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(z.13) being the financial agent of a
nomination contestant, wilfully
contravenes subsection 478.4(2) or section
478.41 (failure to dispose of surplus
nomination campaign funds).
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(17) Subsection 497(4) of the Act is
replaced by the following:
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| When certain
proceedings
may be
brought
|
(4) No proceedings may be commenced
with respect to a failure to provide a return or
other document to the Chief Electoral Officer
before the expiration of the period within
which an application may be made under this
Act for an extension of the period within
which that return or document is to be
provided.
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59. (1) Subsection 503(1) of the Act is
replaced by the following:
|
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| Deregistered
parties
|
503. (1) A political party that is deregistered
during an election period does not commit an
offence under paragraph 496(1)(a) or (2)(a) if
the party, during the portion of the election
period before the deregistration, has spent
more than the spending limit set out in section
350.
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(2) Subsection 503(3) of the Act is
replaced by the following:
|
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| Prior expenses
applied
against
spending limit
|
(3) If subsection (1) or (2) applies, election
advertising expenses incurred before the
deregistration or before the day referred to in
subsection (2), as the case may be, shall be
applied against the spending limit set out in
section 350 and, if the limit has been
exceeded, the party shall not incur any
additional election advertising expenses.
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| 2001, c. 21,
s. 24
|
60. Section 504 of the Act is replaced by
the following:
|
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| Judicial
proceedings
and
compliance
agreements
|
504. In the case of judicial proceedings or
a compliance agreement involving an eligible
party, a registered party, a deregistered
political party or an electoral district
association,
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|
(a) the party or association is deemed to be
a person; and
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(b) any act or thing done or omitted to be
done by an officer, a chief agent or other
registered agent of the party, or by an
officer, the financial agent or other electoral
district agent of the association within the
scope of their authority to act, is deemed to
be an act or thing done or omitted to be done
by the party or association, as the case may
be.
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61. Sections 506 and 507 of the Act are
replaced by the following:
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| Deregistered
party
|
506. A deregistered political party whose
chief agent commits an offence under
paragraph 497(1)(e) or (3)(c) is guilty of an
offence and liable on summary conviction to
a fine of not more than $25,000.
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| Registered
party
|
507. A registered party whose chief agent
commits an offence under any of paragraphs
497(1)(l), (m), (n), (o), (q) and (q.01) and
(3)(g), (i), (j) and (m) is guilty of an offence
and liable on summary conviction to a fine of
not more than $25,000.
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|
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62. Section 511 of the Act is replaced by
the following:
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| Commissioner
may prosecute
|
511. (1) If the Commissioner believes on
reasonable grounds that an offence under this
Act has been committed and is of the view that
the public interest justifies it, the
Commissioner may institute a prosecution or
cause one to be instituted.
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| Search and
seizure
|
(2) For the purposes of section 487 of the
Criminal Code, any person charged by the
Commissioner with duties relating to the
administration or enforcement of this Act is
deemed to be a public officer.
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|
|
63. (1) Subsection 514(1) of the Act is
replaced by the following:
|
|
| Limitation
period
|
514. (1) A prosecution for an offence under
this Act must be instituted within 18 months
after the day on which the Commissioner
becomes aware of the facts giving rise to the
prosecution and not later than seven years
after the day on which the offence was
committed.
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(2) Section 514 of the Act is amended by
adding the following after subsection (2):
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|
| Commissioner
's certificate
|
(3) A document purporting to have been
issued by the Commissioner, certifying the
day on which the Commissioner became
aware of the facts giving rise to a prosecution,
is admissible in evidence without proof of the
signature or of the official character of the
person appearing to have signed the document
and, in the absence of any evidence to the
contrary, is proof of the matter asserted in it.
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|
|
63.1 The Act is amended by adding the
following after section 536:
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|
| Political
financing
|
536.1 After the submission to the House of
Commons of a report under section 535 in
relation to the first general election following
the coming into force of this section, any
committee of that House to which the report is
referred shall, in addition to considering the
report, consider the effects of the provisions of
this Act concerning political financing that
came into force on the same day as this
section.
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|
|
64. Subsection 541(1) of the Act is
replaced by the following:
|
|
| Inspection of
instructions,
corresponden
ce and other
reports
|
541. (1) All documents referred to in
section 403.35, 424, 429, 435.3, 435.35, 451,
455, 478.23 or 478.3, all other reports or
statements, other than election documents
received from election officers, all
instructions issued by the Chief Electoral
Officer under this Act, all decisions or rulings
by him or her on points arising under this Act
and all correspondence with election officers
or others in relation to an election are public
records and may be inspected by any person
on request during business hours.
