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Meeting Summary – General Meeting – December 4–5, 2014

Introductory Remarks and ACPP Terms of Reference

Belaineh Deguefé, Deputy Chief Electoral Officer (DCEO), Integrated Services, Policy and Public Affairs, welcomed members on behalf of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Marc Mayrand, who was attending an event at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Mr. Deguefé chaired the first day of the ACPP meeting; the CEO chaired the second day.

The DCEO noted that some leaders of political parties had not yet confirmed their official delegates and gave an overview of the ACPP to new members.

A revised version of the ACPP terms of reference was presented and political parties were thanked for their input. The feedback provided by parties mainly focused on the application of Chatham House Rule and the desire to seek a balance between the transparency of the proceedings and the need for an environment conducive to open and frank debate. ACPP meetings are open to designated representatives from political parties and Elections Canada (EC); deliberations will be under Chatham House Rule and summaries of proceedings will be provided to members and posted on EC's website.

Regarding the presence of observers from political parties at the meetings, it was noted that EC would facilitate this as much as possible on an ongoing basis, but this is not included in the terms of reference. EC will cover the costs of official members only. It was also mentioned that the ACPP is for registered political parties only and does not include independent candidates. There was unanimous support of the establishment of the OGI Steering Committee with one member from each political party.