Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. For the motion on the floor, motion is in order. To the motion. Minister Cochrane.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate the committee on this work. I think it is very progressive that you are actually making the amendments to reflect the current beliefs around gender and inclusiveness, so just my appreciation to the committee for this. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Minister Cochrane. To the motion. Question has been called. All those in favour. All those opposed.

---Carried

The motion is carried. Thank you, committee. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is the fourth recommendation. Mr. Chair, I move that this Assembly recommends that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to limit and regulate third-party election advertising related to candidates and/or policy. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion.

Question has been called. All those in favour. All those opposed.

---Carried

The motion is carried. Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is recommendation five from the report. Mr. Chair, I move that this Assembly recommends that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to allow for the option of electronic voting for absentee ballots to provide an elector who has requested an absentee ballot to cancel his or her application in favour of an ordinary ballot on polling day, and to extend the period for voting in the office of the returning officer. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. There is a motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I don't want to speak on this at length, but I personally had heard a number of complaints about our students in particular not getting absentee ballots while they were down south studying. Certainly, it happened for my son. The Chief Electoral Officer did identify this as a problem and an issue, and she brought this forward as a recommendation, so I am more than happy to increase opportunities for our students to participate in our elections. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. To the motion.

Question has been called. All those in favour. All those opposed.

---Carried

The motion is carried. Thank you. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are on to recommendation number six. I move that this Assembly recommends that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to replace the requirement for candidates to file statements from a bank or other financial institution with a practical, reliable requirement that ensures accountability and transparency; and further that the act be amended to provide the Chief Electoral Officer with discretion to extend elected candidates' deadline for filing accurate and complete financial statements for up to 15 calendar days. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. There is motion on the floor. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. O'Reilly.

Thanks, Mr. Chair. This is a recommendation where the committee actually, we had a very different recommendation from the Chief Electoral Officer, and I believe it was in her supplementary report to the general election where she had actually recommended that chartered accountants be signing off on the financial reports. Although we understand the intent behind her recommendation, the fact is that there are so few chartered accountants and that they are only in the larger communities that we believe that would have formed a barrier and a significant barrier for potential candidates, so we have gone with this alternate recommendation that I think will encourage more people to run in elections. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. To the motion. Minister Cochrane.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the effort that the committee has put into making this motion. I do have a little bit of difficulty with it. My only difficulty is that I recognize that the filing of reports and access to banks is an issue that I will not take -- it is a huge issue. My only concern is that it has really left it kind of vague because it just says "replace it with a practical, reliable requirement that ensures accountability and transparency." I personally would have preferred if there was something more concrete within this than just leaving it to whatever the interpretation of "practical" and "reliable" means to anyone. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. Would the chair like to respond? Mr. O'Reilly.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. No, I accept the remarks from my colleague, and I think, you know, these motions basically serve as drafting instructions, and it will be up to the board of management to work with a law clerk, legal counsel to basically come up with wording that meets the spirit and intent of these. Look, I am not a lawyer, but it might be a statutory declaration or a place for a candidate and the official agent to sign off on the statements and have them notarized or, you know. Look, I am not a lawyer, but I think the intention is clear here. We do not want there to be unnecessary barriers in the way of encouraging people to run for elected office, but we also have to balance that with the need for accountability and transparency by having accurate financial statements. So I think that is the balance we are trying to achieve here, and we look forward to the work of our friends on the board of management in coming up with the appropriate language to implement the intent here. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. O'Reilly. Anything further, Minister Cochrane?

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Again, I appreciate the efforts. I do understand the intent of it, and I agree with the intent of it. I will abstain from this motion just because I do wish that there was something more concrete as a solution, so it is not that I oppose it. It is that I just find that it is not concrete enough for me. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister. To the motion.