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Bill C-237

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First Reading

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	1st Session, 36th Parliament, 46 Elizabeth II, 1997
	The House of Commons of Canada
	BILL C-237
	An Act to provide for a national referendum to authorize the Government of Canada to negotiate terms of separation with a province that has voted for separation from Canada
Preamble	Whereas the Constitution of Canada does not provide for a process whereby a province or a part of a province may separate from Canada;
	Whereas, when a province or a part of a province has, by a vote of its electors, expressed a wish to separate from Canada, principles should exist in law for the determination of whether the expression is a legitimate representation of the wishes of the people of that province or part;
	Whereas, if the expression is a legitimate representation, the Government of Canada must seek the authority of the people of Canada to negotiate the terms of separation;
	And whereas the wishes of those who live in districts where there is no majority vote for separation must be respected;
	Now, Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Short title	1. This Act may be cited as the Negotiation of Terms of Separation Act.
Definitions	2. The definitions in this section apply in this Act.
``binding national referendum'' « référendum national exécutoire »	``binding national referendum'' means a referendum directed by proclamation by the Governor in Council pursuant to section 3 of the Referendum Act, the result of which is binding on the Government of Canada.
``elector'' « électeur »	``elector'', in reference to a province or a part of a province, means a person who is entitled to vote to elect a member of the legislative assembly of the province and, in reference to Canada, means a person who is entitled to vote to elect a member of the House of Commons.
``free vote'' « vote libre »	``free vote'' means a vote preceded by a statement in each House of Parliament
	(a) by the leader of the Government in the House, that the vote is not a matter of confidence in the Government and that all members of the government party are free to vote according to conscience;
	(b) by the leader of the Official Opposition in the House, that the vote is not a matter of confidence in the Government and that all members of the official opposition party are free to vote according to conscience; and
	(c) by the leader of each of the other recognized parties in the House, that all members of the party are free to vote according to conscience.
``separating province'' « province sécession- niste »	``separating province'' means a province that has held a referendum or otherwise put to the electors of the province a question as to whether the province or a part of it should separate from Canada, and the question has been answered in the affirmative by a majority of the voters.
``separation referendum'' « référendum sur la séparation »	``separation referendum'' means a referendum or question put to the electors of a province on the question of whether the province or a part of it should separate from Canada.
Interpreta- tion	3. (1) In this section and in sections 4 and 6, a reference to the Senate is void if the Senate is not at the time a House consisting only of Senators who have been elected to the Senate by vote of the electors of the province or, in the case of Quebec, the electoral district they represent.
Determi- nation by Senate and House of Commons	(2) If a province holds a separation referendum and the question is answered in the affirmative, the Senate and House of Commons shall determine whether
	(a) the question that was put was a simple and direct question asking whether the voter wished the province or part to separate from Canada;
	(b) the affirmative vote was evidenced by a majority of at least fifty per cent of the valid ballots cast plus one vote;
	(c) the separation referendum was held or put and recorded on the basis of the electoral districts described in the law of the separating province for the purpose of entitlement to representation by a member in the legislative assembly of the separating province;
	(d) it was clearly stated by advertisements, in both official languages, published in the Canada Gazette and in every electoral district by publication in at least one newspaper with general circulation throughout the district, at least sixty days prior to polling day for the referendum, and clearly stated and conspicuously printed on the ballot to be marked by electors, on the same page as the voter is to mark the ballot, that a vote to separate means a vote to
	(i) become a separate state, foreign to Canada,
	(ii) cease to be a province of Canada,
	(iii) cease to have representation in the Senate and House of Commons of Canada,
	(iv) lose the right to be a citizen of Canada,
	(v) lose the right to hold a Canadian passport, and
	(vi) lose the right to unrestricted entry to and travel within Canada and the unrestricted right to work in Canada;
	(e) it was made clear to the electors by advertisements, in both official languages, published in the Canada Gazette and in every electoral district by publication in at least one newspaper with general circula tion throughout the district, at least sixty days prior to polling day for the referen dum, and in the manner described in subsection 5(2), that the Government of Canada has no legislative authority to negotiate the separation of any electoral district in which a majority of at least fifty per cent of the valid ballots cast plus one vote are against separation from Canada; and
	(f) any electoral district used in the referen dum had been altered in a way that would significantly reduce the proportion of vot ers who are aboriginal people or people with an ethnic origin other than French-Ca nadian in the electoral district from that existing in the district at the provincial general election preceding the coming into force of this Act.
Free vote on whether conditions met	(3) The conditions mentioned in subsection (2) shall not be deemed to have been met for the purposes of this Act unless both the Senate and the House of Commons determine by a free vote that they were met.
Time limit for vote	(4) Subject to subsection (5), the free vote of the Senate and the House of Commons mentioned in subsection (3) must be taken within ninety days of the day on which the result of the separation referendum is officially announced.
Exception	(5) If the House of Commons is not sitting at the time the result is announced, the determination shall be made within such time, not exceeding one hundred and eighty days, as the Governor in Council may order.
Determi- nation published	(6) A determination by the Senate and the House of Commons in accordance with this section shall be forthwith published in the Canada Gazette.
Reference to Supreme Court	(7) Either the Senate or the House of Commons may, by a free vote, refer to the Supreme Court of Canada any question relating to the separation referendum or the matters to be determined under subsection (2) for the judgment of the Court, and the Court shall issue its judgment within ninety days of the date of referral or within such longer time not exceeding one hundred and eighty days as the Governor in Council may, on the request of the Court, order.
Calculation of time	(8) The time between the referral of a question to the Supreme Court of Canada pursuant to subsection (7) and the issuance of the judgment of the Court does not count in the ninety days referred to in subsection (4).
Proclamation of binding referendum	4. (1) If the Senate and the House of Commons determine that the conditions mentioned in subsection 3(2) were all met, the Governor in Council shall, by proclamation, direct a binding national referendum pursuant to section 3 of the Referendum Act.
Held within 12 months	(2) The binding national referendum shall be held within twelve months of the date the determination is published in the Canada Gazette pursuant to subsection 3(6) and may be held on the same day as an election under the Canada Elections Act.
Subsequent referendum	(3) Subsection (1) does not apply if the province holds a subsequent separation referendum following the one in respect of which the determination is made under section 3 and the subsequent separation referendum is determined in the negative.
Referendum binding	(4) The result of the referendum referred to in subsection (1) is binding on the Government of Canada.
Question in referendum	5. (1) In a binding national referendum, the question to be put in respect of the separating province shall be the following:
	``Do you agree that the Government of Canada may negotiate terms of separation between Canada and (the name of the separating province)?''
Exclusion of certain districts	(2) The question shall be followed by a statement printed on the ballot, in the same size of print as that of the question:
	``The negotiation of terms of separation that may be authorized by this binding national referendum does not include separation by any electoral district of the separating province in which a majority of fifty per cent of the valid votes cast plus one vote were against separation.''
Excluded districts listed	(3) The statement referred to in subsection (2) shall be followed by a list of the electoral districts to which the statement applies.
Additional questions	6. (1) The binding national referendum referred to in section 5 may also put such additional questions respecting the terms of separation as the Governor in Council may determine.
Approval of Parliament	(2) No additional question may be put in the binding national referendum unless it has first been approved by a free vote in the Senate and in the House of Commons.
Separate vote on each question	(3) Each additional question shall be voted on separately and counted separately and the result published as a separate total.

Bill C-237

BILL C-237