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Results: 91 - 105 of 244
View Julie Dzerowicz Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Julie Dzerowicz Profile
2021-05-10 13:54 [p.6949]
Madam Speaker, I am not quite sure I understood the question. I believe the member is saying that the provision of us being able to count the ballots after the election date and that the bill would allow for that to happen is not necessarily needed.
I really trust that the Chief Electoral Officer has done some consultations and that he has talked to a number of groups, both nationally and internationally, about some of the best practices and provisions that should be contained in this bill. I have a lot of confidence in the recommendations that have been made and are now included in Bill C-19.
This is why I am anxious to get this bill to committee. If there are some things that we might want to modify, they should be considered at committee. I know I would be open to any provisions that might make this bill clearer and ensure the safety of any—
View Louise Chabot Profile
BQ (QC)
View Louise Chabot Profile
2021-05-10 13:55 [p.6949]
Madam Speaker, my understanding is that my colleague supports this bill as written and is in a hurry. I am not saying anyone is dismissing the safety issues that we all agree on, but it feels like haste is becoming the norm. We cannot help but wonder why she seems so keen for the government to use time allocation.
I have a question for my colleague. Bill C-19 is your government's initiative. It did not come about because of the findings in a committee report or the Chief Electoral Officer's initial recommendations. How do you plan to deal with the committee members' opinion?
View Julie Dzerowicz Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Julie Dzerowicz Profile
2021-05-10 13:57 [p.6950]
Madam Speaker, I will respond this way. There is a lot of very important business that Parliament needs to consider between now and when we rise for the summer, at the end of June. It is absolutely important for us to pass legislation that has had some careful consideration by the Chief Electoral Officer and our government. I have a lot of confidence in the bill and in the measures we have in place. It would be responsible for us to move the bill as quickly as possible to committee to ensure that if there is anything we need to add to it, we do so there. If not, we should pass this bill as swiftly as possible.
View Peter Julian Profile
NDP (BC)
Madam Speaker, I appreciate working with my colleague for Davenport on the finance committee. We certainly agree that there are provisions that absolutely need to be put in place given the pandemic we are all living through. She made some good points in her speech, but she left out the key part that has made this bill much more controversial than it normally would be. That is the fact that when the Liberals brought the bill forward, they also started their pre-election campaign. The Prime Minister and Liberals were campaigning openly. The third wave has pushed that back, but Liberals have not come clean with the Canadian public.
Can my colleague for Davenport now say very clearly, in a way that all Canadians will understand, that the Prime Minister will not call an election during this pandemic?
View Julie Dzerowicz Profile
Lib. (ON)
View Julie Dzerowicz Profile
2021-05-10 13:59 [p.6950]
Madam Speaker, I will say what I said during my speech. The only election date that is in my mind is an election date four years after the last election, which is October 2023. Canadians want us to govern and that is what we are trying to do. This bill is the responsible thing to do in the unlikely event that an election is called during a pandemic.
View Michael Barrett Profile
CPC (ON)
Mr. Speaker, in a riding that has been decided by fewer than 50 votes in recent years, the member for Winnipeg North was found guilty of breaking elections law for running illegal ads on election day, influencing the vote of some 35,000 people on their way to the polls. It is completely inappropriate for this same member to be the parliamentary secretary in charge of changing Canada's election laws for all candidates in 338 ridings across the country, when he cannot be bothered to follow our existing laws.
Canadians expect our elections to be the global standard for unquestionable integrity. How can the government be trusted to ensure the integrity of our elections and have the best interests for Canadians at the front of mind when they will recklessly break current laws for their own benefit?
Canadians deserve better. The Liberals break the law whenever they think they can get away with it because they believe they are above the rules that the rest of us follow. A Conservative government would bring back ethics and good governance to Parliament Hill and restore Canadians' confidence in their public institutions.
View Alain Therrien Profile
BQ (QC)
View Alain Therrien Profile
2021-05-10 14:24 [p.6954]
Mr. Speaker, I am very concerned that the government is imposing a gag order to amend election rules in the middle of a pandemic.
The government introduced Bill C-19 four months ago. We have had four months to debate it, but the bill has suddenly become important today. The government is waking up. All of a sudden, there is no time to debate or even reflect. The government quite simply wants to use a gag order so that it can impose its election rules.
This bill sat around for four months, so why is it suddenly so urgent to use a gag order now? Is it because the government wants to call an election in the middle of a pandemic?
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
Lib. (NB)
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
2021-05-10 14:26 [p.6955]
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from La Prairie for his question.
