SCOTT: Reply from Craig Scott, (NDP) MP-Unfair Elections Act

[Oscar]

SCOTT: Reply from Craig Scott, (NDP) MP - Unfair Elections Act

----- Original Message -----
From: Craig.Scott@parl.gc.ca
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2014 7:48 AM
Subject: reply from Craig Scott, MP - Unfair Elections Act

Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns regarding Bill C-23, the Conservative Government’s Unfair Elections Act. Please be assured that the NDP is vigorously opposing this bill. I invite you to join our efforts and sign the petition: [ http://petition.ndp.ca/stand-up-for-canadian-democracy ]

Just this week I put forward an NDP Opposition Day motion to stop the Unfair Elections Act, focusing on measures in this bill that could disenfranchise many Canadians. The motion read as follows: “That, in the opinion of the House, proposed changes to the Elections Act that would prohibit vouching, voter education programming by Elections Canada, and the use of voter cards as identification could disenfranchise many Canadians, particularly first-time voters like youth and new Canadians, Aboriginal Canadians and seniors living in residence, and should be abandoned.” I invite you to read my speech, where I called on my Conservative colleagues to stand up for democracy, here. [ http://craigscott.ndp.ca/craig-s-speech ... day-motion ]

You may also be aware that my NDP colleagues and I have been hosting pan-Canadian consultations [ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/pol ... e17448706/ ] over the course of the last two weeks to hear from voters and increase awareness about the Unfair Elections Act. I spoke at three of the town halls in Toronto, Ottawa and Dartmouth, and I am pleased to report that they were all full to bursting with people. More and more Canadians are engaged; more and more Canadians are enraged.

As you have pointed out, this proposed legislation will actually make it harder for many Canadians to vote, it muzzles Elections Canada and it gives the Conservative party an unfair advantage. This bill is nothing short of a serious attack on our democracy.

Look no further than C-23's removal of the right of the Chief Electoral Officer to engage in democracy promotion and general public education. Bill C-23 muzzles Elections Canada by prohibiting the institution from speaking publically about democracy or the importance of voting and from engaging with Canadians through initiatives like the Student Vote Program in schools. During the 2011 election, over 500,000 students across Canada cast mock ballots through the program, an effort designed to encourage them to vote when they turn 18. At a time of record low voter turnout, this change just does not make any sense. You can find a list of their education outreach programs that will be affected on Elections Canada’s website here. [ http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?se ... dex&lang=e ]

Under Bill C-23, Voter ID cards, issued by Elections Canada, will no longer be accepted. This will make it much harder for students, seniors, aboriginal people, and low-income Canadians to prove their right to vote, and will prevent many thousands of Canadians from voting. That’s on top of the 120,000 Canadians who had a neighbour vouch for them and who will be turned away next election. Conservatives claim that vouching and VICs are the source of widespread fraud, but there is no evidence to support this. Instead, this appears to be a concerted attempt to disenfranchise those with lower incomes or more transient lives with U.S.-style voter suppression tactics.

The bill even bars Elections Canada from conducting electronic-voting pilot projects that might be attractive to younger voters—unless it gets permission from not only the House of Commons but also, wait for it, the unelected Senate – an additional barrier that was not necessary prior to this bill.

The Conservatives also claim that they are taking “big money” out of politics when in fact it creates new ways for "money politics" to skew elections, by raising donation and campaign spending limits as well as creating a huge loophole that allows virtually unlimited campaign spending for purposes of contacting previous donors. Clearly, they are using this bill as a way to try to stack the deck in their favour for the 2015 election, and beyond.

The list of problems goes on. I encourage you to read my longer analysis here [ http://craigscott.ndp.ca/the-unfair-ele ... a-con-game ].

I also invite you to learn more about my efforts to stop this bill, including speeches, media interviews and op-eds, please visit my website: [ http://craigscott.ndp.ca/news/democratic-reform ].

Again, thank you for writing. Please be assured that New Democrats will keep up the fight to ensure that Canadians’ voices are heard on a bill so fundamental to democratic voting rights.

Sincerely,

Craig Scott, M.P. (Toronto-Danforth)
Official Opposition Critic for Democratic Reform
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