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| Prior
contributions
|
65. A contribution made before the
coming into force of this section shall not be
taken into account for the purposes of
subsections 404.1(1) and 405(1) of the
Canada Elections Act, as enacted by this
Act.
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|
| Coming into
force during
an election
period
|
66. (1) If this section comes into force
during an election period, the Canada
Elections Act, as it read immediately before
the coming into force of this section, applies
with respect to that election and all related
obligations and rights including obligations
to report and rights to reimbursement of
election expenses.
|
|
| Prior elections
|
(2) For greater certainty, the Canada
Elections Act, as it read immediately before
the coming into force of this section, applies
with respect to any election that preceded
the coming into force of this section and to
all related obligations or rights including
obligations to report and rights to
reimbursement of election expenses.
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|
| Coming into
force during a
leadership
contest
|
67. If this section comes into force during
a competition for the selection of the leader
of a registered party, the Canada Elections
Act, as amended by this Act, does not apply
with respect to that competition.
|
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| Suspended
party
|
68. A political party whose registration is
suspended immediately before this section
comes into force is deregistered on the day
on which it comes into force. The Canada
Elections Act, as amended by this Act,
applies with respect to the deregistration.
|
|
| Financial
reporting -
registered
parties
|
69. (1) Despite section 66, for the fiscal
period of a registered party during which
this section comes into force,
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(a) sections 424 to 427 and 429 to 431 of
the Canada Elections Act, as amended by
this Act, apply in respect of the
documents that the registered party must
provide in relation to that fiscal period;
and
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(b) with respect to contributions accepted
by a registered party during that fiscal
period and before the coming into force
of this section, subsection 424(2) shall
apply as if paragraphs 424(2)(a) to (c.1)
of the Canada Elections Act, as they read
immediately before the coming into force
of this section, continued to be in force
except that paragraph 424(2)(c) shall be
applied without regard to the words ``for
its use, either directly or through one of
its electoral district associations or a
trust fund established for the election of
a candidate endorsed by the registered
party''.
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|
| Prior fiscal
period
|
(2) Sections 424 to 428 of the Canada
Elections Act, as they read immediately
before the coming into force of this section,
apply with respect to the documents that a
registered party must provide in relation to
any fiscal period ending before the coming
into force of this section.
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|
| Electoral
campaign
return of
candidate
|
70. For the electoral campaign return of
a candidate filed after this section comes
into force,
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(a) sections 451 to 456 of the Canada
Elections Act, as amended by this Act,
apply; and
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|
(b) with respect to contributions accepted
by a candidate before the coming into
force of this section, subsection 451(2)
shall apply as if paragraphs 451(2)(f) to
(h.1) of the Canada Elections Act, as they
read immediately before the coming into
force of this section, continued to be in
force except that paragraph 451(2)(h)
shall be applied without regard to the
words ``either directly or through a
registered party that endorses the
candidate or through one of its trust
funds, a trust fund established for the
election of the candidate or an electoral
district association''.
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|
| Proportionate
allowance
|
71. (1) For the quarter during which this
section comes into force, the allowance
payable to a registered party under section
435.02 of the Canada Elections Act, as
enacted by this Act, shall be proportionate
to that part of the quarter during which that
section is in force.
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| Advance
payment
|
(2) The allowance payable to a registered
party under section 435.02 of the Canada
Elections Act, as enacted by section 40 of
this Act, for the quarter during which this
section comes into force and for any
remaining quarters of the year during
which it comes into force shall be estimated
on the basis of the most recent general
election preceding the coming into force of
this section and paid within 30 days after its
coming into force. Subsection 435.02(2) of
the Canada Elections Act, as enacted by this
Act, applies to that payment with any
modifications that may be required.
|
|
| Advance
payment to be
taken into
account
|
(3) In the application of sections 435.01
and 435.02 of the Canada Elections Act, as
enacted by this Act, any amount paid under
subsection (2) in relation to a quarter shall
be taken into account. A registered party
that received an amount under subsection
(2) for a quarter that is in excess of the
amount to which it is entitled under those
sections for that quarter shall without delay
return to the Receiver General the amount
of that excess. The Receiver General may
reduce any other amount payable to the
party by the amount of that excess.
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|
| Next general
election
|
72. For the first general election after the
coming into force of this section, the
reference to ``50%'' in subsection 435(1) of
the Canada Elections Act, as enacted by this
Act, shall be read as a reference to ``60%''.
|
|
| R.S., c. 1, (5th
Supp.)
