Bill C-229
If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.
|
1st Session, 36th Parliament, 46 Elizabeth II, 1997
|
|
|
The House of Commons of Canada
|
|
|
BILL C-229 |
|
|
An Act to provide for the holding of
citizen-initiated referenda on specific
questions
|
|
|
|
|
Short title
|
1. This Act may be cited as the Citizen-Initi
ated Referendum Act.
|
|
Interpreta- tion
|
2. The definitions in this section apply in
this Act, unless the context requires otherwise.
|
|
``broadcaster'
' « diffuseur »
|
``broadcaster'' has the meaning given to it in
the Canada Elections Act.
|
|
``Chief
Electoral
Officer'' « directeur général des élections »
|
``Chief Electoral Officer'' means the Chief
Electoral Officer under the Canada Elec
tions Act and includes any person autho
rized under that Act to exercise the powers,
duties and functions of the Chief Electoral
Officer.
|
|
``Clerk'' « greffier »
|
``Clerk'' means the Clerk of the House of
Commons.
|
|
``Council'' « conseil »
|
``Council'' means the Referendum Review
Council established by section 20.
|
|
``election'' « élection »
|
``election'' means an election of a member or
members to serve in the House of Com
mons.
|
|
``elector'' « électeur »
|
``elector'' means any person who is qualified
as an elector pursuant to sections 50 to 52 of
the Canada Elections Act.
|
|
``electoral
district'' « circonscrip- tion »
|
``electoral district'' means any place or terri
torial area entitled to return a member to
serve in the House of Commons.
|
|
``judge'' « juge »
|
``judge'' has the meaning given to it by sub
section 2(1) of the Canada Elections Act.
|
|
``list of
electors'' « liste des électeurs » ou « liste électorale »
|
``list of electors'' means either the preliminary
list of electors or the official list of electors,
as the context requires.
|
|
``promoter'' « parrain »
|
``promoter'', in relation to an indicative refer
endum petition, means the person who is
the promoter of the petition under section 8.
|
|
``Speaker'' « président »
|
``Speaker'' means the Speaker of the House of
Commons.
|
|
``referendum
petition'' « pétition référen- daire »
|
``referendum petition'' means a petition seek
ing the holding under this Act of an indica
tive referendum and includes the forms on
which the signatures of the signatories are
recorded.
|
|
``voter'' « votant »
|
``voter'' means a person who votes at an elec
tion.
|
|
``working
day'' « jour ouvrable »
|
``working day'' means any day other than
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Effect of
referendum
|
3. (1) A legislative proposal that has been
approved by electors by a majority vote in a
referendum shall be deemed to have passed
second reading in the House of Commons and
shall be referred to such committee as the
House may order for consideration and report
to the House.
|
|
Constitu- tional amendments
|
(2) The following shall be deemed to have
been introduced as a motion in the House of
Commons and shall be debated in the House
no later than the fifteenth day on which the
House sits following the referendum and put
to the question no later than the tenth day
thereafter on which the House sits:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wording of
questions on
ballot
|
4. (1) A referendum question related to a
legislative proposal shall be worded: ``Do you
support'', followed by the long title of the
legislative proposal and a question mark.
|
|
Section 33 of
the Charter of
Rights
|
(2) Where a legislative proposal invokes
section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms, in that it proposes a law
notwithstanding certain other provisions of
the Canadian Charter of Rights and Free
doms, the question on the ballot must include
the following, to be inserted in the space
between the question mark and the space in
which the elector will make a mark: ``This Bill
includes a provision to invoke section 33 of
the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
(the Notwithstanding Clause)''.
|
|
Spending
public funds
|
(3) Where a legislative proposal provides
for the appropriation of the public revenue, or
of any tax or impost, the question on the ballot
must include the following, to be inserted in
the space between the question mark and the
space in which the elector will make a mark:
|
|
|
|
|
|
or, where the appropriation is expected to con
tinue indefinitely,
|
|
|
|
|
Savings
|
(4) Where a legislative proposal would
have the effect of causing government funds to
be expended, but would also cause other
funds, currently being expended, to be saved,
such savings shall be subtracted from any
increases in spending to produce a net figure
in the statement described in subsection (3).
|
|
Crown
liability
|
(5) Where a legislative proposal would
have the effect of causing the Government of
Canada to underwrite a liability or a contin
gent liability, the question on the ballot shall
include the following, to be inserted in the
space between the question mark and the
space in which the elector will make a mark:
|
|
|
|
|
|
where the year listed is the year at which the
liability or contingent liability is projected to
be at a maximum.
|
|
Constitu- tional amendments
|
(6) A legislative proposal that is a constitu
tional amendment shall be referred to as such
in the question.
|
|
Where
estimates not
made
|
(7) If a question that purports to appropriate
public funds is presented to the Chief Elector
al Officer by the promoter without the esti
mates of expenditure or liability mentioned in
subsections (3), (4) and (5), for every year that
the legislative proposal would cause expendi
ture or liability, the question shall not be
placed on the ballot.
|
|
Estimates
added
|
(8) The estimates of expenditure or liability
submitted to the Chief Electoral Officer shall
be added to the text of the legislative proposal
as the first section of the legislative proposal.
|
|
Estimates
made by
proponent
|
(9) The monetary and time estimates men
tioned in subsections (3), (4) and (5) shall be
provided by the person making the proposal
under section 7.
