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Bill C-250

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	1st Session, 36th Parliament, 46 Elizabeth II, 1997
	The House of Commons of Canada
	BILL C-250
	An Act to amend the Referendum Act
	Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
1992, c. 30; 1996, c. 35	*1. (1) Section 2 of the Referendum Act* is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:**
``auditor'' « vérifica- teur »	``auditor'' means a person who is a member in good standing of an association or institute of professional accountants of a province and who is recognized by that association or institute as qualified to carry out the duties of an auditor for the purposes of this Act, and includes a firm, every partner of which is such a person;
``Clerk'' « greffier »	``Clerk'' means the Clerk of the House of Commons;
``constitu- tional amendment'' « modifica- tion constitution- nelle »	``constitutional amendment'' means a proposal for an amendment to the Constitution of Canada;
``judge'' « juge »	``judge'' means a judge of the Federal Court of Canada;
``petition committee'' « comité de pétition- naires »	``petition committee'' means the person or persons who submit a petition under subsection 3(1.1) or 3(1.3);
``working day'' « jour ouvrable »	``working day'' means a day that is not a Saturday, a Sunday, a holiday under the Holidays Act or a holiday under an Act of the legislature of a province.
	(2) The definition ``federal party'' in section 2 of the Act is replaced by the following:
``federal party'' « parti fédéral »	``federal party'' means a political party that
	(a) has one or more elected members in the House of Commons on the day on which writs of referendum are issued or, if Parliament is then dissolved, had one or more such members immediately before dissolution, or
	(b) is registered under the Canada Elections Act;
	(3) The definition ``provincial party'' in section 2 of the Act is replaced by the following:
``provincial party'' « parti provincial »	``provincial party'' means a political party that
	(a) has one or more elected members in a provincial legislature on the day on which writs of referendum are issued or, if the legislature is then dissolved, had one or more such members immediately before dissolution, or
	(b) is registered under the Act of a province that regulates the registration of political parties;
	2. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 2:
Effect of referendum	2.1 (1) A proposal for legislation that has been approved by electors by a majority vote in a referendum shall be deemed to have been passed at second reading in the House of Commons and shall be referred to such committee as the House may order for consideration and report to the House.
Constitu- tional amendments	(2) The following shall be deemed to have been proposed as a motion in the Senate and House of Commons and shall be debated in each House no later than the fifteenth day on which that House sits following the referendum and put to the question no later than the tenth day on which that House sits following the commencement of debate:
	(a) an amendment to any part of the Constitution of Canada that may be amended pursuant to subsection 38(1) or section 42 of the Constitution Act, 1982 and that has been approved by electors by a majority vote and by a majority vote in at least two-thirds of the provinces that have, in the aggregate, according to the then latest general census, at least fifty per cent of the population of all the provinces;
	(b) an amendment to any part of the Constitution of Canada that may be amended pursuant to section 41 of the Constitution Act, 1982 that has been approved by electors by a majority vote in each province in a referendum;
	(c) an amendment to any part of the Constitution of Canada that may be amended pursuant to section 43 of the Constitution Act, 1982 that has been approved by electors by a majority vote in each province to which the amendment applies; and
	(d) an amendment to any part of the Constitution of Canada that may be amended pursuant to section 44 of the Constitution Act, 1982 that has been approved by electors by a majority vote.
	3. Subsection 3(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Referendum initiated by Governor in Council	3. (1) Where the Governor in Council considers that it is in the public interest to obtain by means of a referendum the opinion of electors on the question of whether an amendment should be made to the Constitution of Canada or on the question of whether an Act of Parliament should be brought into force , the Governor in Council may, by proclamation, direct that the opinion of electors be obtained by putting the question to the electors of Canada or of one or more provinces specified in the proclamation at a referendum called for that purpose.
	4. Section 3 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):
Constitu- tional referendum initiated by petition	(1.1) Where a petition is submitted to the Speaker of the House of Commons stating that the petitioners consider that it is in the public interest to obtain by means of a referendum the opinion of electors on the question of whether an amendment, drafted by the petitioners, should be made to the Constitution of Canada under the amending formula in subsection 38(1) or section 41, 42, 43 or 44 of the Constitution Act, 1982, the Speaker shall transmit the petition to the Governor in Council and the Governor in Council shall, by proclamation, direct that the opinion of electors be obtained by putting the question to the electors of Canada at a referendum called for that purpose.
Form of petition	(1.2) A petition submitted to the Speaker pursuant to subsection (1.1) must
	(a) be accompanied by the text of the proposed constitutional amendment;
	(b) contain the signatures of a number of electors equal to or greater than three per cent or more of the total votes cast in the most recent general election; and
	(c) conform to all other requirements of this Act.
Referendum initiated by petition	(1.3) Where a petition is submitted to the Speaker of the House of Commons stating that the petitioners consider that it is in the public interest to obtain by means of a referendum the opinion of electors on the question of whether legislation proposed by the petitioners should be enacted by Parliament, the Governor in Council shall, by proclamation, direct that the opinion of electors be obtained by putting the question to the electors of Canada at a referendum called for that purpose.
