Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault denied knowledge of a cabinet plan to amend election laws to secure pensions for 28 Liberal and New Democrat MPs, testifying that the issue was never raised during confidential meetings he attended with political aides from the two parties.“I did not know what would be in Bill C-65,” Perrault told the House affairs committee, referring to the legislation aimed at amending the Canada Elections Act. “I did not participate in meetings regarding the entire bill. I had discussions on the elements.”Blacklock's Reporter says Bill C-65, if passed, would extend the October 20, 2025, fixed election date by one week, allowing two-term MPs elected in 2019 to meet the six-year service threshold required for pensions. The average pension under the Members Of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act is $77,900 annually.During his testimony, Perrault recalled attending a closed-door meeting on January 25 but maintained that the election date change or pension eligibility were never discussed. “Was the question of putting off the date of the election raised?” asked Conservative MP Luc Berthold. “No, that never came up,” Perrault replied.Perrault voiced opposition to the pension-related provision, stating, “I do not support the change of the election date.”By contrast, Allen Sutherland, assistant cabinet secretary, testified on October 31 that the pension implications were discussed at a secret meeting he attended. “We attended a meeting where the substance of that proposal was discussed,” Sutherland said, adding that records of the discussion were sparse and largely oral.If enacted, Bill C-65 would secure pensions for cabinet ministers Anita Anand, Steven Guilbeault, and Soraya Martinez Ferrada, along with New Democrat MPs Taylor Bachrach, Leah Gazan, Matthew Green, Heather McPherson, and Lyndsay Mathyssen.Mathyssen defended Elections Canada’s impartiality in its consultations. “I appreciate the professionalism with which you treat your role in terms of understanding the very clear neutral rules and importance around the conducting of elections,” she said.
