PROC Committee Report

Clause 1

That Bill C-19, in Clause 1, be amended by adding after line 6 on page 2 the following:

“(2) Section 17 is to be read as including the following after subsection (2):

(2.1) The Chief Electoral Officer shall not prohibit the presence of candidates at polling stations or advance polling stations or, in their absence, the presence of a representative acting on a candidate’s behalf.”

That Bill C-19, in Clause 1, be amended by adding after line 6 on page 2 the following:

“(2) Section 17 is to be read as including the following after subsection (2):

(2.1) The Chief Electoral Officer shall not authorize alternative voting processes or voting technology that allows electors to vote, or ballots to be counted, by telephone, Internet or other electronic means.”

That Bill C-19, in Clause 1, be amended by adding after line 6 on page 2 the following:

“Electronic Signatures for Nomination Papers

558.1 Section 66 is to be read as including the following after subsection (4):

(5) Subject to the instructions of the Chief Electoral Officer, a requirement under paragraphs (1)(e) to (g) for a signature is satisfied by an electronic signature.

(6) The Chief Electoral Officer may make instructions

(a) respecting, for the purposes of subsection (5), the use of electronic signatures; and

(b) adapting paragraph (1)(e) or (f) with respect to the requirement for a witness to a signature referred to in those paragraphs if an electronic signature is used, based on the security features of the electronic signature, including by waiving that requirement.

(7) The Chief Electoral Officer shall publish the instructions made under subsection (6) on the Chief Electoral Officer’s Internet site within two days after the day on which the writs are issued.”

That Bill C-19, in Clause 1, be amended by adding after line 6 on page 2 the following:

“Signatures of Electors Resident in the Electoral District on Nomination Papers

558.1 Paragraphs 66(1)(e) and (f) are to be read as follows:

(e) for any electoral district except one listed in Schedule 3, the names, addresses and signatures, made in the presence of a witness, of at least 50 electors resident in the electoral district;

(f) for an electoral district listed in Schedule 3, the names, addresses and signatures, made in the presence of a witness, of at least 25 electors resident in the electoral district;”

Clause 4

That Bill C-19, in Clause 4, be amended by replacing, in the English version, lines 6 and 7 on page 12 with the following:

“riod and is received at the office of that returning officer no later than 6:00”

Clause 5

That Bill C-19, in Clause 5, be amended by adding after line 23 on page 17 the following:

“589.1 Division 4 of Part 11 is to be read as including the following after section 232:

232.1 (1) An elector may obtain an application for registration and special ballot at any post office in Canada.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Chief Electoral Officer shall provide the Canada Post Corporation with applications for registration and special ballot and information for the public about voting under this Division.”

That Bill C-19, in Clause 5, be amended by adding after line 12 on page 19 the following:

“592.1 Division 4 of Part 11 is to be read as including the following after section 243.1:

243.2 (1) The Chief Electoral Officer shall inform post-secondary educational institutions that offices for voting by special ballot may be established on their premises.

(2) A returning officer shall establish an office for voting by special ballot on the premises of a post-secondary educational institution in that returning officer’s electoral district if

(a) an office for voting by special ballot was established on its premises for the 2019 general election and the institution agrees to the establishment of the office; or

(b) the institution requests the establishment of an office for voting by special ballot on its premises and the returning officer is of the opinion that an office may be established for that purpose.

(3) An elector who applies in person to vote at an office established under subsection (2) shall be given a special ballot and may vote by following the procedure for voting by special ballot and return the outer envelope to an election officer at such an office.

(4) An elector who has received a special ballot, other than an elector referred to in subsection (3), may vote in person at an office established under subsection (2) by following the procedure for voting by special ballot and return their outer envelope to an election officer at that office.

(5) An office established under subsection (2) may be open during the period that begins on the 18th day before the first day of the polling period and ends at 6:00 p.m. on the 6th day before the first day of the polling period, but the office is not to be open for a total of more than 28 hours during that period.

(6) For the purposes of this section, an office established under subsection (2) in an electoral district is deemed to be the office of the returning officer in that electoral district.

(7) For the purposes of this section, the Chief Electoral Officer may issue any instructions that the Chief Electoral Officer considers necessary in order to execute its purposes.”