Fair Elections Act (S.C. 2014, c. 12)
Full Document:
Assented to 2014-06-19
107. Sections 506 and 507 of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Deregistered party — strict liability
506. (1) A deregistered political party whose chief agent commits an offence under paragraph 497.1(1)(e) is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $50,000.
Marginal note:Deregistered party — offence requiring intent
(2) A deregistered political party whose chief agent commits an offence under paragraph 497.1(3)(g) is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $100,000.
Marginal note:Registered party — strict liability
507. (1) A registered party whose chief agent commits an offence under any of paragraphs 497.1(1)(h), (i), (k), (l), (m) and (n) is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $50,000.
Marginal note:Registered party — offences requiring intent
(2) A registered party whose chief agent commits an offence under any of paragraphs 497.1(3)(i), (k), (m), (o) and (p) is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $100,000.
108. Sections 509 and 510 of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Commissioner of Canada Elections
509. (1) The Commissioner of Canada Elections shall be appointed by the Director of Public Prosecutions to hold office during good behaviour for a term of seven years and may be removed by the Director of Public Prosecutions for cause.
Marginal note:No consultation
(2) The Director of Public Prosecutions shall not consult the Chief Electoral Officer with respect to the appointment of the Commissioner.
Marginal note:Ineligibility
(3) A person is not eligible to be appointed as Commissioner if the person is or has been
(a) a candidate;
(b) an employee of a registered party or a person whose services have been engaged by the registered party to support its electoral or political financing activities;
(c) a member of the staff referred to in any of paragraphs 4(2)(a) to (f) of the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act or a person referred to in paragraph 4(2)(g) of that Act;
(d) the Chief Electoral Officer, a member of his or her staff or a person whose services have been engaged under subsection 20(1); or
(e) an election officer referred to in paragraph 22(1)(a) or (b).
Marginal note:No re-appointment
(4) A person who has served as Commissioner is not eligible for re-appointment to that office.
Marginal note:Position within Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
509.1 (1) The position of Commissioner of Canada Elections is within the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Marginal note:Deputy head — Financial Administration Act
(2) For the purposes of sections 11 to 13 of the Financial Administration Act, the Commissioner is the deputy head in relation to the portions of the federal public administration in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in which the employees referred to in section 509.3 occupy their positions.
Marginal note:Deputy head — Public Service Employment Act
(3) For the purposes of the Public Service Employment Act, the Commissioner is the deputy head in relation to the portions of the federal public administration in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in which the employees referred to in section 509.3 occupy their positions.
Marginal note:Duty
509.2 The Commissioner’s duty is to ensure that this Act is complied with and enforced.
Staff
Marginal note:Employees
509.3 (1) The employees necessary for the Commissioner to exercise or perform his or her powers, duties and functions under this Act are to be appointed in accordance with the Public Service Employment Act.
Marginal note:Casual employees, etc.
(2) Any additional employees that the Commissioner considers necessary for the exercise or performance of his or her powers, duties and functions under this Act may be appointed for a specified term or on a casual basis in accordance with the Public Service Employment Act.
Marginal note:Technical assistance
509.4 The Commissioner may engage on a temporary basis investigators or persons having technical or specialized knowledge to advise and assist him or her in the exercise or performance of his or her powers, duties and functions under this Act.
Marginal note:Authorization to assist
509.5 The Commissioner may authorize a person employed in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to assist him or her in the exercise or performance of any of his or her powers, duties and functions arising from subsections 509.1(2) and (3) and in the exercise of his or her power under section 509.4, subject to the terms and conditions that the Commissioner sets.
Payments out of Consolidated Revenue Fund
Marginal note:Amounts to be paid out of C.R.F.
509.6 The following shall be paid out of unappropriated moneys forming part of the Consolidated Revenue Fund on the certificate of the Director of Public Prosecutions:
(a) the remuneration paid to the Commissioner or to a person employed under subsection 509.3(2) and any additional remuneration paid to employees referred to in subsection 509.3(1) for overtime work to enable the Commissioner to exercise or perform his or her powers, duties and functions under this Act; and
(b) any expenses incurred by, on behalf of or in relation to the Commissioner under any other provision of this Part.
Investigations and Prosecutions
Marginal note:Investigation by Commissioner
510. (1) The Commissioner, on his or her own initiative or in response to a complaint, may conduct an investigation.
Marginal note:Notice
(2) As soon as feasible after beginning an investigation, the Commissioner shall give written notice of the investigation to the person whose conduct is being investigated. The notice is not to be given if, in the Commissioner’s opinion, to do so might compromise or hinder the investigation or any other investigation.
Marginal note:Independence
(3) The Commissioner is to conduct the investigation independently of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Marginal note:Confidentiality
510.1 (1) Subject to subsection (2), neither the Commissioner nor any person acting under his or her direction shall disclose any information relating to an investigation that comes to their knowledge in the exercise of their powers or the performance of their duties and functions under this Act, including information that reveals or from which may be inferred the name of the complainant, if any, the person whose conduct is being investigated or any witness.
Marginal note:Disclosure authorized
(2) The Commissioner may disclose or may authorize any person acting under his or her direction to disclose
(a) with the consent of the person in question, the name of any of the following: the complainant, if any, the person whose conduct is being investigated and any witness;
(b) information that, in the Commissioner’s opinion, is necessary to carry out an investigation;
(c) when a matter is referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions under subsection 511(1), information that the Director of Public Prosecutions requires;
(d) information that is required to be disclosed in the course of a prosecution for an offence under this Act;
(e) information that is required to be disclosed under any other Act of Parliament;
(f) information that, in the Commissioner’s opinion, is necessary in order to enter into or renegotiate a compliance agreement; and
(g) information whose disclosure is, in the Commissioner’s opinion, in the public interest.
Marginal note:Public interest
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(g), the Commissioner shall take into consideration the effects of disclosure on
(a) the privacy rights of any person who is the subject of the disclosure;
(b) the right of the person under investigation to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law; and
(c) public confidence in the fairness of the electoral process.
Marginal note:2003, c. 19, s. 63(2); 2006, c. 9, s. 59
109. Section 514 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Limitation period
514. (1) Proceedings in respect of an offence under a provision set out in subsection 500(1) may be commenced at any time within, but not later than, six years after the day on which the subject-matter of the proceedings arose.
Marginal note:Exception
(2) Despite subsection (1), if a prosecution cannot be instituted because the offender has left the jurisdiction of the court, the prosecution may be instituted within one year after the offender’s return.
Marginal note:No limitation period
(3) Proceedings in respect of an offence under a provision set out in any of subsections 500(2) to (5) may be commenced at any time.
110. Section 521 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Publication
521. The Commissioner shall publish, in the manner and form that he or she considers appropriate, a notice that sets out the contracting party’s name, the act or omission in question and the text — other than the parties’ signatures — of the compliance agreement.
Marginal note:2002, c. 7, s. 94(E)
111. (1) Paragraph 525(2)(c) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(c) in the Provinces of Nova Scotia, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island, Yukon and the Northwest Territories, the Supreme Court;
(2) Paragraph 525(2)(e) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(e) in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Trial Division of the Supreme Court; and
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