|
|
|
REFERENDUM PETITION |
|
Proposal for
referendum
petition
|
5. A proposal to promote a referendum
petition seeking the holding of a referendum
in accordance with this Act may be submitted
to the House of Commons by any elector in
accordance with section 7.
|
|
Contents of
referendum
petition
|
6. (1) A referendum petition shall ask that
a referendum be held and shall specify the
question to be put to the voters in the
referendum.
|
|
One question
|
(2) Neither a referendum petition nor a
referendum may deal with more than one
question.
|
|
Proposal to
promote
referendum
petition
|
7. (1) A person who proposes to promote a
referendum petition shall submit the proposal
to the Clerk.
|
|
Content of
proposal
|
(2) The proposal shall be accompanied by a
draft of the proposed referendum petition and
the text of the legislative proposal.
|
|
Content of
proposal
|
(3) The proposal shall state
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notice
|
8. (1) Within twenty working days after
receiving a proposal under section 7, the Clerk
shall determine whether the submission com
plies with section 7 and, if it so complies, shall
publish in the Canada Gazette a notice that the
proposal is approved.
|
|
Rejected
proposals
|
(2) The Clerk shall reject any proposal
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Content of
publication
|
(3) A notice mentioned in subsection (1)
shall specify the name of the person who
submitted to the Clerk the proposal to promote
the referendum petition, who shall be identi
fied as the person approved to promote the
petition for proposed legislation for the pur
poses of the referendum petition and the
question to be put to voters in the proposed
referendum.
|
|
Promotion of
approved
petition
|
9. (1) A person whose proposal to promote
a referendum petition is approved by the Clerk
may circulate and promote the petition for the
purposes of this Act.
|
|
Require- ments in relation to referendum
|
(2) Every person signing a referendum
petition shall write legibly by the signature the
full name, the address that qualifies the
signatory as an elector and the date of the
signature.
|
|
Time limit
|
(3) The promoter shall deliver the referen
dum petition to the Clerk of the House of
Commons within 12 months after the date of
the publication in the Canada Gazette of the
notice published pursuant to subsection 8(1).
|
|
Time limit
|
(4) A promoter, on delivering a referendum
petition to the Clerk, shall give the number of
pages and the number of signatures per full
page and shall identify every page on which
there are fewer signatures and give the number
on every such page.
|
|
Additional
pages
|
(5) Subject to sections 13 and 16, no pages
or signatures shall be added to a referendum
petition after it has been delivered to the
Clerk.
|
|
Lapsed
petition
|
(6) A referendum petition shall lapse if it is
not delivered to the Clerk of the House of
Commons within the time prescribed by
subsection (3).
|
|
Language of
petition forms
|
10. A petition form may be circulated in
either English or French or in both official
languages.
|
|
Who may
circulate a
petition
|
11. (1) A petition may be circulated by any
Canadian citizen.
|
|
Electronic
means
|
(2) A blank petition form may be circulated
electronically or by mail, but a completed
petition form must be delivered with original
signatures.
|
|
Duties of
Clerk
|
12. (1) The Clerk shall, within twenty
working days after receiving a referendum
petition,
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Defects
|
(2) Where the Clerk finds
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
the Clerk shall return to the promoter any part
of the petition that does not comply.
|
|
Duties of
promoter in
relation to
defects
|
13. (1) Where, under subsection 12(2), any
pages are returned to the promoter, the
promoter shall, within sixty days after the date
on which any part was returned
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Review
|
(2) Where the corrected pages are returned
within the time allowed by subsection (1), the
signatures on the pages shall be reviewed by
the Clerk to ascertain whether the referendum
petition can be certified correct and the Clerk
shall notify the promoter.
|
|
Lapse
|
(3) Where the corrected pages are not
returned within the time allowed by subsec
tion (1), the referendum petition sent for
correction shall lapse and the Clerk shall
notify the promoter.
|
|
Certification
of referendum
petition
|
14. (1) Where the Clerk receives a referen
dum petition or a corrected referendum peti
tion that complies with subsection 9(2), the
Clerk shall, within two months after the date
of receipt of the referendum petition or the
corrected referendum petition, as the case
may be, either
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Certification
by Clerk
|
(2) A referendum petition shall be certified
correct by the Clerk if the Clerk is satisfied, in
accordance with section 15, that the petition
has been signed by a number of electors
representing not less than three per cent of the
total votes cast in the most recent general
election and that the signatures were dated
after the publication in the Canada Gazette of
the notice required by subsection 8(1).
|
|
Procedure in
relation to
certification
|
15. (1) For the purpose of the certification
under subsection 14(2), the Clerk shall take, at
random, five thousand names and addresses
from those who signed the petition and submit
them to the Chief Electoral Officer.
|
|
Names
checked
|
(2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall check
how many of the names and addresses repre
sent eligible electors and how many are
duplications and shall inform the Clerk of the
result.
|
|
Eligible
number
checked
|
(3) The Clerk shall then, by applying the
proportion of the names submitted under
subsection (1) that were different eligible
electors to the total number of signatories,
determine whether or not the referendum
petition has been signed in accordance with
subsection 14(2).
|
|
Resubmission
|
16. (1) Where a referendum petition has
lapsed under section 13 or 14, the promoter of
that petition may
|
|