All parties in the Commons give approval in principle to pandemic election bill

Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs blasted the Liberals and NDP for colluding to gag democracy on a bill that’s supposed to protect it. But they all ended up supporting it in the end.

“Yesterday we opposed the Liberals’ gag order on Bill C-19 since changing the rules of democracy must be done by consensus and not by muzzling democracy,” Bloc House leader Alain Therrien said in a statement Tuesday.

“Now the Liberal-NDP alliance wants to decide on its own the terms of the next election. However, today we will be voting in favour of committee study of the bill so that we can continue the debate and table our amendments.”

Chief electoral officer Stephane Perrault appealed to parliamentarians last fall to swiftly pass legislation empowering Elections Canada to temporarily adopt new measures in the event of an election during the pandemic.

All parties profess not to want an election during the health crisis. But because the Liberals hold only a minority of seats in the Commons, an election could theoretically happen at any time, should all main opposition parties vote non-confidence in the government or should Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decide to pull the plug himself.

The bill would apply only to an election held while the pandemic continues to rage.

Among other things, it would allow for a three-day voting period, rather than the usual one day, make it easier for voters to obtain and cast mail-in ballots and give Elections Canada more flexibility to conduct mobile polls in long-term care facilities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2021.

Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

All parties in the Commons give approval in principle to pandemic election bill

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