Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, your Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures is pleased to provide its Report on the Review of the Chief Electoral Officer's Report on the Administration of the 2015 Territorial General Election, Supplementary Recommendations, and the White Paper on the Independence and Accountability of Election Administration in the Northwest Territories.
Introduction
The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the Northwest Territories issued three reports, tabled by the Speaker on May 31, 2016, February 28, 2017, and June 1, 2017. These reports contain 107 recommendations for changes related to election administration, including many legislative amendments. The first report, the only one required of the CEO under the act, is entitled "Modernizing Election Administration in the Northwest Territories." It stems from the conduct of the 2015 general election and sets the theme for all three reports.
It is the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures' responsibility to review the reports and make recommendations to the Legislative Assembly. Because the CEO's two reports and the White Paper are closely related, the committee opted to carry out a coordinated and comprehensive review. The committee now offers its findings and recommendations as a platform for a coordinated response from the Legislative Assembly.
The committee notified former candidates, interested stakeholders, and media prior to the publicly advertised hearings with the Chief Electoral Officer in Yellowknife on September 9, 2016, and June 12, 2017. Public submissions were also received from Norman Snowshoe and David Wasylciw (personally, and as chair of OpenNWT). Additional submissions were sought following the tabling of the White Paper from stakeholders and via the committee's website. The committee thanks the CEO and her staff, and all who provided their comments and attended the hearings.
Review of the Chief Electoral Officer's Report on the Administration of the 2015 General Election
The CEO's report, "Modernizing Election Administration in the Northwest Territories," includes 42 recommendations to amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act
(the act), and one recommendation to repeal the act and replace it with a new one.
The Committee notes that the current act is relatively modern, having come into force in 2007 with the addition of provisions for plebiscites. The act has been strengthened by each assembly since that time, assisted by many thoughtful recommendations from previous CEOs and the public. While prescriptive where necessary, the act is broadly enabling and flexible, allowing the CEO great latitude in conducting elections and managing Elections NWT.
Committee members believe that many of the amendments proposed by the CEO will further improve the act, and represent by far the most efficient means of regulating and adapting the territory's electoral process to current needs.
Another very significant change was proposed by OpenNWT at the committee's first public hearing a year ago, to move to a ranked system of voting for candidates. Such a system would ensure that to win, a candidate must have the support of the majority of voters. It is currently possible for a candidate to win despite a significant majority voting for others. By contrast, ranked voting can result in a candidate with fewer first choice votes than another to win the election based on strong second choice support. However, requiring voters to rank their preferences also necessitates a more elaborate balloting and vote-counting system.
Ranked voting is not widely used in Canada, but there are notable examples: the federal Conservative Party and the New Democratic Party use it to elect their leaders, and the City of London, Ontario, has adopted ranked voting for its 2018 civic election. To date, ranked voting has received very little attention in the Northwest Territories. At minimum, such a fundamental change should be widely and publicly debated prior to a decision being made to adopt this system in the NWT. The necessary public discussion has not taken place.
CEO Term of Office
The CEO's first recommendation is to approximately double the length of the term of office, which at four years matches the shortest of any province or territory. While there are advantages to a longer term, the committee notes that the CEO may be reappointed, and the term extended up to six months after its expiry. The four-year term is also consistent with those of all other statutory officers of the Assembly except the Information and Privacy Commissioner, whose term is five years. The committee is satisfied that the four-year term and options for continuity are sufficient.
Elector eligibility and residency requirements
Only the three northern territories have a 12-month residency requirement for citizens to qualify to vote. In seven provinces the requirement is six months, and less in all others. The CEO recommends adopting a residency requirement of six consecutive months. The committee received no public comment on this recommendation, and notes that previous CEOs suggested an even shorter, three-month residency requirement to enable as many residents as possible to vote. Committee members support the six-month compromise, which is in line with most of the provinces.
Recommendation 1
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to establish an elector residency requirement of six consecutive months on or before polling day.
Polling day and alternate polling day
The CEO recommends a Saturday polling day to remove barriers to elector attendance, address security issues at polls located in schools, and expand the pool of returning officers and poll workers. Similar advice was given by the previous CEO after the 2011 election. However, no Canadian jurisdictions have weekend elections so there is no evidence of its potential impact. Members fear that a weekend election might either discourage traditional pursuits on the land or reduce voter turnout in small communities where turnout is typically very high.
