Recent Library of Parliament Report on Elections Act Reform

The Parliamentary Information and Research Service at the Library of Parliament in Ottawa recently made public a number of reports and studies, including Bill C-31 An Act to Amend the Canada Elections Act and the Public Service Employment Act:

"The bill proposes various amendments to Canada’s electoral law and related amendments to another piece of legislation. The changes proposed in the bill are a response by the government to a series of recommendations proposed by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs in its 13th Report in June 2006, entitled Improving the Integrity of the Electoral Process: Recommendations for Legislative Change. The Committee developed its recommendations in conjunction with its review of the recommendations for legislative reform contained in the Chief Electoral Officer’s report on the 38th general election pursuant to section 535 of the Canada Elections Act, tabled in the House of Commons on 29 September 2005".

(...)

"The amendments proposed in Bill C-31 touch on diverse aspects of election management and conduct, and affect many disparate parts of the Canada Elections Act including: data collection for the purpose of maintaining the National Register of Electors; registration of electors; identification at the polls; access to voting opportunities; and campaigning."

There is more about the progress of the bill as well as background information on the Library of Parliament's LEGISinfo website.

Earlier Library Boy posts on elections and electoral law include:

• Electoral Law Resources on the Internet (January 3, 2006)
• History of the Right to Vote in Canada (December 1, 2005)
• Election Law Reform Rolling Across Canada (March 23, 2005)