is getting a lot of populist inte

Procedure and House Affairs committee  We've discussed through this bill and through many bills prior all the different rules around elections: spending, advertising, whether the government can advertise, third parties, and political parties, yet still there are no rules on governing the leaders debate. All of us can

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'll speak as a voter, not only as a member of a political party. Technology is useful because we want to have results quickly and things done efficiently, but the maintaining of the paper ballot is also vital. If ever there's any doubt, any question, into the legitimacy of any e

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Especially my grandmother....

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes. Elizabeth May has put forward a private member's bill to do precisely that. We see it as very useful. Think back to when you were 16 years old, about to graduate from high school before the next federal election. To cast your vote that first time, before you left home, befor

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think it's actually in the Constitution, if I'm not incorrect, that anyone who is eligible to vote is eligible to run.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I can't see disconnecting them as being just.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  What is the right age is a difficult question to ask. I imagine some of us would say sarcastically that we know full-grown adults who perhaps shouldn't vote because they have not gone through the effort to get informed on the electoral process. You can't write a test to pass whet

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Personally, I think quantifying volunteering is not in the interests of democracy, let alone putting a limit on how much personal time someone wants to put into an election. If you really have to break it down, there are theories of economics that say the only currency that matte

Procedure and House Affairs committee  In June 2011, the Conservative Party of Canada was hacked. Their donor database, with addresses and email addresses, was exposed. This has happened—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  No, this is the “hash brown” scandal. I'm trying to remember the name of the hacker. It's something unpronounceable.