My Bloc Québécois colleague is well aware that the government is fully focused on providing the assistance required to protect Canadians during the pandemic. That is why, throughout this pandemic, we have taken the time in the House of Commons to implement measures that provide direct support to Canadians. We also believe that when the Chief Electoral Officer asked Parliament in October—
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
Lib. (NB)
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
2021-05-10 14:27 [p.6955]
Mr. Speaker, I promise that this answer will be just as good as the first one, just like it was a good question.
My Bloc Québécois colleague is well aware that the government is fully focused on providing the assistance required to protect Canadians during the pandemic. However, we also thought it was a good idea to respond to the report of the Chief Electoral Officer, who asked Parliament in October to introduce temporary amendments to the Canada Elections Act to ensure that an election could be held during the pandemic. That is what we are doing.
View Alain Therrien Profile
BQ (QC)
View Alain Therrien Profile
2021-05-10 14:28 [p.6955]
Mr. Speaker, the best way to manage an election during a pandemic is to not hold an election.
By imposing a gag order on Bill C-19, the government is announcing that it not only wants an election but that it wants one as soon as possible. No one, except the government, thinks it is a good idea to have an election during a pandemic. More importantly, no one wants the rules of a pandemic election to be imposed by a government without any discussion. The Liberals are attacking the very heart of our democracy.
Does the government realize that voters' health is at risk?
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
Lib. (NB)
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
2021-05-10 14:28 [p.6955]
Mr. Speaker, we do realize that. That is why we are asking parliamentarians to consider Bill C-19 in committee. With regard to the idea that a minority government could impose legislation on Parliament, I think that my colleague, who has quite a bit of experience, knows that we would need the consent of the other parties to move forward with such a bill.
My colleague is the one who is about to trigger an election by continually voting no confidence in the government. That is something we have not done until now.
View Emmanuella Lambropoulos Profile
Lib. (QC)
View Emmanuella Lambropoulos Profile
2021-05-10 18:45 [p.6994]
Mr. Speaker, thank you for allowing me the time this afternoon to speak to Bill C-19, an act to amend the Canada Elections Act, COVID-19 response.
For obvious reasons, I think this is an important bill that should be taken very seriously for the health and safety of Canadians. For over a year now, we have been dealing with a pandemic, and despite how long we have lived with it, we still do not know enough about this virus.
We are making progress in Quebec, where the numbers are down. The lockdown could be lifted soon, perhaps in the summer. If Quebeckers are lucky, they could return to a more or less normal life like last summer. However, in other provinces, like Ontario, the situation is less positive. There are variants circulating that make COVID more contagious. Fortunately, more and more people are getting vaccinated. That is great, but the truth is, we do not know how long the immunity will last.
That is why we must implement measures to protect Canadians. If possible, we must find ways to avoid endangering the public. For these reasons, I am happy to speak to Bill C-19, as it is an important initiative that will help Elections Canada hold an election safely if necessary during the current pandemic.
Worldwide, it has been more than a year now that events have been cancelled, a necessary measure to keep the public safe. Since we do not know how long this situation will last, we must find ways to ensure the health of our democratic institutions. If a general election were to be held, it would have to happen in a way that is safe for everyone, including electors, volunteers and election officials.
While the need for physical distancing and other public health measures resulted in the postponement of elections at the provincial and municipal levels in some provinces last year, we have realized that, because so little is known about how long we will be in this situation of living with the pandemic, we must find solutions rather than postpone. In a democracy such as Canada, it is important to give the population the right to choose its government and representatives when the time comes to do so.
We can no longer indefinitely postpone elections. Instead, we must make the necessary changes and adapt to our current reality so as to protect Canadians and also the health of our democratic institutions. Some elections have been held worldwide since the start of the pandemic, and efforts have been made to put strict public health measures in place, such as requiring people to wear masks and practice physical distancing, or providing hand sanitizer or disposable gloves to voters.
Bill C-19 would add a new part to the Canada Elections Act that would further protect Canadians in the context of an election. This new part would include extending the Chief Electoral Officer's power to adapt the provisions of the act to ensure the health and safety of electors and election officers; authorizing a returning officer to constitute polling divisions that consist of a single institution where seniors or persons with disabilities reside, or a part of such an institution, and to set the days and hours a polling station would be open; providing for a polling period of three consecutive days, consisting of a Saturday, Sunday and Monday; providing for the hours of voting during the polling period; providing for the opening and closing measures at polling stations; setting the days for voting at advance polling stations; authorizing the Chief Electoral Officer to modify the day on which certain things are authorized, or required to be done, before the polling period by moving that day backward or forward by up to two days, or the starting date or ending date of a period in which certain things are authorized, or required to be done, by up to two days; providing that an elector may submit an application for registration and special ballot under division 4 of part 11 in written or electronic form; and providing that an elector whose application for registration and special ballot were accepted by the returning officer in their electoral district may deposit the outer envelope containing their special ballot in a secure reception box.
