Madame Chairman and Members of the Committee,

The Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada welcomes this opportunity to appear before the Senate Committee as it reviews Bill C-2, the proposed Canada Elections Act, since it is the last stage of the legislative process at which the possibility exists to block its passage into law.

Bill C-2 has been introduced and passed by the Liberal Party with opposition expressed by the other parties in the House of Commons, by all of the other registered political parties. It was drafted and amended in virtually complete disregard of the many recommendations and proposals presented in 1998 when the review of the Canadian electoral system was conducted by the Standing Committee of the House of Commons on Procedure and House Affairs, and later during the review of the tabled legislation by the Standing Committee. Most importantly, it was drafted and passed in complete disregard for the profound and deepening crisis of Canada's political system, which is evidenced by the increasingly low levels of voter turnout, just one of the expressions of the consciousness of Canadians that the electoral process is not one which leads to their representation, and is not one which enables them to exercise their rights to participate in the governance of the society. The fact that the current government speaks in the name of a "majority" when the Liberal Party received votes from less than 29 percent of the eligible electors, the lowest ever in Canadian history, attests to the profound crisis of this system. 

It is our opinion that Bill C-2 should be rejected for two main reasons. 

First of all, it fails to provide the most minimal requirement of an electoral law which recognizes the right of citizens to equality before and under the law and of equal benefit and protection of the law in terms of the right to elect and to be elected. The absence of what is called an "even playing field" within the context of the first-past-the-post system of party government is found in the unequal treatment of political parties whereby the parties in the House of Commons are given privileges in the sphere of electoral funding and electoral broadcasting, some more than others. The Party in Power is given the greatest privilege. Bill C-2 failed to correct this violation of the right to equality, a fundamental democratic principle if the electoral law is to be truly free and fair according to any modern conception.

Some of the privileges accorded to the political parties in the House of Commons are also in violation of the requirement for nonpartisanship in the conducting of elections. In this regard, the recommendation by the Chief Electoral Officer that the partisan appointment of Returning Officers be replaced with a system of hiring on the basis of merit was rejected by the Liberal Party. So long as the electoral law does not eliminate patronage in all aspects of the electoral process, medieval notions of privileges will continue to negate a modern conception of rights. Attempts to provide such a thing with a justification in the 21st century only deepen the legitimacy crisis in which the government of Canada is mired. 

This failure to provide Canada with an electoral law which is in keeping with the demands of a modern democracy is the main reason why Bill C-2 should be rejected. Bill C-2 is not enabling legislation for the exercise of the Fundamental Freedoms set out in Part 1, Section 2 and the Democratic Rights set out in Section 3 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

To meet the democratic principle, today these rights cannot be informed by the aim of the past which was that elections must enable the emergence of "a clear and coherent political will in the form of party government." Unless elections provide a level playing field so that all electors and candidates who present themselves for election have an equal opportunity to win, the legitimacy crisis facing the Government of Canada will not be overcome.

Providing an even playing field would address this key problem facing the political process at this time. Elections are for purposes of electing a government, presently comprised of the Party in Power and the Party in the Opposition. This government must represent the popular will and be seen to represent the popular will. Unless this is the case, legislation passed by that Government - an expression of the legal will - lacks legitimacy.

Bill C-2 provides for an electoral process which no longer gives rise to a credible representation of the people, seen besides other things in the fact that no party can claim national representation. It is also seen in the increasing use of motions of closure in the House of Commons to stop debate. It is seen in instances such as the implementation of Free Trade despite the fact that the majority of voters cast ballots against Free Trade. It is seen in the fact that Canada was involved in war without the House of Commons even deliberating on the matter.

While some express this problem in terms of Parliament having become a "joke" because inevitably legislation is railroaded by the Party which forms the Cabinet, or that politicians are inherently corrupt, or that elected representatives have to "toe the party line," we believe that the problem stems from the failure of the electoral and political process to enable all citizens to participate in governance. The legal will is no longer the expression of the popular will of the people. Neither is the Government of Canada seen as representing the popular will nor are the parliamentary debates or procedural arrangements such that the popular will gets expressed in the form of the legal will. A very deep legitimacy crisis has emerged.

In this situation, the need for electoral reform which favours renewal is greater than ever. The current electoral process which came into being at a time only men of property were entitled to vote and be elected, even though the franchise has been extended, has outlived its purpose. The clear and coherent political will of the citizens of Canada can only be expressed through a system of direct democracy. The system of party government and its electoral process represents vested interests. Far from addressing this problem, Bill C-2 further favours those interests. It has nothing to do with enabling Canadians to govern the society they depend on for their living.

In sum, Bill C-2 gives privileges and benefits to political parties rather than recognizing the equality of citizens and their right to govern their society. It negates the right to elect and be elected by enabling political parties to dominate the electoral process, even though the membership of political parties constitutes a mere 2% of the Canadian population. It enables these parties to have complete control over who will stand as candidates, and excludes citizens from controlling the selection of their candidates.

The Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada calls on the Senate to reject Bill C-2 and set out a new process which would enable the electors to fully exercise their right to elect and to be elected, beginning with the selection of candidates and providing public funding to finance the actual electoral process, not political parties, especially the ones with privilege and power. This would include the creation of Electoral Commissions which would ensure that citizens are enabled to exercise rights to recall elected representatives and to initiate legislation. We are providing the Senate Committee with a full elaboration of our proposal as an Appendix.

Thank you.