Between phantom addresses and outdated information, the permanent voters list is an "abject failure" that's leaving huge numbers out of the democratic loop, critics charge. NDP MP Yvon Godin said he used the Elections Canada list for a recent mailing to 3,000 constituents in his New Brunswick riding. About half of them came back. "The addresses don't exist," he said. "A pile of envelopes just came back." Elections Canada created a national register of electors in 2000, replacing the costly and time-consuming traditional system of door-to-door enumeration. Names are collected and updated from provincial and territorial motor vehicle registrars, Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and other information supplied by electors. But Godin slammed the permanent list process as deeply flawed and is demanding an "urgent" appearance from chief electoral officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley to address how the problems can be fixed. "The whole process is falling apart," he said. NDP MP Pat Martin noted low-income and transient people in inner cities are most likely to be left off the list because they don't drive cars and don't always file income tax returns each year. Voters not on the list can be added with proper ID on election day, but they're often turned off by long lineups, he added.
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