44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 7, 2022 10:00AM
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.
It is true, there is still much work to do on this bill. There are still many things that need to be improved in order to make it easier to vote. We could, for example, make it easier to vote by mail and count the votes more rapidly.
Unfortunately, in the last general election, there were no polling stations on university campuses. We know that young people are the least likely to vote during elections, and students are part of that population. Depriving them of access to polling stations on campus had a serious adverse impact. We will have to talk about this. If someone does not know exactly where to go to vote on election day, the ability to go to one of several different polling stations in the same riding without being turned away would facilitate voting.
I think that all of the political parties want to improve our democratic vitality.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the government for working with us to ensure Quebec's seat count in the House of Commons remains constant. There is a lot of work to be done that we still have not done when it comes to representation. We can look around the House and see that in terms of gender balance, we have huge issues that we need to overcome, as well as in terms of participation and making sure that every vote counts.
I think about young people especially. We know that the earlier they participate in civil elections, the more they have a lifelong commitment to doing that. I go to Anne Ostwald's class often in my riding, where she teaches social justice, and they talk about issues that are important to them, such as climate justice, as we can imagine. They talk about he looming climate crisis that has impacted them. Housing, the toxic drug supply crisis and reconciliation are all important issues.
We have seen other countries, such as the U.K., Germany and Argentina, adopt a lower voting age of 16. We know how important it is to ensure those voices are heard. To ensure that young people have a seat at the table, will my colleague and will the government support a very important bill that is going to be coming up in the House, Bill C-210, tabled by my colleague from Skeena—Bulkley Valley, to lower the voting age to 16 to ensure that young people have a voice on these really critical issues?
My son, River, is 16. He is very well informed and so are his classmates.
I hope that the hon. member and his government will consider supporting this important piece of legislation.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for working with us to ensure Quebec's seat count in the House of Commons remains constant. Clearly there is a lot of work to do, especially around representation. We can look at gender balance and the important work that needs to be done to address that, as well as participation in our electoral system. We know the Liberal government ran on a platform in 2015 to make it the last unfair election. It still has not implemented a proportional system, and as a result, we still have lower turnout.
One thing I think about is young people. We are talking about really important issues critical to them such as climate justice, reconciliation, overdoses and the toxic drug supply crisis that is claiming lives in our country. We know that the younger people participate in elections and are involved in civic participation, they have a lifelong commitment to it. We have seen Austria, Germany and the U.K. lower the voting age to 16.
Does my colleague agree that if someone can drive, work and pay taxes, all of which can be done in this country at age 16, they should be able to vote? My colleague from Skeena—Bulkley Valley has put forward a bill to the House, Bill C-210. Will he be supporting that bill, which is a very important bill, to lower the voting age to 16? We know people who are 16 in this country, who are contributing to this country and whose futures are at stake, need a seat at the table.
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Madam Speaker, there were a lot of different elements in the commentary.
First of all, around first past the post, the election commitment in 2015 was about its being the last election by first past the past. My understanding, although I was not here in the 42nd Parliament, is that there was the idea of doing a ranked ballot. The NDP rejected that offer, so it is a bit rich for that member to step up and suggest the government did not put something on the table to be able to make a change.
I want to address the question that is fundamental, which is the voting age at 16. I am one of the youngest members of Parliament in the House. I try every day, as part of engaging individuals in my riding, to engage with youth. It is important to make sure they have an understanding of the democratic process. Indeed, some of the issues we are talking about today will have profound impacts on them as they become adults and move forward. In principle, I support moving it toward the age of 16. I look forward to reviewing Bill C-210 and speaking to that later in this session.
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Madam Speaker, we are discussing representation in the House, and I talked earlier about the important work we need to do on gender balance and proportionality. I talked a lot about young people and the lack of opportunities for them to have a seat at the table. We know that at 16 years old, young people can drive a car, work and pay taxes in this country. We also know that if they participate at a young age, they have a better chance of voting in the future.
As to my question for my colleague, there is a bill before the House, Bill C-210, tabled by my colleague from Skeena—Bulkley Valley. Does the member support allowing those who can drive—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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Madam Speaker, let me say, in short, that I believe in principle that the voting age of 18 is the most appropriate age. However, I do look forward to debate on the bill.
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- Apr/7/22 2:43:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives often bring up the very important issue of affordability.
Let us talk about the Conservatives' voting record. We proposed the Canada child benefit and the Conservatives voted against it. We proposed a plan to help seniors and the Conservatives voted against it. We put money in teachers' pockets and the Conservatives voted against the measure.
We care about affordability on this side of the House. Who knows what they care about on the other side.
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Madam Speaker, the member who just spoke seems to have a differing opinion from the official Conservative caucus position on this. I do not know if he was just expressing his personal position and he will be voting against the legislation, but my understanding was that the official opposition recognizes the true value of the legislation and is going to be voting in favour of it. I would like to assure the member that it was not the Bloc that influenced the government to bring forward the legislation. The Liberal caucus, as a whole, recognizes the true value of ensuring that we give that base floor, something which does not necessarily make the government unique. Even Conservative governments in the past have done the same thing.
I would like him to provide his thoughts regarding how he will be voting on the legislation.
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