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| Return of
Chief
Statistician
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16. (1) As soon as possible after the
completion of every quinquennial and
decennial census, the Chief Statistician shall
prepare and send to the Minister and the Chief
Electoral Officer a return certified by the
Chief Statistician showing the population of
Canada and of each of the provinces and the
population of Canada by electoral district and
by enumeration area as ascertained by that
census.
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| Calculation of
number of
members of
the House of
Commons
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(2) On receipt by the Chief Electoral Officer
of a return referred to in subsection (1) in
respect of a decennial census, the Chief
Electoral Officer shall calculate the number of
members of the House of Commons to be
assigned to each of the provinces, subject and
according to the provisions of section 51 of the
Constitution Act, 1867 and the rules provided
therein, and on the completion of that
calculation shall cause a notice to be
published in the Canada Gazette setting out
the results thereof.
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| Determination
by the Chief
Electoral
Officer
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(3) On receipt by the Chief Electoral Officer
of a return referred to in subsection (1), the
Chief Electoral Officer shall determine the
provinces for which an electoral boundaries
commission is to be established under section
3 or subsection 4(1), as the case may be, and
the Chief Electoral Officer shall
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(a) cause a notice to be published in the
Canada Gazette setting out
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(i) the name of each such province, and
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(ii) the name of any province for which
no such commission is to be established
by virtue of subsection 3(2) or 4(2), as the
case may be; and
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(b) cause the notice to be sent to the Speaker
of the House of Commons, the Minister and
the chief justice of each province.
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| Commission
to be
established
with
agreement of
Chief
Electoral
Officer and
Speaker of the
House of
Commons
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(4) Where no electoral boundaries
commission is to be established for a province
by virtue of subsection 4(2) and where the
Chief Electoral Officer and the Speaker of the
House of Commons agree that such a
commission should be established for that
province, the Chief Electoral Officer shall
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(a) not later than ten days following the day
on which the notice referred to in paragraph
(3)(b) is sent, send a notice to the Minister
and the chief justice of the province
indicating that an electoral boundaries
commission shall be established for that
province; and
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(b) cause a notice to be published in the
Canada Gazette setting out the name of the
province.
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| Copy of
return to be
sent to
chairperson
and maps to
be prepared
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(5) The Chief Electoral Officer shall
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(a) forthwith after a commission is
established send a copy of the return
referred to in subsection (1) to the
chairperson of that commission; and
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(b) prepare maps that illustrate the
distribution of population in each province
and supply those maps to the appropriate
electoral boundaries commission.
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| Assistance to
Chief
Electoral
Officer
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(6) The Chief Statistician and the Surveyor
General of Canada shall make available their
services and the facilities of their respective
offices, and render all such other assistance to
the Chief Electoral Officer as may be
necessary in order to enable the Chief
Electoral Officer to discharge the duties of the
Chief Electoral Officer under this Act.
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| Notice to be
given after
each
quinquennial
and decennial
census
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17. (1) Every chairperson of a commission
shall, not later than thirty days after receipt by
that chairperson of a copy of a return referred
to in subsection 16(5), send to the Chief
Electoral Officer a notice containing
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(a) for each electoral district in the
province, the population of the district as
stated by the Chief Statistician in the return
following the last quinquennial census or
decennial census, as the case may be;
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(b) the variation, expressed in terms of a
percentage, of the population of each
electoral district from the electoral quota of
the province calculated in the manner
described in subparagraph 19(2)(a)(i) or
(ii), as the case may be;
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(c) a general statement describing the
manner in which the commission intends to
proceed with the readjustment of electoral
boundaries; and
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(d) an invitation to all interested persons to
submit written comments to the
commission within a period of thirty days
following the publication of the notice
under subsection (2).
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| Publication
and
dissemination
of notice
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(2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall
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(a) publish the notice referred to in
subsection (1) in the Canada Gazette;
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(b) send a copy of the notice to every
registered political party and to every
member of the House of Commons; and
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(c) disseminate to the public, by whatever
method the Chief Electoral Officer deems
appropriate, information about the contents
of the notice.
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| Preparation of
plans
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18. (1) A commission shall, as soon as
possible after the publication of a notice
referred to in subsection 17(1), prepare three
plans for the readjustment of the electoral
boundaries in the province for which the
commission is established.
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| Map or
drawing to
accompany
plans
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(2) A commission shall, in preparing the
plans referred to in subsection (1), ensure that
each plan is accompanied by a map or drawing
illustrating the proposed electoral boundaries
in the commission's province.
