The government opposes the request for an injunction to suspend the ID requirement under the Fair Elections Act

The Council of Canadians and the Canadian Federation of Students are asking the court to give the Chief Electoral Officer back the right to recognize the voter information card as a valid ID – a power that was taken away by law in time for the fall election.

Government lawyer Christine Mohr told the court there were “several concerns” about the use of the information card. The Harper government made changes to the voter identification law last year. Reasons for the changes included issues of security, reliability, misuse and fraud, she said.

“The use of voter information cards could result in inconsistent application of the law,” Mr. Mohr told the judge.

She warned that ineligible voters would be able to vote using the cards as ID and that this would lead to a loss of public confidence in the electoral system.

The council and federation argued in court on Thursday that preventing voters from using their information card could prevent tens of thousands of voters from making their voices heard, but the government disagrees with that argument.

“What concerns us is that there are no rational or empirical studies on these numbers and they are not well substantiated,” commented Mr. Mohr.

In 2011, 400,000 voters used their information card to identify themselves as part of a pilot project. Mohr said it was unknown how many of them used the card because they had no other choice. If voters who used the card had other options they would be able to vote in the next election, casting doubt on the figure proposed by the Council and Federation.

The government argued that use of the card was not necessary to ensure Canadians had the right to vote. The cards could make the process easier for some people, but convenience is not part of the government's mission, Mohr said.

Voters have the opportunity to choose from dozens of different documents, and these IDs are easy to obtain.

“There is no constitutional obligation for this particular document,” Mr. Mohr argued.

She added that the 45 accepted documents included several government-issued documents, such as unemployment insurance benefit certificates, the Canada Pension Plan or a tax assessment.

Prior to the passage of the Voter Integrity Act, the Chief Electoral Officer announced his intention to allow voters to use their information card as valid identification for the next election, along with proof of residency including the voter's address.