Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. E-3)

Marginal note:Sittings of commission; hearing of representations

• 19 (1) A commission may, in the performance of its duties under this Act, sit at such times and places in the province for which it is established as it deems necessary, except that before completing its report it shall hold at least one sitting in that province for the hearing of representations by interested persons.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (1.1) For greater certainty, any member of Parliament may make representations at any sittings held by a commission for the hearing of representations from interested persons.

• Marginal note:Notice to be given by public advertisement

  (2) Notice of the time and place fixed by the commission for any sittings to be held by it for the hearing of representations from interested persons shall be given by advertisement published in the Canada Gazette and in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the province at least 30 days before the day on which the sittings commence.

• Marginal note:Advertisement to include certain information

  (3) There shall be included in the advertisement referred to in subsection (2) a map or drawing prepared by the commission showing the proposed division of the province into electoral districts and indicating the population and name proposed to be given to each district and

  • (a) in the case of the advertisement published in the Canada Gazette, a schedule shall be included setting out a description of the proposed boundaries of each electoral district in the province, indicating the population and name proposed to be given to each such district; and

  • (b) in the case of the advertisement published in the newspaper, a notice shall be included indicating that a copy of the schedule referred to in paragraph (a) may be obtained, free of charge, on request by any person, from the commission at the address set out in the advertisement or from the Chief Electoral Officer at the address set out in the advertisement.

• Marginal note:Form and content of map or drawing

  (4) Any map or drawing included in an advertisement pursuant to subsection (3) shall be in such form and contain such detail as, in the opinion of the commission, will be reasonably sufficient for the purpose for which the sittings referred to in the advertisement are to be held.

• Marginal note:Notice of representation to be given before sittings

  (5) No representation shall be heard by a commission at any sittings held by it for the hearing of representations from interested persons unless notice in writing is given to the secretary of the commission within 23 days after the date of the publication of the last advertisement under subsection (2), stating the name and address of the person who seeks to make the representation and indicating concisely the nature of the representation and of the interest of the person.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (6) Despite subsection (5), a commission may hear the representation without the notice having been given if the commission considers it to be in the public interest to do so.

Completion of Report

Marginal note:Time for completing report

• 20 (1) Each commission shall, not later than 10 months after the day on which the chairperson receives the copy of the return referred to in paragraph 13(2)(a), complete a report for presentation to the House of Commons setting out the considerations and proposals of the commission concerning the division of the province into electoral districts, the descriptions and boundaries of the districts and the population of and name to be given to each district and, on the completion of the report, shall cause two certified copies of the report to be transmitted to the Chief Electoral Officer.

• Marginal note:Extension of time

  (2) The Chief Electoral Officer may, on request by a commission, extend the time for the completion of its report for a further period or periods not exceeding two months in the aggregate.

Marginal note:Obligations of Chief Electoral Officer

• 20.1 (1) On receiving the certified copies referred to in section 20 of the report of any commission, the Chief Electoral Officer shall

  • (a) transmit one of the copies to the Speaker; and

  • (b) with the cooperation of the Department of Natural Resources and in accordance with the descriptions and definitions proposed in the report, prepare and print

    • (i) individual maps of each electoral district showing the proposed boundaries of each district,

    • (ii) individual maps of each province showing the proposed boundaries of the electoral districts in the province, and

    • (iii) individual maps of all cities and metropolitan municipalities, portions of which are in more than one proposed electoral district.

• Marginal note:Electronic version of maps

  (2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall provide an electronic version of each map containing its digital geospatial data to each registered party, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canada Elections Act.

Marginal note:Report to be referred to committee

• 21 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Speaker shall cause the certified copy of the report that has been transmitted to him or her to be laid before the House of Commons and referred to the committee of the House of Commons that it may establish for the purposes of dealing with electoral matters without delay on receipt of the copy by the Speaker if Parliament is then sitting or, if Parliament is not then sitting, on any of the first five days of the next sitting of Parliament.

• Marginal note:Where report received during interval between sessions

  (2) Where the copy referred to in subsection (1) of the report of any commission for a province is received by the Speaker during an interval between two sessions of Parliament, the Speaker shall forthwith cause the copy to be published in the Canada Gazette and a copy of that Canada Gazette to be sent by mail to each of the members of the House of Commons representing electoral districts in that province.

Marginal note:Procedure where objection filed with Standing Committee

• 22 (1) If, within a period of thirty days from the day the copy of the report of any commission for a province is referred to the committee pursuant to subsection 21(1) or published pursuant to subsection 21(2), an objection in writing is filed with the clerk of the committee specifying the provisions of the report objected to and the reasons for the objection, the committee shall, within the first thirty days next after the expiration of that period that Parliament is sitting or within such greater period as the House of Commons may allow, take up the motion referred to in subsection (2), consider the matter of the objection and return the report to the Speaker together with a copy of the objection and of the minutes of proceedings of the committee with respect thereto.

• Marginal note:Form of objection

  (2) An objection in writing under subsection (1) shall be in the form of a motion for consideration by the committee of the matter of the objection and signed by not less than ten members of the House of Commons.

• Marginal note:Reference back for reconsideration by commission

  (3) The Speaker shall forthwith refer back to the Chief Electoral Officer the report returned to the Speaker under subsection (1) together with a copy of the objection and of the minutes of proceedings and evidence of the committee with respect thereto for reconsideration by the commission having regard to the objection.