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| Plan to be
selected
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(3) A commission shall select, from among
the three plans it has prepared under
subsection (1), the plan it proposes to use to
readjust the electoral boundaries in the
province for which it is established.
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| Guiding
principle in
preparation of
report
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19. (1) The principle that shall guide each
commission in preparing a report is that
effective representation be the paramount
consideration in determining reasonable
electoral district boundaries in the province
for which the commission is established.
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| Rules
governing
preparation of
report
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(2) In preparing a report each commission
for a province shall, subject to subsections (1)
and (3), be governed by the following rules:
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(a) the division of the province into
electoral districts and the description of the
boundaries thereof shall proceed on the
basis that the population of each electoral
district in the province as a result thereof
shall, as closely as is reasonably possible,
correspond to the electoral quota for the
province but in no case shall it vary by more
than 25 per cent from that quota, which
shall be calculated as follows:
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(i) in the case of a report that is being
prepared following a quinquennial cen
sus, the quotient obtained by dividing
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(A) the population of the province as
ascertained by that census
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(B) the number of members of the
House of Commons assigned to the
province in the representation order
that is in force at the time the report is
being prepared, and
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(ii) in the case of a report that is being
prepared following a decennial census,
the quotient obtained by dividing
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(A) the population of the province as
ascertained by that census
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(B) the number of members of the
House of Commons to be assigned to
the province as calculated by the Chief
Electoral Officer under subsection
16(2);
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(b) the commission shall consider the
following in determining reasonable
electoral district boundaries:
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(i) community of interest,
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(ii) a manageable geographic size for
districts in sparsely populated, rural or
northern regions of the province, and
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(iii) the probability that there will be a
substantial increase in the population of
an electoral district in the province in the
next five years; and
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(c) the commission shall recommend
changes to existing electoral district
boundaries only where the factors
considered under paragraph (b) are
sufficiently significant to warrant such a
recommendation.
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| Departure
from rules
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(3) A commission may depart from the
application of the rule set out in paragraph
(2)(a) in circumstances that are viewed by the
commission as being extraordinary because a
part of a province, the population of which is
less than 75 per cent of the electoral quota for
the province calculated in the manner
described in subparagraph (2)(a)(i) or (ii), is
geographically isolated from the rest of the
province or is not readily accessible from the
rest of the province.
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| Reasons for
departure
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(4) Where the commission departs from the
application of the rule set out in paragraph
(2)(a), the commission shall include the
reasons for the departure in its report.
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| Definition of
``community
of interest''
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(5) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(b),
``community of interest'' includes such
factors as the economy, existing or traditional
boundaries of electoral districts, the urban or
rural characteristics of a territory, the
boundaries of municipalities and Indian
reserves, natural boundaries and access to
means of communication and transport.
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| Definition of
``Indian
reserve''
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(6) In subsection (5), ``Indian reserve''
means a reserve as defined in subsection 2(1)
of the Indian Act.
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| Obligation to
hold hearing
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20. (1) A commission shall, before
completing a report, hold at least one hearing
in the province for which the commission is
established for representations by interested
persons.
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| Discretion to
set time and
place of
hearing
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(2) A commission may, in the performance
of its duties, sit at such times and places in the
province for which the commission is
established as it deems necessary.
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| Notice to
Chief
Electoral
Officer and
contents of
notice
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(3) Every chairperson of a commission shall
send a notice to the Chief Electoral Officer
before any hearing is held under this section
and within such time as will allow the Chief
Electoral Officer to prepare for the
publication of that notice under subsection
(4); the notice must contain the following:
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(a) the plan selected under subsection 18(3)
along with the map or drawing required to
accompany the plan under subsection
18(2), a description of the boundaries, the
population of each electoral district and the
name to be given to each electoral district in
the province;
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(b) the map or drawing required under
subsection 18(2) to accompany each of the
two other plans prepared by the commission
under section 18 but not selected under that
section as the plan the commission proposes
to use to readjust the electoral boundaries in
the province;
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(c) a statement indicating that the three
plans prepared by the commission under
section 18 as well as the map or drawing to
accompany each of those plans may be
obtained, free of charge, on request by any
person, from the commission or the Chief
Electoral Officer at the addresses set out in
the notice;
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(d) the date, time and place of the hearing;
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(e) an invitation to all interested persons to
make representations before the
commission; and
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(f) a statement indicating that no
representation by an interested person shall
be heard by the commission at the hearing
unless notice in writing is received by the
commission not later than fifty-three days
after the date of the publication of the notice
under subsection (4), stating the name and
address of the person who is seeking to
make the representation and indicating
concisely the nature of the representation
and the interest of the person.
