Bill C-69
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1st Session, 35th Parliament, 42-43-44 Elizabeth II, 1994-95
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The House of Commons of Canada
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BILL C-69 |
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An Act to provide for the establishment of
electoral boundaries commissions and
the readjustment of electoral boundaries
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SHORT TITLE |
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| Short title
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1. This Act may be cited as the Electoral
Boundaries Readjustment Act, 1995.
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INTERPRETATION |
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| Definitions
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2. In this Act,
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| ``Chief
Electoral
Officer'' « directeur général des élections »
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``Chief Electoral Officer'' means the Chief
Electoral Officer referred to in the Canada
Elections Act or the Assistant Chief
Electoral Officer appointed under that Act;
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| ``Chief
Statistician'' « statisticien en chef »
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``Chief Statistician'' means the Chief
Statistician of Canada appointed under the
Statistics Act;
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| ``commission'
' « commission »
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``commission'' means an electoral boundaries
commission established for a province
under section 3 or 4;
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| ``decennial
census'' « recensement décennal »
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``decennial census'' means a census referred
to in subsection 19(3) of the Statistics Act;
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| ``Minister'' « ministre »
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``Minister'' means such member of the
Queen's Privy Council for Canada as is
designated by the Governor in Council as
the Minister for the purposes of this Act;
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| ``province'' « province »
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``province'' means a province of Canada but
does not include the Yukon Territory or the
Northwest Territories;
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| ``quinquennia
l census'' « recensement quinquennal »
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``quinquennial census'' means a census, other
than a decennial census, conducted under
subsection 19(1) of the Statistics Act;
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| ``report'' « rapport »
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``report'' means a report referred to in
section 6;
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| ``representatio
n order'' « décret de représentation électorale »
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``representation order'' means a
representation order prepared under section
23.
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ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES COMMISSIONS |
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| Commissions
to be
established
after
quinquennial
census
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3. (1) Subject to subsection (2), after each
quinquennial census, the Governor in Council
shall establish by regulation an electoral
boundaries commission for each province not
later than thirty days following the day that all
appointments for those commissions made by
the Speaker of the House of Commons under
section 9 are final by virtue of subsection
9(12).
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| Exception
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(2) No electoral boundaries commission
shall be established for a province where the
population of less than 10 per cent of the
electoral districts in the province varies by 25
per cent or more from the electoral quota for
that province calculated in the manner
described in subparagraph 19(2)(a)(i).
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| Commissions
to be
established
after
decennial
census
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4. (1) Subject to subsection (2), after each
decennial census, the Governor in Council
shall establish by regulation an electoral
boundaries commission for each province not
later than thirty days following the day that all
appointments for those commissions made by
the Speaker of the House of Commons under
section 9 are final by virtue of subsection
9(12).
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| Exception
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(2) No electoral boundaries commission
shall be established for a province where
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| Exception
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(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), where
the Minister receives a notice referred to in
subsection 16(4) indicating that an electoral
boundaries commission shall be established
for a province, the Governor in Council shall,
by regulation, establish such a commission for
that province.
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| Definition of
``electoral
district''
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5. For the purposes of subsection 3(2) and
paragraph 4(2)(b), ``electoral district'' does
not include an electoral district that results
from a departure under subsection 19(3) from
the rule set out in paragraph 19(2)(a).
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| Duties of the
commissions
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6. (1) Every commission shall consider the
readjustment of the electoral boundaries to be
made on the completion of each quinquennial
census and decennial census in the province
for which the commission is established and
prepare a report respecting the readjustment.
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| Contents of
report
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(2) Every commission shall set out in a
report
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| Powers of
commission
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(3) In the performance of its duties under
this Act, a commission has all the powers of a
person appointed as a commissioner under
Part I of the Inquiries Act.
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| Rules of
procedure
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(4) A commission may make rules for
regulating its proceedings and for the conduct
of its business, and may provide therein for the
conduct of any inquiry or hearing by one or
more of its members.
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| Staff
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(5) A commission may employ such
technical advisers and other staff, including a
person to provide administrative and
secretarial services to the commission, as it
deems necessary.
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| Salaries and
expenses
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(6) The Chief Electoral Officer shall fix the
salaries and expenses of the staff referred to in
subsection (5) and prescribe the conditions of
their employment according to the Financial
Administration Act.
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| Members of
the
commissions
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7. Every commission shall consist of three
members, namely, a chairperson and two other
members, who shall be appointed in
accordance with section 8, 9 or 12, as the case
may be.
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| Appointment
of chairperson
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8. (1) The chief justice of a province shall
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appoint the chairperson of that commission
from among the judges of the court over which
the chief justice presides or, after consultation
with the chief justice of any other division of
that court or any other superior court in that
province, from among the judges of that divi
sion or superior court.
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| Where no
superior court
judges free to
act
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(2) In the event that no judge referred to in
subsection (1) is able or free to act as
chairperson or where, for any other reason, no
appointment is made under subsection (1)
within the time referred to in that subsection,
the Chief Justice of Canada or, in the event of
the absence or incapacity of the Chief Justice
of Canada, the senior puisne judge of the
Supreme Court of Canada shall make the
appointment from among such persons
resident in that province as the Chief Justice of
Canada or the senior puisne judge of the
Supreme Court of Canada, as the case may be,
deems suitable.
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| Interpretation
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(3) A reference in subsection (1) to the chief
justice of a province includes a reference to
the acting chief justice of the province or any
person performing for the time being the
duties of the chief justice thereof.
