Good morning, Madam Chair and members of the committee.

First, thank you for inviting the Leaders’ Debates Commission to review our 2023-24 main estimates.

The commission, as you know, is now seeking a total of $3.4 million in funding for the current fiscal year. We won’t be spending all that money unless an election is called. The $3.4 million shown in the main estimates represents planned spending should a federal general election be called. It includes an amount that is frozen. It's a kind of reserve fund, if you like, of $2.8 million, which will only become accessible if Parliament is dissolved for an election.

That means that if no election is called, the operating budget for 2023-24 is $596,814. This funding basically covers the salaries and operational costs of the commission.

In accordance with our mandate and former commissioner David Johnston’s commitment to spend the commission’s budget responsibly, cost-effectiveness continues to be a driving principle. The commission’s secretariat works remotely. We have vacated the office space we occupied in Ottawa. We have one full-time employee and three part time, including the commissioner. The advisory board meetings are also held remotely, to reduce travel expenses.

Because we're in a minority government situation, however, the commission needs to be prepared to organize debates as soon as an election is called. Much of that work needs to be done well in advance, including preparations for a request for proposals; the contract that is awarded to produce, promote and distribute the debates; other initiatives, including consultations with political parties and other stakeholders, ongoing talks with security agencies, and the development of policy documents. We also typically hold three to four meetings with our advisory board every year.

We are working to improve the debates ahead of the next election. After the 2021 experience, which drew significant stakeholder criticism, we carefully assessed the lessons learned. We recognized in our report that was published after 2021 that the last debates did not deliver as well as they should have on informing the voters on parties' policies.

The commission is now keenly focused on improving the debates so that they better serve the public interest. We are spending time consulting with debate organizers here in Canada and abroad to identify best practices as they relate to both format and especially moderation. This is all done remotely. The commission is also part of an international community of debate organizers that regularly exchanges information. The knowledge that we are gaining through these consultations will inspire the changes that we are looking for in the next debates. We believe that debates play an essential role in Canada’s democracy, but we also believe that they should be produced and organized in a cost-effective manner.

Thank you. We will now take your questions.

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