Fair Elections Act (S.C. 2014, c. 12)
Full Document:
Assented to 2014-06-19
77. The Act is amended by adding the following before Part 17:
Division 2Scripts and Recordings
Marginal note:Calling service provider — agreement
348.16 Every calling service provider that, in accordance with an agreement, provides voter contact calling services shall keep, for three years after the end of the election period,
(a) a copy of each unique script used in live voice calls made under the agreement and a record of every date on which the script was used; and
(b) a recording of each unique message conveyed by an automatic dialing-announcing device that is used to make calls under the agreement and a record of every date on which it was so conveyed.
Marginal note:Person or group — agreement
348.17 Every person or group that enters into an agreement with a calling service provider under which voter contact calling services are provided shall keep, for one year after the end of the election period,
(a) a copy of each unique script used in live voice calls made under the agreement and a record of every date on which the script was used; and
(b) a recording of each unique message conveyed by an automatic dialing-announcing device that is used to make calls under the agreement and a record of every date on which it was so conveyed.
Marginal note:Person or group — internal services
348.18 If, during an election period, a person or group uses their internal services to make calls by means of an automatic dialing-announcing device for any purpose relating to the election, including a purpose referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (e) of the definition “voter contact calling services” in section 348.01, the person or group shall keep a recording of each unique message conveyed by the device and a record of every date on which it was so conveyed, for one year after the end of the election period.
Marginal note:Third party that is corporation or group — internal services
348.19 If, during an election period, a third party that is a corporation or group uses its internal services to make live voice calls for any purpose relating to the election, including a purpose referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (e) of the definition “voter contact calling services” in section 348.01, the third party shall, if a script is used, keep a copy of each unique script used and a record of every date on which the script was used, for one year after the end of the election period.
78. (1) Subsection 350(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Spending limit
350. (1) Subject to section 351.1, a third party shall not incur election advertising expenses of a total amount of more than $150,000 in relation to a general election.
(2) Subsections 350(4) and (5) of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Spending limit — by-election
(4) Subject to section 351.1, a third party shall not incur election advertising expenses of a total amount of more than $3,000 in a given electoral district in relation to a by-election.
Marginal note:Uncancellable spending
(4.1) If a general election is held on a date other than one set out in subsection 56.1(2) or section 56.2, or if a by-election is held, a third party does not incur an election advertising expense if, on the issue of the writ or writs, it is not able to cancel the transmission of that advertising.
Marginal note:Third party inflation adjustment factor
(5) The amounts referred to in subsections (1), (2) and (4) shall be multiplied by the inflation adjustment factor referred to in section 384 that is in effect on the issue of the writ or writs.
Marginal note:Election period longer than 37 days
(6) If an election period is longer than 37 days, then the amounts referred to in subsections (1), (2) and (4) are increased by adding to them the product of
(a) one thirty-seventh of the amount referred to in subsection (1), (2) or (4), as the case may be, and
(b) the number of days in the election period minus 37.
78.1 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 351:
Marginal note:Prohibition — foreign third parties
351.1 A third party shall not incur election advertising expenses of a total amount of $500 or more in relation to a general election or a by-election, or, if the election periods of two or more by-elections overlap with each other in whole or in part, in relation to those by-elections, unless
(a) if the third party is an individual, the individual
(i) is a Canadian citizen,
(ii) is a permanent resident as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, or
(iii) resides in Canada;
(b) if the third party is a corporation, it carries on business in Canada; and
(c) if the third party is a group, a person who is responsible for the group
(i) is a Canadian citizen,
(ii) is a permanent resident as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, or
(iii) resides in Canada.
Marginal note:Clarification
351.2 For greater certainty, for the purposes of subsections 350(1) and (4) and section 351.1 if election advertising is transmitted during an election period, it shall be considered an election advertising expense, regardless of when it was incurred.
79. (1) Subsection 353(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Registration requirement for third parties
353. (1) Subject to section 351.1, a third party shall register immediately after having incurred election advertising expenses of a total amount of $500 and may not register before the issue of the writ.
(2) Paragraphs 353(2)(a) and (b) of the Act are replaced by the following:
(a) if the third party is an individual, the individual’s name, address and telephone number, their signature and their certification that
(i) they are a Canadian citizen,
(ii) they are a permanent resident as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, or
(iii) they reside in Canada;
(b) if the third party is a corporation, the name, address and telephone number of the corporation and of an officer who has signing authority for it, the officer’s signature and their certification that the corporation carries on business in Canada;
(b.1) if the third party is a group, the name, address and telephone number of the group and of a person who is responsible for the group, the person’s signature and their certification that
(i) they are a Canadian citizen,
(ii) they are a permanent resident as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, or
(iii) they reside in Canada;
Marginal note:2006, c. 9, s. 46(1)
80. (1) Paragraphs 405(1)(a) to (c) of the Act are replaced by the following:
(a) $1,500 in total in any calendar year to a particular registered party;
(a.1) $1,500 in total in any calendar year to the registered associations, nomination contestants and candidates of a particular registered party;
(b) $1,500 in total to a candidate for a particular election who is not the candidate of a registered party; and
(c) $1,500 in total to the leadership contestants in a particular leadership contest.
Marginal note:2003, c. 19, s. 25
(2) Subsection 405(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Testamentary dispositions
(2) A contribution may be made by way of a testamentary disposition if the contribution is made only in one calendar year and does not cause the contributor to exceed the relevant limit under subsection (1), taking into account any contributions that the contributor made before their death.
Marginal note:Non-conforming testamentary dispositions read down
(2.1) A testamentary disposition that provides for a contribution that would cause the contributor to exceed the relevant limit under subsection (1) shall be read as if the contribution is for the highest amount that would not cause the contribution to exceed that limit, and a testamentary disposition that provides for a contribution to be made in more than one calendar year after the year in which this subsection comes into force shall be read as if the contribution is to be made only in the first of those calendar years.
Marginal note:2003, c. 19, s. 25; 2006, c. 9, s. 46(3)
(3) Subsection 405(4) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Exception — nomination contestant’s contributions to own campaign
(4) Contributions that do not exceed $1,000 in total by a nomination contestant out of their own funds to their own campaign as a nomination contestant do not count towards the nomination contestant’s contributions for the purposes of paragraph (1)(a.1).
Marginal note:Contributions — candidates and leadership contestants
(4.1) Subject to subsection (4.2), no candidate in a particular election and no leadership contestant in a particular leadership contest shall make a contribution out of their own funds to their own campaign.
Marginal note:Exception — certain contributions to own campaign
(4.2) The following contributions are permitted:
(a) contributions that do not exceed $5,000 in total by a candidate for a particular election out of their own funds to their own campaign; and
(b) contributions that do not exceed $25,000 in total by a leadership contestant in a particular leadership contest out of their own funds to their own campaign.
Marginal note:Contributions under subsection (1) not affected
(4.3) Contributions made under subsection (4.2) do not have the effect of limiting the amounts that the candidate or leadership contestant, as the case may be, may contribute under subsection (1) to other candidates or to other leadership contestants, as the case may be.
- Date modified: