SoVote

Hon. Dominic LeBlanc (Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.)

Apr/7/22 11:06:17 a.m.
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Re: Bill C-14

Madam Speaker, I thank our colleague for Calgary Shepard for his thoughtful presentation. I agree with much of what he said, particularly around the importance of effective representation. Also, regarding people participating in the electoral boundary redistribution process by making presentations, and community groups and municipal leaders taking advantage of public participation with the commissions, I agree with him on that. I thank him for his willingness to support this legislation and send it to committee. I hope we can work collaboratively. We deliberately designed, as I said in answer to a question from another colleague, and maybe in this case I agree with him also on the importance of minimalist legislation, something that surgically respects what all members want in relation to a grandfather clause that does not see a loss of seats for any province, so I hope we can work collaboratively on this. Perhaps I can ask my colleague a question quickly. He talked about effective representation and the importance of big ridings, such as he has. Would he be in favour of potentially increasing resources to members of Parliament to better serve their constituents in the face of those increasing demands as well?

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Context: House Hansard - 55 - Apr/7/22

Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Apr/7/22 12:35:55 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-14

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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Context: House Hansard - 55 - Apr/7/22

Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Apr/7/22 1:40:00 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-14

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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