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

Marginal note:Powers of commission

• 16 (1) In the performance of its duties under this Act, a commission has all of the powers of a person appointed as a commissioner under Part I of the Inquiries Act.

• Marginal note:Staff

  (2) 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 and, subject to the approval of the Treasury Board, may fix the salaries and expenses of such persons and prescribe the conditions of their employment.

Marginal note:Duty to assist

17 The Chief Statistician and the Department of Natural Resources shall make available their services and facilities, and render all other assistance that may be necessary, to a commission in order to enable the commission to discharge its duties under this Act.

Marginal note:Rules of procedure

18 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.

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.