The Director General of Elections in Quebec (DGEQ) is proposing an amendment to the electoral law, in particular to deprive MPs of the power to slow down the process of revising the electoral map if they do not like the delimitation proposal.
That idea is one of the recommendations in a 172-page document released Thursday, less than a week before the Electoral Representation Commission (CRE) begins public hearings to adopt a new electoral map.
The document in question, entitled “For a new vision of the electoral law”, proposes, among other things, the abolition of an important step in the revision process, namely the examination of the CRE’s preliminary report in the parliamentary committee.
The problem is that the electoral law does not provide a deadline for this step, although it must be completed in order for a new electoral map to be adopted.
Knowing this, in the past, MPs who were dissatisfied with the CRE’s proposals often tended to postpone their convening indefinitely, the DGEQ explains in its report.
During the work that led to the adoption of the 2011 electoral map, more than two years passed between the preparation of the CRE’s preliminary report and its hearing in the parliamentary committee, he explains, adding that this delay occurred for the following fiscal year and a half year.
However, such delays undermine a process whose impartiality is crucial and risk jeopardizing the entry into force of an electoral map within the allotted time, argues the DGEQ.
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Therefore, in order to preserve the independence of the process, Élections Québec proposes that deputies be consulted through public hearings to which all citizens are invited, and not through the mediation of the Commission of the National Assembly.
According to the law, such consultation must generally take place within six months of the submission of the CRE’s preliminary report.
The idea is not new, however. The CRE recommends replacing the study of the report carried out by the Commission of the National Assembly with a hearing reserved for MPs since 2017, recalls Élections Québec in its report.
However, such a change would have the effect of depriving elected officials of the only leverage they have to delay the proposed boundary changes, as the CRE’s final report would have to be implemented.
A revision is in progress
This proposal from the DGEQ comes just over two weeks after the presentation of the CRE’s preliminary report, which aims to amend the current electoral map to adopt a new one for the next elections in 2026.
Immediately introduced, immediately criticized: the delimitation proposal, which envisages in particular the withdrawal of two constituencies in Montreal and Gaspésie, was rather poorly received by the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) and the Parti Québécois (PQ), as well as by the municipal elected officials of Eastern Quebec .
Nevertheless, in an interview with Radio-Canada, Director General of Elections Jean-François Blanchet said he hoped to be summoned by the National Assembly commission within a reasonable period of time.
Public hearings begin next Tuesday in Quebec and end with a virtual hearing on November 15.
For collective reflection
The document “For a new vision of electoral law” is intended to stimulate collective reflection, Élections Québec said in a press release on Thursday.
This is particularly about ways to make voting easier through new technologies; Measures to monitor and promote transparency of digital campaigns; and ways to make it easier for voters to access fair information.
The report also examines the design of the pre-election period in the context of fixed-term elections, a concern raised by former Chief Electoral Officer Pierre Reid at the start of the 2022 campaign.
Élections Québec’s proposals will be the subject of consultations starting this fall, particularly with parliamentary groups and all approved political parties. These consultations will take place in parallel with the CRE public hearings.
“We believe that this collective reflection will allow us to propose a new overall vision of an electoral system in line with the times and the expectations of its society,” affirms Élections Québec.