Marginal note:Reconsideration and disposition of objection by commission concerned

• 23 (1) Within thirty days after the day the report of any commission is referred back to the Chief Electoral Officer by the Speaker pursuant to section 22, the commission shall consider the matter of the objection and dispose of the objection, and, forthwith on the disposition of the objection, a certified copy of the report of the commission, with or without amendment accordingly as the disposition of the objection requires, shall be returned by the Chief Electoral Officer to the Speaker.

• Marginal note:Application of section 21

  (2) Section 21 applies, with such modifications as the circumstances require, in respect of any copy of a report returned to the Speaker pursuant to this section.

Representation Order

Marginal note:Preparation of draft representation order

• 24 (1) Where, with respect to each of the reports referred to in section 20,

  • (a) it is ascertained by the Chief Electoral Officer that no objection has been filed with the clerk of the committee referred to in subsection 21(1) in the manner and within the time prescribed therefor in section 22, or

  • (b) after the report was referred back to the Chief Electoral Officer by the Speaker, the report, with or without amendment, has been returned by the Chief Electoral Officer to the Speaker pursuant to section 23,

  the Chief Electoral Officer shall forthwith prepare and transmit to the Minister a draft order, in this Act referred to as a “representation order”, in accordance with this section.

• Marginal note:Contents of order

  (2) The draft representation order shall

  • (a) specify the number of members of the House of Commons who shall be elected for each of the provinces as calculated by the Chief Electoral Officer under subsection 14(1); and

  • (b) divide each of the provinces into electoral districts, describe the boundaries of each such district and specify the population and name to be given thereto, in accordance with the recommendations contained in the reports referred to in subsection (1).

Marginal note:Order in force

• 25 (1) Within five days after the day on which the Minister receives the representation order, the Governor in Council shall by proclamation declare the representation order to be in force, effective on the first dissolution of Parliament that occurs at least seven months after the day on which that proclamation was issued, and on the issue of the proclamation the order has the force of law accordingly.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Despite subsection (1), if a proclamation under the Canada Elections Act for the holding of a general election is issued during the period beginning on the day on which the proclamation under subsection (1) is issued and ending seven months after that day, the representation order becomes effective on the first dissolution of Parliament that occurs at least seven months after the date fixed by the proclamation under that Act for the return of the writ for that election.

• Marginal note:Returning officers and electoral district associations

  (3) For the purpose of authorizing and enabling, whenever required, the appointment of returning officers under section 24 of the Canada Elections Act or the registration of electoral district associations under subsection 469(4) of that Act, the representation order is deemed to be effective on the day on which the proclamation under subsection (1) is issued.

Marginal note:Publication of order and proclamation

26 The representation order and the proclamation declaring it to be in force shall be published in the Canada Gazette not later than five days after the issue of the proclamation.

Marginal note:Construction of order

• 27 (1) The whole of that part of the representation order relating to any province shall be read together and, in so far as possible, be construed as including the whole of the province in one or another of the electoral districts described therein, the description of each electoral district being accordingly construed as intended, unless the contrary intention appears, to include the whole of the contained area, whether particularly mentioned or not, and any area partly surrounded by the areas expressly described that appears to have been intended to be included.

• Marginal note:Doubtful cases

  (2) In any doubtful case under subsection (1), the Chief Electoral Officer shall finally determine the electoral district, if any, of which any area not expressly referred to in the representation order was intended to form part and shall, within the first fifteen days of the session of Parliament next following any such determination, report the determination, with the reasons therefor, to the Speaker.

• Marginal note:References to territorial divisions

  (3) Wherever in the representation order any word or expression is used to denote the name of any territorial division, that word or expression shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as indicating the territorial division as it existed or was bounded immediately before the issue of the proclamation declaring the order to be in force.

• Marginal note:Incorrect references

  (4) Wherever in the representation order any municipality or other place is incorrectly referred to as a city, town or village, but there is within the territorial limits of the electoral district in the description of which the reference occurs, a municipality or other place of the same name that is a city, town or village but is not of the class, namely, city, town or village, specified in the representation order, the reference shall be taken to be to that municipality or other place.

Marginal note:Maps to be prepared and printed

• 28 (1) As soon as feasible after the issue of the proclamation declaring the representation order to be in force, the Chief Electoral Officer shall, with the cooperation of the Department of Natural Resources and in accordance with the descriptions and definitions set out in the order, prepare and print

  • (a) individual maps of each electoral district showing the boundaries of each district;

  • (b) individual maps of each province showing the boundaries of the electoral districts established in the province; and

  • (c) individual maps of all cities and metropolitan municipalities, portions of which are in more than one electoral district.

• Marginal note:Electronic version of maps

  (2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall provide an electronic version of each map containing its digital geospatial data to each registered party, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Canada Elections Act.

General

Marginal note:Administrative support services

28.1 Despite any other Act of Parliament, the Chief Electoral Officer may provide administrative support services to commissions to assist them in performing their duties under this Act, including by undertaking activities that support

• (a) human resources management services;

• (b) financial management services;

• (c) information management services;

• (d) information technology services;

• (e) communications services;

• (f) services relating to real property and immovables;

• (g) materiel services; and

• (h) acquisition services.