Statements and Speeches

Mr. Jean-Pierre Kingsley (Chief Electoral Officer of Canada): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I wish to thank the members of the Committee for this opportunity to present my report on the 37th general election and to respond to the questions of the Committee. The report itself was tabled officially in Parliament, through the Speaker, on Monday, March 19.

I am accompanied by Patricia Hassard, Assistant Chief Electoral Officer, Janice Vézina, Director of Election Financing, Diane Davidson, Director of Legal Services, Rennie Molnar, Director of Register and Geography, and Luc Dumont, Director of Operations.

When I appeared before you last, on March 1, I answered questions on the 37th general election that mostly dealt with the National Register of Electors. Some of your questions, however, require a follow-up. I intend to address them, together with any matter left unanswered today, in a letter after this appearance.

The 37th general election was very much a new beginning: the new Canada Elections Act introduced a number of substantial changes in the way elections are conducted. This was the first general election that was not immediately preceded by a door-to-door enumeration.

Since election day, we have focused our attention on a comprehensive post-election evaluation. In particular, we consulted with returning officers, political parties and candidates. We know there are many lessons to be learned from our experience in this general election, and we intend to take full advantage of them. I will be submitting my recommendations to Parliament on suggested improvements to the legislation in a separate report, once a full evaluation of the election has been completed. I expect this report will be ready in the fall of this year, at which time I may be called before this Committee, if you so wish.

Among the various changes for this election, the discontinuance of generalized door-to-door enumeration in favour of the National Register of Electors had the largest impact on voters and all other participants. As a result, the revision of elector information on voters lists has become an even more important activity in the electoral process. All participants learned valuable lessons, including the need to improve the quality of lists in the future, as well as the need to gear up for the important number of revisions required to update the lists, no matter how good they are initially.

We are already working on a number of measures, including an agreement with the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, with which the Privacy Commissioner’s staff has agreed in principle, to allow tax filers to authorize their addition to the Register when filing their income tax returns. At present, as I discussed with you last time, we can only update the addresses of voters who are already registered through that process.

This practice alone would add an estimated 275 000 voters a year to the Register – 225 000 of them being young voters. And by the way, we’ve already resumed updating our REVISE software to remove the names of everyone who moves to a new address during the election itself, as opposed to only those who move within the riding.

In addition to the Register, there were several other significant changes for this election. The nomination process for candidates was changed significantly. For the first time, returning officers had to verify that each candidate’s nomination papers carried the required number of signatures, and that these signatures were those of electors from the electoral district in which the candidate was running. Returning officers had 48 hours to do so, and we sent them instructions on how to proceed. In all, four candidates’ nomination papers were rejected by returning officers because they did not have a sufficient number of valid signatures. I intend to address this matter in my recommendations in the fall.

Election advertising by third parties, which are individuals or groups other than candidates and political parties, was subject to spending limits, and third parties that spent more than $500 in election advertising had to register with my Office. The provisions on third parties were challenged in court shortly after the new Canada Elections Act came into force.

While the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta has yet to render its decision on the merits of the case, it granted an injunction at the start of the election period which prevented us from enforcing the third-party spending limits. All other provisions remained in force, something we have a tendency to forget, notably the requirement to register, and to report on election advertising expenditures as well as on contributions received for election advertising. The injunction was upheld by the Alberta Court of Appeal but was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada. Consequently, the limits did apply for the last part of the election period, following the court’s decision.

There were also new provisions on the election advertising blackout period. There is now a single blackout period; it is limited to election day until the close of polls, and it applies equally to candidates, political parties and third parties. The same election day blackout applies to the publication of new election survey results.

For the first time, there were rules requiring the disclosure of information to the public on the methodology of election surveys, in order to allow voters to assess for themselves the accuracy and significance of survey results.

When considering the new Canada Elections Act, commonly referred to as C-2, the Standing Committee, this one, identified a need for greater flexibility and discretion in enforcing the Act. Accordingly, the Commissioner of Canada Elections was given new powers to seek injunctions to stop or prevent the possible commission of an offence under the Canada Elections Act during an election period. The Commissioner’s new powers also included enforcing the Act by way of compliance agreements.

Finally, the new election financing provisions mean that political parties, candidates and third parties are subject to detailed reporting requirements. In fact, today, four months after election day, is the deadline for candidates and third parties to file their reports. This morning, I received more than 70 justified requests for late filing of reports.

My statutory report contains a full description of how the election unfolded, but there is one specific point which I would like to reiterate, and that concerns the late opening of a number of polling stations on election day. Out of the 56 822 polling stations available to voters, some 120 stations in 14 ridings did not open on schedule. Most of these opened within an hour, but in the riding of St. Paul’s, Ontario, several remained closed longer. In that riding, a different approach to the recruitment and training of poll workers contributed to the problem. We will take the necessary measures to prevent this unacceptable event from recurring in the future.

We are now completing a comprehensive post-election evaluation, and participating in a new edition of the Canadian Election Study, being done by academics, and in a study on increasing the participation rate of young electors in federal elections. Even before all the results come in, though, there are a number of points that will be part of our future plans.

First and foremost, we will invest considerable effort in the Register. In light of the growing complexity of their task, we will also develop closer contacts with the returning officers between elections, to ensure that our lists and electoral maps benefit from their local knowledge and experience on an ongoing basis. We have already provided returning officers with computer communication tools to that end.

I am prepared to provide you with reports and to appear before this Committee periodically and regularly, to brief you on progress achieved in improving our systems. In addition, I would like to reiterate my availability to meet with parliamentary caucuses and parliamentarians to discuss all election-related matters of interest to them. In fact, I have already had the opportunity to meet with the New Democratic Party caucus.

We will continue to keep political parties informed and to consult them through the Advisory Committee of Political Parties. In my view, the establishment of this Committee has proven to be one of the most beneficial measures in improving the electoral process. I am thankful to this Committee for proposing it and I would welcome any other proposal the Committee may wish to make.

I trust that my report will be useful to the Standing Committee in its review of the last general election as well as its consideration of future opportunities to enhance our electoral system.

My colleagues and I will gladly answer your questions.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.