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| Appointment
of other
members
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9. (1) The other two members of each
commission to be established shall be
appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Commons, who shall make the appointments
in accordance with this section.
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| Notice for
applications
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(2) Before making any appointment under
subsection (1), the Speaker of the House of
Commons shall, by means of a notice
published in the Canada Gazette, invite
written applications from persons interested in
being considered for such an appointment and
shall indicate in that notice that an application
shall not be accepted by the Speaker of the
House of Commons after the expiration of the
period described in subsection (3).
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| Time limit
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(3) An application referred to in subsection
(2) shall not be accepted by the Speaker of the
House of Commons after the expiration of a
period of six months following the date of the
last quinquennial or decennial census, as the
case may be.
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| When
appointment
to be made
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(4) After consultation, the Speaker of the
House of Commons shall, after the expiration
of the period described in subsection (3) for
the receipt of applications, appoint the
members for each commission to be
established under section 3 or 4 and shall do so
not later than five days after receipt by the
Speaker of a notice referred to in subsection
16(3), except where a commission is to be
established under subsection 4(3), in which
case the Speaker shall appoint the members
for each commission not later than five days
after the expiration of the period described in
subsection 16(4).
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| Persons to be
appointed
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(5) The Speaker of the House of Commons
shall make the appointments referred to in
subsection (4) from among the applications
referred to in subsection (2) that are received
by the Speaker or from among such persons as
the Speaker deems suitable.
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| Tabling in the
House of
Commons
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(6) The Speaker of the House of Commons
shall, not later than the first three sitting days
after the Speaker makes the appointments
referred to in subsection (4), cause to be laid
before the House of Commons a list for each
province containing the names of the
members appointed for the commission to be
established for that province.
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| Consideration
by the House
of Commons
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(7) Where a motion for the consideration of
the House of Commons to the effect that the
appointment of any member named in a list
laid before it under subsection (6) be revoked,
signed by not fewer than twenty members of
the House, is filed with the Speaker of the
House of Commons on any of the nine sitting
days next following the last day on which the
Speaker may cause the list to be laid before the
House under that subsection, the House shall
take up and consider the motion on the tenth
sitting day.
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| Debate
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(8) A motion filed with the Speaker of the
House of Commons in accordance with
subsection (7) that is taken up shall be debated
without interruption for not more than three
hours and, where more than one such motion
is filed and taken up, the motions shall be
combined and debated together for not more
than a total of three hours.
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| Vote
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(9) On the expiration of the period for
debate referred to in subsection (8) or at such
earlier time as the House of Commons is ready
for the question, the Speaker of the House of
Commons shall forthwith put every question
necessary for the disposition of the motion or
motions, as the case may be.
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| Revocation of
appointment
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(10) Where any motion debated in
accordance with this section is adopted by the
House of Commons, the appointment is
revoked.
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| New
appointment
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(11) Where an appointment is revoked by
virtue of the adoption of a motion referred to
in subsection (10), the Speaker of the House of
Commons shall forthwith appoint another
member to the commission of the province in
respect of which the appointment was revoked
from among such persons as the Speaker of the
House of Commons deems suitable, and this
subsection and subsections (6) to (10) apply to
the new appointment with such modifications
as the circumstances require.
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| When
appointment
is final
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(12) No appointment made by the Speaker
of the House of Commons is final until the
tenth sitting day referred to in subsection (7)
has expired and the appointment has not been
revoked by virtue of the adoption of a motion
referred to in that subsection.
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| Definition of
``sitting day''
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(13) In this section, ``sitting day'' means a
day on which the House of Commons sits.
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| Notice of
appointment
to Minister
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10. (1) Where a person makes an
appointment under section 8, 9 or 12, the
person shall forthwith notify the Minister of
the appointment.
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| Publication by
Minister
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(2) The Minister shall, after receiving the
notice referred to in subsection (1), forthwith
cause the appointment to be published in the
Canada Gazette.
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| Regulation to
name
members
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11. The regulation establishing a
commission shall name each of the members
appointed to that commission.
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| Deputy
chairperson
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12. (1) Each commission shall appoint one
of its members as deputy chairperson who
shall, in the event of the absence or incapacity
of the chairperson or where the office of
chairperson is vacant, act as chairperson.
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| Quorum
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(2) At all meetings of a commission, two
members of the commission constitute a
quorum, except for the purposes of voting in
which case three members of the commission
constitute a quorum.
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| Vacancy in
membership
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(3) A vacancy in the membership of a
commission or in the office of the chairperson
does not impair the right of the remaining
members to act but, where a vacancy occurs in
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| Procedure not
applicable
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(4) For greater certainty, section 9 does not
apply to any appointment made by the
Speaker of the House of Commons under
paragraph (3)(b).
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| Persons not to
be appointed
to a
commission
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13. No person may be appointed as a
member of a commission where that person is
a member of the Senate or House of Commons
or is a member of a legislature of a province.
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| Remuneration
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14. (1) Each member of a commission,
other than a person in receipt of a salary under
the Judges Act, is entitled to be paid such daily
allowance as may be fixed by the Governor in
Council.
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| Expenses
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(2) Each member of a commission is
entitled to be paid reasonable travel and living
expenses incurred by the member while
absent from the member's ordinary place of
residence in the course of the member's duties
as a member of the commission.
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| Not agent of
Her Majesty
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15. A commission is not an agent of Her
Majesty and the members of a commission as
such are not part of the public service of
Canada.
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