Require- ments for petition	(1.4) A petition submitted to the Speaker pursuant to subsection (1.3) must
	(a) be accompanied by the text of the proposed legislation;
	(b) contain the signatures of a number of electors equal to or greater than three per cent or more of the total votes cast in the most recent general election; and
	(c) conform to all other requirements of this Act.
	5. Subsection 3(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:
More than one question	(2) In the event that more than one petition that qualifies to be placed on the ballot is submitted to the Speaker of the House of Commons, a proclamation may direct that more than one question be put to electors at the same time.
	6. Section 5 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Question	5. (1) A referendum question shall be worded ``Do you support'', followed by the long title of the bill and a question mark.
Question to operate notwith- standing Charter	(2) Where proposed legislation includes, among its provisions, use of the provision, under section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, that Parliament may enact laws notwithstanding certain other provisions of the Charter, the ballot must include, before the place to be marked by the elector, the following:
	``This proposed legislation invokes section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the ``Notwithstanding Clause'') that will permit the bill to operate notwithstanding certain provisions of the Charter.''
Question where spending authorized	(3) Where proposed legislation or a constitutional amendment would authorize the expenditure of any part of the public funds of Canada, the question on the ballot must include, before the place to be marked by the elector, the following:
	``This proposed legislation (or constitutional amendment) will cause the Government of Canada to increase spending by $ ________ per year, starting in ________ and continuing for _____ years.''
	or, where the appropriation is expected to continue indefinitely,
	``This proposed legislation (or constitutional amendment) will cause the Government of Canada to increase spending by $ ________ per year, starting in _____ and continuing indefinitely.''
Reduction in other expenditure	(4) Where proposed legislation would authorize the expenditure of any part of the public funds of Canada, but would also result in a reduction in other expenditure already authorized, the statement described in subsection (3) shall state the expenditure and the reduction and the net amount.
Incurring liability	(5) Where proposed legislation or a constitutional amendment would have the effect of causing the Government of Canada to incur a liability or a contingent liability, the question on the ballot must include, before the place to be marked by the elector, the following;
	``This proposed legislation (or constitutional amendment) will cause the Government of Canada to incur a liability of $ ________ by the year _____.'',
	where the year listed is the year at which the liability or contingent liability is expected to be at its maximum.
Estimates added to text of proposed bill	(6) In the text of proposed legislation or a constitutional amendment, the expenditure estimates provided to the Chief Electoral Officer shall be included.
Estimates made by Governor in Council	(7) The expenditure estimates required under subsections (3), (4) and (5) shall, in the case of legislation proposed under subsection 3(1), be made by the Governor in Council.
Estimates made by petition committee	(8) The expenditure estimates referred to in subsections (3), (4) and (5) shall, in the case of a bill initiated under subsection 3(1.1) or 3(1.3), be made by the petition committee.
If estimates not provided	(9) If a question that would, if passed, require the expenditure of any part of the public funds of Canada is presented to the Chief Electoral Officer without expenditure estimates, the question shall not be placed on the ballot.
	7. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 5:
Government questions conflicting with petitioned questions	5.1 Where the Referendum Review Council determines that a question that has been placed on a ballot pursuant to subsection 3(1) is substantially similar to a question initiated by a petition under subsection 3(1.1) or 3(1.3) that has been certified by the Clerk, after consultation with the Chief Electoral Officer, to contain a number of valid signatures equal to or in excess of the number required, the question proposed pursuant to subsection 3(1) shall not appear on the ballot.
	8. Subsection 6(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Time at which referenda may be held	(3) Where a petition that has been certified correct under section 33.9 is presented to the House of Commons, the Governor in Council shall, by order made within a month after the petition was presented and published in the Canada Gazette, appoint a day on which the referendum is to be held that must be within a year after the petition was presented.
Date set by Commons	(3.1) Notwithstanding subsection (3), the House of Commons may fix, by resolution passed within three months after the petition is presented and approved by seventy per cent of the membership of the House, a date between twelve and twenty-four months after the petition was presented or the next ensuing polling day in a general election as the date for the referendum.
General election	(3.2) If, after an order has been made under subsection (3), and before the referendum has been held, a writ is issued for a general election, the order is void and the referendum shall be held on the date of the general election.
	9. Subsection 6(5) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Restrictions	(5) A writ of referendum may not be issued during a general election period nor dated later than the sixtieth day before polling day at the referendum.
	10. Subsections 6(6) and 6(7) of the Act are repealed.
	11. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 6:

Bill C-250

BILL C-250