PROC Committee Report

SUPPLEMENTARY OPINION OF BLOC QUÉBÉCOIS

In this period of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the context of a minority government, it is clear that a federal election could be called at any time during the coming months. Faced with this eventuality, it is essential to ensure that a federal election can be held in a safe manner, in compliance with the rules and directives established by Québec’s and provinces’ public health authorities. Both voters’ health and fundamental right to vote should then be protected.

From the outset, the Bloc Québécois deplores the fact that the Liberal government has already tabled a bill to amend the Canada Elections Act in response to COVID-19 before tabling this report. The Bloc Québécois maintains that the government should have, at the very least, informed the Committee that it was already working on the bill and taken into consideration the opinions of the members of the Committee. This would have demonstrated basic respect for the witnesses who so generously appeared before the Committee, for the members of the Committee itself, as well as for the staff of the House of Commons who worked hard to carry out this study.

This once again confirms that the Liberal government, although in a minority position, is trying to conduct its work without considering other parliamentarians who nevertheless represent a majority of Quebeckers and Canadians.

Regarding this report, the Bloc Québécois agrees with most of the Committee's recommendations but believes that certain issues deserve to be put forward.

During the Committee's deliberations, Stéphane Perrault, Chief Electoral Officer of Canada (CEO), gave an enlightening testimony on the fact that the Canada Elections Act (Act), in its current version, allows various mechanisms to modify certain electoral procedures in response to the pandemic. However, in order to reduce the risks for the voters in the event of a federal election being called, the powers granted to the CEO by the Act are not sufficient to make all necessary changes.

In fact, in his special report, tabled in the House of Commons last October, the Chief Electoral Officer clearly states that for an election to take place in a safe manner, in full compliance with the recommendations and directives of the provincial public health authorities, temporary additional legislative provisions are required in the Act.

To this end, the CEO made the following recommendations:

Measure 1: replace the polling day fixed on a Monday by a two-day polling period, corresponding to a Saturday and a Sunday, and increase the voting hours by reducing them from a 12-hour day to 16 hours spread over two days;

Measure 2: authorize the Chief Electoral Officer to determine when and how the voting will take place in long-term care facilities;

Measure 3: modify the power of the Chief Electoral Officer so he can adapt the Act when an emergency situation arises in order to give him greater leeway in facing the pandemic (or any other major unforeseen event).

The Bloc Québécois agrees with these recommendations and considers that the demands of the Chief Electoral Officer are essential to the safe conduct of an election. We are satisfied with the work of the Committee about the recommendations that have been adopted to address the concerns of the CEO expressed in measures 2 and 3.

However, we would like to point out that the Committee did not retain several of the elements in the CEO’s first measure. In our opinion, it appears important to modify the Monday polling day in order to replace it with a period of two (2) consecutive days of eight (8) hours, that is to say a Saturday and a Sunday, in order to increase the attendance.

This temporary change in the law offers several advantages.

First, holding polling days on Saturday and Sunday would make a greater number of establishments accessible to offer a satisfactory surface area to guarantee the application of the physical distancing rule for voters.

Second, holding polling days on Saturdays and Sundays would help recruit enough people to work in polling stations and prevent the risk of worker shortage. In fact, more than half of the people who usually work for Elections Canada on polling days are over sixty years old. These people are considered to be most vulnerable to the Covid-19 virus and could legitimately decide not to volunteer during the pandemic.

On the other hand, adding Monday as a third day of voting seems excessive to us. According to a survey conducted by Elections Canada, between 4 and 5 million voters could use alternative ways to vote during the pandemic, particularly by mail. We would also like to point out that electors can vote on advance polling days that normally take place over four (4) consecutive days, thus offering the option of voting during the week. In addition, electors can vote at any time during the campaign by going to their respective polling station, according to their availability.

In the 2019 election, Elections Canada reported that 4.7 million citizens voted early, up 29% from 3.6 million early voters in 2015[1]. Thus, the service offer of two (2) eight (8)-hour polling days on Saturday and Sunday, combined with four (4) advance polling days and the option of voting by mail, seems quite adequate to us, in terms of meeting the needs of voters.

The Bloc Québécois is pleased that the Committee has adopted its position concerning the tightening of the conditions for the conduct of votes in long-term care establishments by considering local circumstances in Québec and in the provinces. Permitting residents in long-term care facilities to exercise their right to vote safely and without being the victim of irregularities is a priority for the Bloc Québécois. That is why we have suggested that staff members trained by the CEO be on site to collect the ballots and ensure that voting guidelines and sanitary measures are properly applied for the safety of the voters.

On the other hand, it is unfortunate that the recommendation from the Bloc Québécois to broaden the powers of the Chief Electoral Officer to adapt the provisions of the law in the exceptional circumstances of a pandemic, other than those related to the exercise and counting of the votes, have not been taken into account. Our proposition to expand the temporary changes to the law would:

•     Allow candidates to collect signatures in support of the nomination paper electronically to avoid door-to-door or solicitation of signatures in public places;
•     Broaden recruitment among young people aged 16 to 18 in order to prevent the shortage of workers expected by the withdrawal of people aged 60 and over because of the risks associated with the pandemic;
•     Assign workers from neighboring constituencies in the event of a shortage of personnel for a constituency.

Finally, the Bloc Québécois concludes this report insisting on the fact that it is unacceptable that the government tabled a bill to amend the Canada Elections Act in response to COVID-19 even before the final committee report was tabled. Despite the lack of consideration on the part of the Liberal government, the Bloc Québécois intends to continue the discussions in committee so that the report's recommendations consider the various testimonies.