Will the Fair Elections Act Hurt New Canadians? – New Canadian Media – NCM

Further to the general controversy about Bill C-23, the “Fair Elections Act, the perspective from some of the settlement and related agencies with respect to new Canadians and the removal of vouching or equivalent:

Canadian immigrant service providers are worried that the Conservative government’s proposed election bill will potentially impact the voter participation rate of new Canadians and ethnocultural communities in future elections. Currently, citizens who don’t have proper identification can vote if someone else can vouch for their identity. If the new bill passes, vouching would be banned – a problem for new Canadians who want to vote but may lack proper identification simply because they’re new to the system.

“We know that many folks who tend not to be on the voters list and/or have ID that is deemed to be appropriate are folks who are low income or new to the system,” said Debbie Douglas, executive director of Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI), based in Toronto, whose member agencies provide a variety of services for new Canadians, including professional development services, tools to help newcomers learn about Canadian citizenship, and language services. “The fact that they will be showing up to vote and not find their name on the list or have a voter’s card and not have appropriate ID will absolutely disenfranchise them,” she argued.

“Folks tend to vote for those that have their interests at heart and if a large number of new Canadians are disenfranchised or aren’t able to participate, than their interests aren’t able to be represented politically,” she added.

Nothing new compared to the general critique that removal of vouching will disenfranchise some voters that do not have drivers licenses (the one piece of government ID that has both name and address) or who move around more frequently (e.g., students). Not sure how high the number of new Canadians without drivers licenses or other accepted documents (e.g., property tax and utility bills), and likely not an issue for most, but as all the electoral and other experts who have testified, this mocks the government’s commitment to the democratic process.

One last thing. The Minister responsible, Pierre Poilievre, noted how much he tried to follow the Jason Kenney approach to legislation (The Kenney-Poilievre Doctrine – Macleans.ca). He seems to have forgotten a few aspects:

• Don’t repeat ad nauseam talking points that have either been proven false or do not answer the question or issue. Make the points your own and answer the question;
• Know when to be flexible and back down (Minister Kenney changed the policy on historical recognition and the Canada Jobs Grant in order to satisfy stakeholders and the provinces respectively); and,
• Be careful who you attack and how (never a good idea to attack Sheila Fraser, former auditor general, given the public will believe her more than anyone in the government).

For a good general critique of how the Government and Minister is handling the bill, see Andrew Coyne’s Very little ‘fair’ about how Conservatives are pushing controversial Elections Act.

Will the Fair Elections Act Hurt New Canadians? – New Canadian Media – NCM.