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| Notice to be
published in
Canada
Gazette and
further
dissemination
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(4) The Chief Electoral Officer shall, not
later than sixty days before a hearing is held,
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(a) publish the notice referred to in
subsection (3) in the Canada Gazette; and
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(b) disseminate to the public, by whatever
method the Chief Electoral Officer deems
appropriate, the fact that any document
referred to in the notice may be obtained,
free of charge, on request by any person,
from the commission or the Chief Electoral
Officer at the addresses set out in the notice.
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| Form of the
notice to be
published in
the Canada
Gazette
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(5) Any map or drawing contained in a
notice published in the Canada Gazette under
subsection (4) shall be in such form and
contain such detail as, in the opinion of the
Chief Electoral Officer, will be reasonably
sufficient for the purpose for which a hearing
referred to in the notice is to be held.
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| No
representation
without notice
to commission
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(6) No representation by an interested
person shall be heard by a commission at a
hearing held under this section unless notice in
writing is received by the commission not
later than fifty-three days after the date of the
publication of the notice under subsection (4),
stating the name and address of the person
who is seeking to make the representation and
indicating concisely the nature of the
representation and the interest of the person.
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| Representatio
n by any
member of
Parliament
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(7) For greater certainty, any member of
Parliament may make representations at any
hearing held by a commission under this
section or section 21.
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| Amendment
of plan
requiring new
hearing
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21. (1) Where, after holding a hearing under
section 20,
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(a) a commission makes a proposal to
amend the boundaries of an electoral
district as set out in its plan selected under
subsection 18(3), and
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(b) at least 25 per cent of the total
population in any electoral district that
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(i) was not within the boundaries of the
electoral district as set out in the plan
will, as a result of the proposed amend
ment, be within the amended boundaries
of that district, or
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(ii) was within the boundaries of the
electoral district as set out in the plan will
not, as a result of the proposed amend
ment, be within the amended boundaries
of that district,
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the commission shall hold at least one hearing
for representations by interested persons in re
spect of the amendment.
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| Discretionary
hearing
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(2) Where a commission is not required to
hold a hearing under subsection (1) in respect
of the amendment referred to in that
subsection, the commission may hold at least
one such hearing where it deems it advisable
to do so.
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| Hearing
ordered by
Chief
Electoral
Officer
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(3) Where a commission is not required to
hold a hearing under subsection (1) and does
not hold a hearing under subsection (2), the
Chief Electoral Officer may direct the
commission to hold a hearing in respect of an
amendment referred to in subsection (1) and
the commission shall hold at least one such
hearing where directed to do so by the Chief
Electoral Officer.
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| Notice to
Chief
Electoral
Officer and
contents of
notice
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(4) Every chairperson of a commission shall
send a notice to the Chief Electoral Officer
before any hearing is held under this section
and within such time as will allow the Chief
Electoral Officer to prepare for the
dissemination of that notice under subsection
(5); the notice must contain the following:
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(a) a map or drawing illustrating the
proposed amendment;
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(b) the percentage of the population in each
electoral district that will be affected by the
proposed amendment in a way described in
subparagraph (1)(b)(i) or (ii);
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(c) a statement indicating that the amended
plan and the reasons for the amendment
may be obtained free of charge, on request
by any person, from the commission or the
Chief Electoral Officer at the addresses set
out in the notice;
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(d) the date, time and place of the hearing;
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(e) an invitation to all interested persons to
make representations before the
commission respecting the proposed
amendment; and
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(f) a statement indicating that no
representation by an interested person shall
be heard by the commission at the hearing
unless notice in writing is received by the
commission not later than seven days
before the hearing is held, stating the name
and address of the person who is seeking to
make the representation and indicating
concisely the nature of the representation
and the interest of the person.
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| Dissemination
of contents of
notice
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(5) The Chief Electoral Officer shall, not
later than thirty days before a hearing is held
under this section, disseminate the contents of
the notice referred to in subsection (4) to the
public, by whatever method the Chief
Electoral Officer deems appropriate.
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| No
representation
without notice
to commission
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(6) No representation by an interested
person shall be heard by a commission at a
hearing held under this section unless notice in
writing is received by the commission not
later than seven days before the hearing is
held, stating the name and address of the
person who is seeking to make the
representation and indicating concisely the
nature of the representation and the interest of
the person.
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