Members are nevertheless convinced that our current Monday polling day is not ideal, due in part to reduced weekend media attention and the reluctance of candidates to campaign vigorously on Sundays. Eight other provinces and territories have polling days on other weekdays. British Columbia, Manitoba and Newfoundland/Labrador have Tuesday polls, and Members feel this option is the best fit with the rhythm of life in the Northwest Territories.
Since 2007, when the timing of federal elections was nominally fixed, two of three elections have been held in October (with the other in May). In the event of overlap of the normal, fixed territorial election period with the federal election, the act requires that the territorial election "must be the third Monday in November of that year." This was the case for the 2015 election. The CEO points to weather-related complications and recommends a spring or summer alternative. The committee agrees that winter weather posed challenges for candidates' campaigns as well, and that late November is not a suitable alternative. One option is to move the alternate date forward somewhat, as was suggested during our public hearing.
Another option is to hold our territorial election on a fixed date regardless of the date of a federal election. In 2015, the federal election was held on October 19th and the NWT's followed on November 23 instead of the first Monday in October, which would have resulted in holding the territorial election on October 5th. In retrospect, this earlier date would have been preferable despite the overlapping campaign periods; November weather proved too disruptive, as noted by the CEO on page 65 of her report.
Recommendation 2
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to set the first Tuesday in October as polling day, and that the November alternative polling day be eliminated.
Register and list of electors
The CEO pointed out that in some communities there is a substantial difference between the voting-age population and the number of registered voters. The greatest discrepancies are in Yellowknife, Inuvik, and Behchoko. The committee agrees with the CEO's Recommendation 10 to codify current practices and improve maintenance of a permanent list of electors. It may also be beneficial to extend the deadline for revisions of the list, as was suggested during our public hearing. This would provide more time for electors to register in advance, and for names to be struck from the list if they are no longer eligible to vote in the NWT.
The act currently provides that the list of electors may only include certain personal information, including the elector's full name, address, telephone number, gender, birth date, and date of NWT residence. The act also strictly limits how an elector's birth date and gender information may be used. The CEO recommends that the act be amended to permit Elections NWT to collect electors' email addresses as well.
The committee agrees that collection of electors' email addresses is potentially a useful tool in improving the list of electors, but cautions that internet service and use of email vary considerably from community to community. The use of electors' email addresses should be restricted under section 54(5) of the act, ensuring that they cannot be provided to candidates or used for general distribution of information. Committee members also note that sections 54(2)(d) and 54(5) refer to use of an elector's gender as a means of identification. This practice is no longer necessary or appropriate, and the committee recommends that references to identification by gender be removed from the act.
The CEO also recommended changing the act to further restrict inspection of the list of electors containing only names and addresses. This was the subject of much committee discussion. Inspection of the preliminary list of electors is a feature of almost all Canadian election legislation, ensuring some public scrutiny of the very basis of electing representatives. This measure is a safeguard of election integrity. In 2011, our previous CEO recommended that section 65 be amended to include authority for the CEO to communicate the contents of the list of electors by the best possible means. This change was not made, as our predecessor committee was content with the existing provision. It is also significant that the Local Authorities Election Act requires that the list of voters be posted in five conspicuous places in the electoral district at least 30 days before the vote. These local voters' lists are essentially components of the NWT's list of electors. It does not make sense that the list of electors is fully confidential at one level and fully public at another. The committee recommends that public access to the list be maintained at the territorial level.
Recommendation 3
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended per Recommendation 10 of the CEO Report on the Administration of the 2015 Territorial General Election, to reflect current practices of maintaining a permanent list of electors; and that the act be amended to remove references to identification of electors by gender.
Campaigning and third-party advertising
The CEO recommends amending the act to limit third-party advertising, as is done in most Canadian jurisdictions and echoing the advice of the previous CEO. Typically, regulation involves a spending limit, registration, and post-campaign reporting. Currently, third parties may advertise their support for or opposition to a candidate or candidates, or public policies, with no spending limit and no requirement to report to the CEO or the public. This has not been a significant problem in our elections, but our system is wide open to influence by people, corporations or organizations with ample resources and a political mission. The committee agrees that proactive change is necessary. We emphasize that the goal is to ensure fair elections, not to impede political discourse or freedom of expression.
Recommendation 4
The Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures recommends that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to limit and regulate third-party election advertising related to candidates and/or policy.
Mr. Speaker, I'd like to hand over to the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre. Mahsi.