This would allow some flexibility to the Chief Electoral Officer to make changes, as he or she sees fit, that would better protect Canadians. It would make voting more accessible to seniors and people living with disabilities, who would have more of an opportunity to have polling stations within the buildings where they reside. Furthermore, more Canadians would have access to mailing in their ballots. This may be a great option for many vulnerable Canadians who are at higher risk of getting sick, or even for Canadians who are afraid of going to polling stations and would prefer not to do so.
Elections Canada estimates that up to five million electors could choose to vote by mail if the election had to be held during the pandemic. To meet this demand, Bill C-19 provides for the installation of secure reception boxes to receive online applications for mail-in ballots and would allow identification numbers to be accepted as proof of identity for these applications.
Furthermore, it would allow electors who have requested a mail-in ballot to change their minds and subsequently vote in person. Certain conditions are attached to this measure to protect the integrity of the electoral system.
We have to understand that in the context of the current pandemic many Canadians will prefer to vote using the mail-in options. The mail-in vote measures outlined in the bill are designed to strengthen a mail-in vote system that is expected to see a significant surge in electors opting to vote in this manner. The overall goal is to facilitate the use of this voting method for Canadians who may not feel safe to show up at the polling station in person. Electors would have the option of using an identification number rather than a copy of their ID to establish their identity and residence when registering to vote by mail.
Furthermore, extending the voting period from one day to three days would allow Canadians more flexibility as to when to go vote, which would allow for less gathering to take place at a given polling station. After having lived with physical distancing for over a year now, I am sure we can all see the reason behind extending the voting period.
With regard to long-term care considerations, the federal government recognizes that our most vulnerable Canadians should be able to exercise their right to vote in a safe way that does not endanger their health in any way. Bill C-19 proposes specific measures to ensure we protect the right to participate in the democratic process while allowing them to do so in a healthy and safe environment.
Specifically, it would provide a 13-day period during which election workers can safely deliver the vote to residents of these facilities. The period would provide election staff with enough time to determine, along with employees of these facilities, specific dates during which the vote can be safely delivered. Furthermore, it would allow election workers to create polling stations even on certain floors within a given building in recognition of hot spots or quarantine areas that have been established across these many facilities.
In short, this bill would make elections safer for Canadians. It is important to remember that elections can occur at any time when there is a minority government. We must take precautions to protect Canadians in the event that an election is called.
As I mentioned earlier, we do not know when this pandemic will be over. If it lasts longer and there is a fourth or fifth wave after this one, we will not have a choice about holding an election during the pandemic. Let us do the right thing and make elections safer for Canadians.
Let us vote in favour of this bill to ensure if there are elections held during this pandemic, even though all of us do not want it to be case, we can do so in a safe way. Hopefully we will be over this pandemic soon enough and before the next election.
View Damien Kurek Profile
CPC (AB)
View Damien Kurek Profile
2021-05-10 18:54 [p.6996]
Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of discussion today about the idea of a sunset clause. I know certain members of the Liberal Party have taken shots at the Conservatives, saying it is clear that it is in section 11 of the bill. I read the bill quite extensively and followed some of the experts who examined it, and the problem is that it lacks clarity and democracy, among many other things.
Specifically, this place being the custodian of Canada's democratic infrastructure, clarity is such a vital part of ensuring elections are held with certainty for Canadians. Could the member opposite maybe add some clarity to what supposedly is the sunset clause? I certainly do not see it being that in section 11 of the bill.
View Emmanuella Lambropoulos Profile
Lib. (QC)
View Emmanuella Lambropoulos Profile
2021-05-10 18:56 [p.6996]
Mr. Speaker, I agree that clarity is extremely important when discussing these bills and putting them into law. It is absolutely important the members on the committee take these comments into consideration. It is being sent to committee, so hopefully members of all parties can discuss and try to improve the bill even further before we vote on it.
View Alain Therrien Profile
BQ (QC)
View Alain Therrien Profile
2021-05-10 18:56 [p.6996]
Mr. Speaker, I will read a quote from the member for Winnipeg North. In 2014, after closure was imposed on debate of the Canada Elections Act, he stated:
Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the member could provide comment on the fact that the Elections Act and the Parliament of Canada Act are fundamental to our democracy, and changes to them must be achieved by a broad consensus and backed by solid evidence.
Could the member comment on that?
Results: 91 - 105 of 244 | Page: 7 of 17

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