Pandemic election bill far from the finish line, as talk of spring vote continues

A mid-pandemic spring election would cause big problems, and it could come before proposed changes to make the electoral process safer have come into effect, says former head of Elections Canada Jean-Pierre Kingsley. Political pundits have speculated for months that either the government or opposition would trigger an election this spring. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) told the Liberal Party’s board of directors before Christmas that it “look like” a spring election was coming, a Liberal source told The Hill Times earlier this month. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified in Canada since that time, and Mr. Trudeau told reporters on Jan. 12 that he was not planning to trigger an election this spring himself. "From the very beginning of any minority Parliament, every political party understands that elections can happen. But as I've consistently been saying, we don't want an election,” he said during a press conference. The government has tabled a bill in Parliament, C-19, that would alter the electoral process temporarily, with the aim of making it safer during the pandemic. However, that bill must still pass through nearly every stage of the legislative process in a minority Parliament, as well as a 90-day implementation period. Bill C-19 would make several temporary changes to the Canada Elections Act. It would stretch out polling day from one to three days, including a weekend and the following Monday, so voters won’t all congregate at polling stations at once. It would allow election officials to create an extended voting period within long-term care homes or other facilities where vulnerable voters live, to make it easier for them to vote safely. It aims to make mail-in or drop-off voting easier, and would give the chief electoral officer more powers to adapt the election process to make it safer. Most of the bill would not come into effect until 90 days after it received royal assent in order to allow Elections Canada enough time to adapt to the changes. Canada's Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault can opt to cut that period short, if he decides that Elections Canada is ready before the 90-day period is over. However, that 90-day period is shorter than the 120-day period recommended by Mr. Perrault in a report he issued in October about holding an election during the pandemic. That report included recommendations similar to some of the measures included in Bill C-19, though the government did not follow Mr. Perrault’s suggestions exactly. Mr. Perrault and his staff at Elections Canada can use the time before Bill C-19 passes to prepare themselves for the work that implementing the bill will require, but will not likely begin to make those changes in advance, said Mr. Kingsley, who served as Canada’s chief electoral officer from 1990 to 2007. “They can prepare to do the work, but they cannot do the work,” he said in an interview. Mid-pandemic vote 'very problematic,' says ex-chief electoral officer Kingsley MPs are scheduled to return to the House of Commons—virtually or in person—on Jan. 25. They have a hefty workload awaiting them, including a dozen active government bills in the House. The government will almost certainly have to make passing Bill C-19 a top priority when MPs return if it wants the safety measures included in the bill to be in place in time for a spring election. Jean-Pierre Kingsley led Elections Canada from 1990 to 2007. The Hill Times file photograph The spring season officially begins on March 20 and ends on June 20. MPs are scheduled to sit in the House until June 23 at the latest this year before beginning the summer break, during which the opposition parties cannot trigger an election. If an election were called at the very end of spring, Parliament would have to pass Bill C-19 by March 22 in order to give Mr. Perrault the full 90 days to implement the bill before the campaign begins. For an election actually held at the end of spring, that date must be pushed back by at least 37 days, the minimum duration of a federal election campaign, to Feb. 13. MPs are scheduled to sit for just 10 days before Feb. 13, and 24 days before March 22. A portion of those will be supply days, in which the opposition parties set the agenda. The bill must also be reviewed and voted on in the Senate before it is passed. If the government intends to release its spring budget in March, as has often been the case, and opposition parties trigger an election by voting it down, it is already too late for MPs to pass Bill C-19 in time. The government should work to avoid an election while the pandemic rages, said Mr. Kingsley. “Even if you pass the bill tomorrow, the difficulties warrant very, very serious consideration of not having an election. We would need to have a really untenable situation in Parliament to justify such an action at this time, in my view,” he said. Social distancing on polling day will be difficult, with or without the passage of C-19, he said. Finding poll workers could be difficult, since those jobs are often filled by senior citizens who are more vulnerable to COVID-19 than younger people. The government erred by not following Mr. Perrault’s recommendation to hold a mid-pandemic election over a weekend, said Mr. Kingsley. The government bill would require the election to be held over a weekend and the following Monday as well. Polling sites are often set up at schools. If students have returned to the classroom by the time an election is held, school boards may not allow Elections Canada to set up polling sites on school property, for fear that visiting voters could put their students at risk on the Monday of the election, said Mr. Kingsley. “Frankly it becomes quite problematic, because polling day itself becomes very problematic: the distancing, the lineups that would occur; the processing of people, all the measures that are necessary because of COVID.” Mr. Kingsley called on the governing Liberals to work with the opposition parties and keep the government afloat while the pandemic rages. “This is a representative democracy that we have here that has worked exceedingly well for Canadians. Let’s make it work,” he said. If Mr. Trudeau doesn’t want an election, as he has said, he should “prove it,” said Mr. Kingsley. Triggering spring election would be 'height of irresponsibility,' says former Liberal MP Leslie Former Liberal MP Andrew Leslie says it would be 'irresponsible' for any party in Parliament to trigger an election during the pandemic. The Hill Times file photograph Former Liberal MP Andrew Leslie said that winning another election dominates the thinking of senior Liberals. In an interview with The Hill Times, Mr. Leslie, a former parliamentary secretary in Mr. Trudeau’s government, said the “relentless pursuit of voter share is something that completely dominates the Liberal team.” Mr. Leslie said he believed the Trudeau government will try to call an election “as soon as possible” if it can’t deliver vaccines fast enough, and people start questioning its vaccine rollout strategy. “I believe that the Liberals will watch what is happening. If they get the sense that the vaccination distribution...will draw a whole bunch of negative attention as vaccination programs unroll—in other words, it gets worse before it gets better—they’ll try and trigger a spring election,” he said. “In my opinion, considering the stages of the pandemic and the complexity of the vaccination plan, holding a spring election would be the height of irresponsibility for any government. Lives will be put at risk, because senior leaders won’t be focused on fulfilling their primary duty to Canadians, which is to protect them from harm,” said Mr. Leslie. Polling by Nanos Research showed the Liberals with a 13 point lead over the second-place Conservatives on Jan. 8. The four-week rolling poll included a total of 1,000 respondents. peter@hilltimes.com @PJMazereeuw Status of government bills House of Commons Senate bills awaiting first reading: S-2—An act to Amend the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act Second reading: C-2—COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act C-10—An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts C-11—Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2020 C-12—Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act C-13—An Act to amend the Criminal Code (single event sport betting) C-14—Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020 C-15—United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act C-18—Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement Implementation Act C-19—An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (COVID-19 response) Committee: C-8—An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s call to action number 94) Report stage: C-5—An Act to amend the Bills of Exchange Act, the Interpretation Act and the Canada Labour Code (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation) C-6—An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy) Senate Second reading: C-3—An Act to amend the Judges Act and the Criminal Code Committee: S-3—An Act to amend the Offshore Health and Safety Act C-7—An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying)

Pandemic election bill far from the finish line, as talk of spring vote continues

PM Trudeau says he doesn’t want an election. ‘Prove it,’ says ex-chief electoral officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley.

Health misinformation is hurting patients and undermining trust. Let’s do something about it.

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Pandemic election bill far from the finish line, as talk of spring vote continues

PM Trudeau says he doesn’t want an election. ‘Prove it,’ says ex-chief electoral officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley.

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