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|
|
73. (1) Subsections 127(3) to (4.1) of the
Income Tax Act are replaced by the
following:
|
|
| Monetary
contributions
- Canada
Elections Act
|
(3) There may be deducted from the tax
otherwise payable by a taxpayer under this
Part for a taxation year in respect of the total
of all amounts each of which is a monetary
contribution referred to in the Canada
Elections Act made by the taxpayer in the year
to a registered party, a provincial division of a
registered party, a registered association or a
candidate, as those terms are defined in that
Act,
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|
(a) when that total does not exceed $400,
75% of that total,
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|
(b) when that total exceeds $400 and does
not exceed $750, $300 plus 50% of the
amount by which that total exceeds $400,
and
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|
(c) when that total exceeds $750, the lesser
of
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(ii) $475 plus 33 1/3% of the amount by
which the total exceeds $750,
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|
|
if payment of each monetary contribution that
is included in that total is evidenced by filing
with the Minister a receipt, signed by the agent
authorized under that Act to accept that
monetary contribution, that contains
prescribed information.
|
|
| Issue of
receipts
|
(3.1) A receipt referred to in subsection (3)
must be issued only in respect of the monetary
contribution that it provides evidence for and
only to the contributor who made it.
|
|
| Authorization
required for
receipts from
registered
associations
|
(3.2) No agent of a registered association of
a registered party shall issue a receipt referred
to in subsection (3) unless the leader of the
registered party has, in writing, notified the
financial agent, as referred to in the Canada
Elections Act, of the registered association
that its agents are authorized to issue those
receipts.
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|
| Monetary
contributions
- form and
content
|
(4.1) For the purpose of subsections (3),
(3.1) and (4.2), a monetary contribution made
by a taxpayer may be in the form of cash or of
a negotiable instrument issued by the
taxpayer. However, it does not include
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|
(a) a monetary contribution that a taxpayer
who is an agent authorized under the
Canada Elections Act to accept monetary
contributions makes in that capacity; or
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|
|
(b) a monetary contribution in respect of
which a taxpayer has received or is entitled
to receive a financial benefit of any kind
(other than a prescribed financial benefit or
a deduction under subsection (3)) from a
government, municipality or other public
authority, whether as a grant, subsidy,
forgivable loan or deduction from tax or an
allowance or otherwise.
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|
(2) Subsection (1) applies to monetary
contributions made in taxation years
ending after 2003.
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|
(3) For monetary contributions made in
2004 taxation years but before the day on
which subsection 74(1) comes into force,
subsection 127(3) of the Income Tax Act is to
be read as enacted by subsection (1) except
that the expression ``to a registered party, a
registered association, or a candidate'' is to
be replaced by the expression ``to a
registered party or a candidate''.
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|
|
(4) If the day on which subsection 74(1)
comes into force occurs during an election
period, within the meaning assigned by the
Canada Elections Act, subsection 127(3) of
the Income Tax Act is to be read, in respect
of that election, as described by subsection
(3).
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|
|
74. (1) Section 230.1 of the Act is replaced
by the following:
|
|
| Records re
monetary
contributions
- Canada
Elections Act
|
230.1 (1) Every agent authorized under the
Canada Elections Act to accept monetary
contributions referred to in that Act shall keep
records, sufficient to enable each monetary
contribution within the meaning assigned by
subsection 127(4.1) that they receive and the
expenditures that they make to be verified,
(including a duplicate of the receipt referred to
in subsection 127(3) for each of those
monetary contributions) at
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|
(a) in the case of an agent other than an
official agent of a candidate, the address
recorded in the registry of parties or of
electoral district associations referred to in
the Canada Elections Act; and
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|
|
(b) in the case of an official agent of a
candidate, the agent's address set out in the
nomination papers filed under that Act with
the returning officer when the candidate
was a prospective candidate or any other
address that the Minister designates.
|
|
| Information
Return
|
(2) Each agent to whom subsection (1)
applies shall file with the Minister an
information return in prescribed form and
containing prescribed information. The return
is to be filed within the period for the filing of
a financial transactions return or an electoral
campaign return, as the case may be, under the
Canada Elections Act.
|
|
| Application of
subsections
230(3) to (8)
|
(3) Subsections 230(3) to (8) apply, with
any modifications that the circumstances
require, in respect of the keeping of records by
agents as required by subsection (1).
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|
(2) On and after the day on which this Act
receives royal assent but before the day on
which subsection (1) comes into force,
subsection 230.1 of the Income Tax Act is to
be read as enacted by subsection (1) except
that paragraph 230.1(1)(a), as enacted by
that subsection, is to be read without
reference to the expression ``or of registered
associations''.
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|
(3) If the day on which subsection (1)
comes into force occurs during an election
period, within the meaning assigned by the
Canada Elections Act, paragraph
230.1(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act is to be
read, in respect of that election, as
described by subsection (2).
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