“I'm filling time with praise for how great our elections already are. Then I say we need to pass this bill to fix our elections. I talk a lot about how bad it is when too many people run and make the ballot too long. The real point is I want this bill to make it harder for fringe candidates and easier for big-party candidates. I want to ban fake videos of candidates and election officials. I want to add lots more rules on hacking, foreign money, and how parties raise and spend money. I say this is all very careful and reasonable.”
What they said. What they meant.
Plain-language translations from the House of Commons.
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Strong and Free Elections Act
A bill to amend the Canada Elections Act, aiming to strengthen the integrity of the electoral process by establishing new prohibitions related to foreign influence, voting in nomination or leadership contests, and the use of certain contributions by political entities and third parties. The bill also provides new requirements for political parties' policies on the protection of personal information. During the debate, the Liberals highlighted the robustness of Canada's electoral system and the importance of maintaining trust in democratic institutions, while the Conservatives raised concerns about third party financing loopholes and the influence of foreign entities in Canadian elections.
“I'm tired of sitting here voting so late. I'm going to bring up Quebec to make a point about party fundraising. Quebec limits donations to $100. Why didn't the committee make federal limits that low? I'm bothered that people can give $1500 to meet the Prime Minister.”
“I want foreign influence pushed out of our democratic system. Our elections need to have integrity. Bill C-25 will help strengthen the political financing system in Canada.”
“I want to cheer for this bill. Our systems are so robust! Can you tell everyone more good things about this bill? And say how we worked together to go so fast.”
“I want to cheer for our elections and pass this bill. If we change some rules and pass this bill, everyone will trust us. Voters will trust all of us. We need to keep changing the rules to stay in control. Passing this bill is very important.”
“I want to look smart and serious. It took 150 years to ban bribes! Our system has been broken this whole time. We need this bill to fix it.”
“I'm filling time with kind words and saying nothing anyone could pin down later.”
“I want to ban foreign money in Canadian elections. This bill doesn't go far enough. Liberals are finally accepting our ideas after opposing them for years. But there will still be loopholes for foreign money in our elections. This bill won't fix that.”
“You say you don't like this bill. But we worked together on it. So tell everyone which parts you actually support and don't support.”
“You ask what we don't like. We don't like third party funding. It's allowed in general elections. We want to clamp down more. The elections commissioner has too much power. A judge should check them. The longest ballot committee is okay but it could be better. We want a foreign interference registry too.”
“I want the bill changed. It could be better. I won't say how. I just want it to do more.”
“I want the bill to pass. Our party has some small problems with it. The other party has different small problems with it. We still mostly support it. But I want to criticize the government for not accepting my changes. My changes would boss people around more. I want the Canada Elections Act to micromanage people more. I want the bill to pass so elections can be more fair.”
“Foreign groups meddled in our election in 2015. That election saw a Liberal majority replace a Conservative majority. The foreign groups are left-wing like the Liberals. A Conservative MP is asking the other side to talk about this at length so voters remember it.”
“Foreign foundations are funding left-wing campaigns to block our jobs and industries. This frustrates my voters. Let's name specific groups and foundations so voters think that all foreigners are socialist meddlers like them.”
“I want to scrutinize this election bill and hold Liberals accountable. The Liberals delayed setting up a foreign influence registry and don't investigate enough whether foreigners own fishing licences. They created a loophole for foreign money in third party election financing. Liberals make bad laws; we make good ones. I will keep fighting against foreign interference in our democracy and economy.”
“You said we're not listening. I say we worked together fast to pass this bill. Which parts do you like and not like?”
“I want to close a loophole. Foreign money might buy influence over our safety.”
“I want public money for political parties. People can't afford to give parties enough money. Never mind that we already give them tax refunds. The other guys did something bad. Do I want to win, or get votes by complaining about them?”
“I like the rules we have now. Parties shouldn't get automatic money. Make them earn it. That makes MPs work harder for regular people's support.”
“I'm filling time with kind words about a musician. Then I'll talk about the elections bill. I'm happy it bans foreign influence and fake messages. But there's one measure I don't like - voters can only sign one candidate's nomination form. That makes their vote public and it's harder for some candidates. I like to debate so I even signed for my opponent once. But this bill limits choices and I think that's wrong. I'm glad it bans anonymous political contributions. That shouldn't have ever been legal. I also happy about more money penalties for violations. We're changing the names of some ridings. It's good that local people chose them together. I wish we went further and restored public funding based on votes, not donations. Too much money in politics means some will have more influence. We should fix that. We should also think hard about riding sizes and representing constituents well. Maybe we should add proportionality. But we can't create distance between MPs and the people. Even my riding is big to drive across. That makes it hard to know everyone. We need to keep that in mind as we change things. Overall I support the bill but I have some concerns.”