Merci, Monsieur le President. The Elections and Plebiscites Act requires the Chief Electoral Officer to present a report on the administration of the election within six months of the election. The report has any matters that the Chief Electoral Officer thinks should be brought to the Legislative Assembly's attention. It also includes recommendations on how to improve election administration and any suggested amendments to the act. This report was sent to the Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures to hold hearings with the Chief Electoral Officer, any witnesses the committee thinks necessary, and the public at large. The committee then reports to the House which recommendations should be adopted and the committee's review of potential amendments.
The 2019 territorial election was held on October 1, 2019. Online ballots were available for the first time in any provincial or territorial general election in Canada. The election also saw the highest number of female candidates ever and resulted in a near equal number of female and male Members of the Legislative Assembly. The Chief Electoral Officer issued her report on the administration of the 2019 election in March 2020, which contained 88 recommendations for consideration. The committee held public briefings with the Chief Electoral Officer on June 10, 2020, with experts on online voting on June 30, 2020 and September 9, 2020, and a hearing with the public on September 21, 2020, during which the committee received presentations from MLA Julie Green, David Wasylciw and OpenNWT. This report included the committee's response to the Chief Electoral Officer's recommendations, to the public submissions received, and to the recommendations of two expert witnesses, Dr. Goodman and Dr. Essex.
I would like to once again thank those that made submissions to the committee and my colleagues who served on the committee with me, as well. Other Members may wish to further speak to the report. Mahsi, Mr. Chair.