Through you, Mr. Chair, Madame Romanado, thank you for, again, focusing on what we think should be a very positive, non-partisan element of this bill, for the exact reasons you enunciated—encouraging young people on campuses to be able to vote. It's proven to be effective. It's easier for students to vote on campus.

I think of Mount Allison University, in my riding. It's largely an undergraduate campus. I think 30% or 40% of the students may come from New Brunswick; 60% would come from other provinces, including a number of them from your province.

When I visit the campus, there are students from across the country whose ability to be able to vote in an October election is very important. Some of them have been on campus for maybe only for a month and a half. We think it shouldn't be at the discretion of a local returning officer, in the case of my riding, in Beauséjour.

Parliament should clearly express its view that Elections Canada and the returning officers in every constituency have an obligation to ensure that the polls can be accessible on university campuses. There are measures in the legislation around making it easier to get mail-in ballots. I spoke about some of the measures in terms of persons in long-term care homes.

Many of these recommendations come, as you would know, from Elections Canada itself. Elections Canada does terrific work. It's world leading and recognized globally as one of the most effective, secure, competent, non-partisan administrators of national elections in four-and-a-half time zones, in 10 provinces and three territories. It does terrific work, including with its provincial counterparts. We should, as a committee and as a Parliament, be very sensitive to the non-partisan suggestions and recommendations that it would make, and we've tried to do that as much as possible to validate the great work that it does.

Dominic LeBlanc

$486,855.00