Bill C-277

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First Reading

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	PUBLICITY
Definition	42. (1) In this section, ``referendum period'' means the period from the day after the date of the publication in the Canada Gazette of the notice of the referendum required by subsection 18(1) to the day before the day on which the referendum is held.
Publicity for the referendum	(2) No person shall, at any time in the referendum period, publish or cause or permit to be published in any way or broadcast or cause or permit to be broadcast by radio or television any advertisement used or appearing to be used in connection with the referendum petition or to promote one of the answers to the question in the referendum, unless the advertisement contains a statement setting out the true name of the person for whom or at whose direction it is published or broadcast and the address and phone number at which the person or organization may be reached.
Offence	(3) Every person who contravenes subsection (2) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000.
News or broadcast publication	(4) Nothing in this section shall restrict the publication of any news or comments relating to the referendum petition or the referendum in a newspaper or other periodical or by radio or television broadcast by a broadcaster.
Returns in relation to advertise- ments	43. (1) Every person for whom or at whose direction an advertisment in relation to a referendum petition or referendum is published or broadcast must, within one month after the day of the publication of the Canada Gazette in which the result of the referendum is published, make a return to the returning officer for the district in which the advertisement was published or broadcast, stating where every advertisement was published or broadcast and its cost.
Penalty	(2) Every person who contravenes subsection (1) or who makes a return that is false in any material particular commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000.
Duty of returning officer	44. (1) The returning officer is responsible for requiring compliance with sections 42 and 43.
Report to RCMP	(2) A returning officer who believes that any person has committed an offence under sections 42 and 43 shall report the facts on which the belief is based to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Return open for public inspection	45. (1) Every return under section 43 shall be kept by the returning officer in the returning officer's office, or at some other convenient place to be appointed by the Minister of Justice, for one year after it has been received by the returning officer and shall be made available for inspection by any person on payment of such charge as may be made for inspection of a document under the Access to Information Act.
Destruction	(2) At the end of the period specified in subsection (1), the returning officer shall cause the return to be destroyed.
Transmission to Chief Electoral Officer	46. (1) The returning officer shall, as soon as practicable after receiving a return under section 43, send a copy of the return to the Chief Electoral Officer.
Copy retained available for inspection	(2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall retain the copy for five years from the date of receiving it and shall make it available for inspection by any person on payment of the charge for inspecting a document under the Access to Information Act.
Destruction	(3) At the end of the period provided in subsection (2), the Chief Electoral Officer shall cause the copy of the return to be destroyed.
	PETITION FOR INQUIRY
Canada Elections Act applies	47. The Canada Elections Act applies, as far as it is applicable and with the necessary modifications, to a petition for an inquiry under section 48.
Petition for inquiry	48. (1) Where any fifty electors in an electoral district are not satisfied with the conduct of the referendum in their district, they may, within twenty working days after the returning officer has made a public declaration in accordance with section 168 of the Canada Elections Act, file a petition with a judge of a superior court for an inquiry as to the conduct of the referendum or of any person connected with it.
Respondent	(2) If the petition complains of the conduct of a returning officer or deputy returning officer, the person against whom the complaint is directed shall be a respondent.
Grounds stated	(3) The petition shall allege the specific grounds on which the complaint is founded, and no grounds other than those stated shall be investigated, unless the court so orders and upon reasonable notice being given, which leave may be given upon such terms and conditions as the court considers just.
Number of votes	(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3), evidence may be given to prove that the total number of valid votes recorded for each of the two answers to the question was other than that declared.
Form	(5) Subject to section 60, the petition shall be in the form prescribed by the Chief Electoral Officer and shall be filed in the court nearest to the place where the referendum was held.
Who may be respondents	49. Any six voters in the electoral district may, at any time not later than three working days before the commencement of the inquiry, file in the court in which the petition is filed a notice in writing of their intention to oppose the petition, and shall thereupon be deemed to be the respondents of the petition.
Determi- nation of judge as to result of referendum	50. At the conclusion of the trial of a petition for an inquiry, the court
	(a) shall determine whether, by reason of some irregularity that in its opinion materially affected the result of the referendum, the referendum is void; or
	(b) shall determine the total number of valid votes recorded for each of the two answers to the question.
New poll	51. (1) The court, on declaring a referendum void under section 50, shall notify the returning officer accordingly, and a new referendum shall be taken in the manner prescribed by this Act in the case of a referendum.
Date	(2) The new referendum shall be taken on a day fixed by the returning officer, which day shall be not later than thirty working days after the date on which notice of the voided referendum is given to the returning officer.
Same list of electors	(3) At a new referendum, the same roll of electors shall be used as was used at the voided referendum.
	OFFENCES
Interfering with or influencing voters	52. (1) Every person commits an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 who, at a referendum,
	(a) in any way interferes with any voter, either in the polling station or while the voter is on the way to the polling station, with the intention of influencing the voter or advising the voter as to the vote;
	(b) at any time on the day on which the referendum is held, before the close of the poll, in view of or in hearing of a polling station, participates in any demonstration or procession having direct or indirect reference to the referendum, by any means whatsoever;
