Thanks, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that Section 121 and Section 309 of the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to include a prohibition on the sale of cannabis during the hours a poll is open on polling day. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion? Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. The Chief Electoral Officer actually recommended getting rid of the prohibition on the sale of alcohol on polling day, and committee did not support that recommendation. Committee thought about this a little bit further and said that we should also not just prohibit the sale of alcohol but also cannabis. That's what this motion is all about. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. To the motion? Mr. Johnson?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would have preferred committee to support the recommendation of the Chief Electoral Officer. The days of having prohibition on election day are long gone. They arise from the time when politicians used to fill bars and buy votes. Nowadays, it's an annoyance and a loss to the hospitality industry. I know many people who would like to watch the election results come in and maybe enjoy a beer, and here we are saying that they can't do that nor can they go purchase cannabis. I am opposed to this motion. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Johnson. To the motion?
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? Opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to expressly prohibit liquor and cannabis as campaign expenses. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion? Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. Right now, the act does not include this explicit prohibition, and in our consideration of the committee, we felt that this was something that we should spell out very clearly in the legislation. That's why it's here before you. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. To the motion? Mr. Johnson.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Despite my willingness that maybe bars and restaurants could serve alcohol on election day, I think it would be ridiculous to allow Members to expense alcohol and cannabis as part of the campaign. Thank you to committee for this explicit direction. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. To the motion?
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? Opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to prohibit photography, videography, or phone calls within the polling station and to authorize the Chief Electoral Officer to issue guidance on the usage of electronics in polling stations. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion?
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? Opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to prohibit a candidate's polling agent from being able to assist an elector in casting a vote. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion?
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? Opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Chief Electoral Officer investigate how other provinces or territories allow residents to cast votes from any polling station and report back to the Legislative Assembly within six months on the outcome of that investigation. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion? Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. We had this issue raised with us by a member of the public, Mr. Wasylciw, and he said that it may be more convenient if someone's travelling away from their home within the Northwest Territories on polling day, where they could go in and cast their vote in any poll, not just where they necessarily live. Certainly, I know from personal experience, one of the federal, last federal elections, I cast a vote in Winnipeg, I was visiting our daughter, for candidates in the Northwest Territories. It's something that is done at the federal level. We also recognize that this might present some problems in terms of making sure that the ballots are counted correctly and quickly on polling day. If there are citizens from a bunch of different constituencies, and they all vote in maybe Yellowknife or other places, trying to collate that and bringing it all together might make it more of a challenge to deal with getting the voting results quickly on election day.
In any event, what this does is ask the Chief Electoral Officer to look at how this is done in some other jurisdictions in Canada, see what lessons we could learn from that, and whether it's something that we may be able to do here. That's what the gist of this is really about, is to get her to go out and do some work and give us her best advice on whether we should do it and what kind of terms and conditions. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. To the motion?
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? Opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to remove the requirement for electors to act as witnesses; and further, an election officer and one other election official should be required, with candidates permitted one representative each. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion? Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. This arises from a recommendation from the Chief Electoral Officer. After the vote is finished and the vote count starts, this is really about who should be there to witness the counting of the ballots. The Chief Electoral Officer raised a couple of issues in her report and in discussion with us that, sometimes, candidates don't have anybody at a poll when the count is being conducted. It is up to the Chief Electoral Officer or the Returning Officer to go and find a couple of electors to witness it. It puts them in a difficult position. They have to choose somebody, maybe somebody they know. It just opens the door to some issues around favouritism and so on. She felt that, to make this clear, there should be designated officials that can be there to witness the count.
In some cases, candidates have had their polling agents there or scrutineers there, and sometimes, they want to volunteer and get paid because you actually get paid to witness the count. We want to try to not have that situation arise, as well. This is to help clarify that and, I think, make sure that we have impartial observers for the count at the end of the day. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? Opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I move that this committee recommends that the Elections and Plebiscites Act be amended to allow for a candidate's financial report to be submitted electronically. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. O'Reilly.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. This was raised by the Chief Electoral Officer in her report, but speaking personally as a candidate in a couple of elections and having heard from my official agent, and I have heard this from some other official agents and candidates, not being able to file your financial report electronically makes it difficult, particularly for folks from smaller communities sometimes. There is a deadline in which you have to get your report in. I think this is just to provide for the same level of accountability but just make it easier to get the proper information in the hands of the Chief Electoral Officer. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. To the motion.
Question.
Question has been called. All those in favour? Opposed? Abstentions? The motion is carried.
---Carried
Mr. O'Reilly.