	(c) at any time on the day on which the referendum is held, before the close of the poll, makes any statement having direct or indirect reference to the referendum, by means of any loudspeaker or public address apparatus or radio or television apparatus other than a publication by radio or television broadcast made by a broadcaster
	(i) an advertisement placed by the Chief Electoral Officer or a returning officer,
	(ii) a non-partisan advertisement broadcast, as a community service, by a broadcaster, or
	(iii) news in relation to the referendum;
	(d) at any time on the day on which the referendum is held, before the close of the poll, conducts in relation to the referendum a public opinion poll of persons voting before the day on which the referendum is held;
	(e) at any time on the day on which the referendum is held, before the close of the poll, conducts a public opinion poll in relation to the referendum;
	(f) at any time on the day on which the referendum is held, before the close of the poll, or at any time on any of the three days immediately preceding that day, prints or distributes or delivers to any person anything being or purporting to be an imitation of the voting paper to be used at the poll, together with any direction or indication as to the answer for which any voter should or should not vote, or in any way containing any such direction or indication, or having on it any matter likely to influence any vote;
	(g) at any time on the day on which the referendum is held, before the close of the poll, exhibits in or in view of any public place, or publishes, distributes or broadcasts
	(i) any statement advising or intended or likely to influence a voter as to the answer for which the voter should or should not vote;
	(ii) any statement advising or intended or likely to influence any voter to abstain from voting, or
	(iii) any statement, name, emblem, slogan or logo identified with any answer to which the referendum relates or with any proponent of any such answer, other than
	(A) a statement, name, emblem, slogan or logo in a newspaper published before 6 p.m. on the day before the day on which the referendum is held,
	(B) a statement, name, emblem, slogan or logo that does not relate specifically to the referendum and that is so exhibited before the day on which the referendum is held in a fixed position and in relation to the national or regional or campaign headquarters, other than a mobile headquarters, of a proponent of any answer to a question to which the referendum relates, and is left exhibited on the day on which the referendum is held, or
	(C) the publication of the name of any proponent of any answer to a question to which the referendum relates in any news that relates to the referendum and that is published in a newspaper or other periodical or in a radio or television broadcast made by a broadcaster;
	(h) at any time on the day on which the referendum is held, before the close of the poll, exhibits in or in view of any public place or distributes any ribbons, streamers, rosettes or items of a similar nature in colours that are identified with any answer to a question to which the referendum relates or with any proponent of any such answer, other than
	(i) ribbons, streamers, rosettes or items of a similar nature worn or displayed by any person, other than an election official, on the person or on any vehicle in colours that are identified with any answer to a question to which the referendum relates or with any proponent of any such answer, or
	(ii) a lapel badge worn by any person other than an election official;
	(i) exhibits or leaves in any polling booth any card or paper having on it any direction or indication as to how any person should vote or as to the method of voting; or
	(j) subject to any regulations made under this Act, at any time on the day on which the referendum is held before the close of the poll, within, or at the entrance to, or in the vicinity of, any polling place,
	(i) gives or offers to give any person any written or oral information as to any name or number on the official list of electors or any supplementary list being used at the election; or
	(ii) permits or offers to permit any person to examine any copy of the official list of electors or any supplementary list being used at the election.
Defence	(2) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against paragraph (1)(g) that relates to the exhibition in or in view of a public place of a statement, name, emblem, slogan or logo if the defendant proves that
	(a) the exhibition was inadvertent; and
	(b) the defendant caused the exhibition to cease as soon as the defendant was notified by a returning officer or deputy returning officer that the exhibition was taking place.
Exception	(3) Nothing in this section applies to any official statement or announcement made or exhibited under the authority of this Act or the Canada Elections Act.
Removal of names, emblems, etc	53. (1) The returning officer may, at any time on the day on which the referendum is held, before the close of the poll, cause to be removed, covered or obliterated
	(a) any statement advising or intended or likely to influence any elector as to the answer for which the elector should or should not vote;
	(b) any statement advising or intended or likely to influence any elector to abstain from voting; or
	(c) any name, emblem, slogan, or logo identified with any answer to the question to which the referendum relates or any proponent of any such answer exhibited in or in view of any public place.
Exception	(2) Paragraph (1)(c) does not apply to ribbons, streamers, rosettes or items of a similar nature that are worn or displayed by any person, on the person or on a vehicle, in colours that are identified with any answer to the question to which the referendum relates or with a proponent of any such answer, or to a lapel badge worn by any person.
Exception	(3) Nothing in subsection (1) applies to a statement, name, emblem, slogan or logo that does not relate specifically to the referendum, is in a fixed position and is in relation to the national or regional or campaign headquarters, other than a mobile headquarters, of a proponent of any answer to the question to which the referendum relates.
Expense	(4) Any expense incurred by the returning officer in carrying out the power conferred by subsection (1) may be recovered by the returning officer from the persons by whom or by whose direction the statement, name, emblem, slogan or logo was exhibited as a debt due by them jointly and severally to the Crown.
Offences	54. Every person commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000, who, at a referendum,
	(a) except in accordance with any regulations made under the Canada Elections Act or this Act in relation to special voters, possesses any voting paper other than the one received from the returning officer or deputy returning officer for the purpose of recording a vote; or
	(b) does or omits to do an act, other than an act to which section 52 of this Act applies, that if done or omitted to be done at an electoral poll would be an offence under the Canada Elections Act.

Bill C-277

PUBLICITY

PETITION FOR INQUIRY

OFFENCES