Bill C-2

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	2nd Session, 36th Parliament, 48 Elizabeth II, 1999
	The House of Commons of Canada
	BILL C-2
	An Act respecting the election of members to the House of Commons, repealing other Acts relating to elections and making consequential amendments to other Acts
	Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
	SHORT TITLE
Short title	1. This Act may be cited as the Canada Elections Act.
	INTERPRETATION
Definitions	2. (1) The definitions in this subsection apply in this Act.
``advance poll'' « vote par anticipa- tion »	``advance poll'' means a vote held under Part 10.
``advance polling station'' « bureau de vote par anticipa- tion »	``advance polling station'' means a polling station established under subsection 168(3).
``broadcas- ter'' « radiodif- fuseur »	``broadcaster'' means a person who is licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission under the Broadcasting Act to carry on a programming undertaking.
``broadcast- ing'' « radiodiffu- sion »	``broadcasting'' means broadcasting, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Broadcasting Act, that is regulated and supervised by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission pursuant to section 5 of that Act.
``Broadcast- ing Arbitrator'' « arbitre »	``Broadcasting Arbitrator'' means the person appointed as Broadcasting Arbitrator under subsection 332(1).
``by-election'' « élection partielle »	``by-election'' means an election other than a general election.
``candidate'' « candidat »	``candidate'' means a person whose nomination as a candidate at an election has been confirmed under subsection 71(1) and who, or whose official agent, has not complied with sections 451 to 463 and 471 to 475 in respect of that election.
``chief agent'' « agent principal »	``chief agent'', in respect of a registered party, means the chief agent named in the application for registration as required by paragraph 366(2)(h).
``close of nominations'' « clôture des candidatu- res »	``close of nominations'' means the deadline for the receipt of nominations set out in subsection 70(2).
``closing day for nominations'' « jour de clôture »	``closing day for nominations'' means the day referred to in section 69.
``commercial value'' « valeur commerciale »	``commercial value'', in relation to property or a service, means the lowest amount charged at the time that it was provided for the same kind and quantity of property or service or for the same usage of property or money, by
	(a) the person who provided it, if the person is in the business of providing that property or service; or
	(b) another person who provides that property or service on a commercial basis in the area where it was provided, if the person who provided the property or service is not in that business.
``Commission er'' « commissaire »	``Commissioner'' means the Commissioner of Canada Elections appointed under section 509.
``contribu- tion'' « contribution »	``contribution'' means a monetary contribution or a non-monetary contribution.
``election'' « élection »	``election'' means an election of a member to serve in the House of Commons.
``election documents'' « documents électoraux »	``election documents'' means the following documents:
	(a) the writ with the return of the election endorsed on it;
	(b) the nomination papers filed by the candidates;
	(c) the reserve supply of undistributed blank ballot papers;
	(d) documents relating to the revision of the lists of electors;
	(e) the statements of the vote from which the validation of results was made; and
	(f) the other returns from the various polling stations enclosed in sealed envelopes, as required by Part 12, and containing
	(i) a packet of stubs and unused ballot papers,
	(ii) packets of ballot papers cast for the various candidates,
	(iii) a packet of spoiled ballot papers,
	(iv) a packet of rejected ballot papers,
	(v) a packet containing the list of electors used at the polling station, the written appointments of candidates' representatives and the used transfer certificates, if any, and
	(vi) a packet containing the registration certificates.
``election officer'' « fonctionnair e électoral »	``election officer'' means a person referred to in subsection 22(1).
``election period'' « période électorale »	``election period'' means the period beginning with the issue of the writ and ending on polling day or, where the writ is withdrawn under subsection 59(1) or is deemed to be withdrawn under section 551, on the day that the writ is withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn.
``elector'' « électeur »	``elector'' means a person who is qualified as an elector under section 3.
``electoral district'' « circonscrip- tion »	``electoral district'' means a place or territorial area that is represented by a member in the House of Commons.
``eligible party'' « parti admissible »	``eligible party'' means a political party that satisfies the criteria set out in section 368.
``judge'' « juge »	``judge'', when used to define the judicial officer on whom is conferred specific powers, means
	(a) in relation to the Province of Ontario, a judge of the Superior Court of Justice;
	(b) in relation to the Province of Quebec, a judge of the Superior Court of Quebec;
	(c) in relation to the Provinces of Nova Scotia and British Columbia, a judge of the Supreme Court of the Province;
	(d) in relation to the Provinces of New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, a judge of the Court of Queen's Bench of the Province;
	(e) in relation to the Provinces of Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland, a judge of the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of the Province;
	(f) in relation to the electoral district of the Yukon Territory, a judge of the Supreme Court of the Yukon Territory;
	(g) in relation to the electoral district of the Northwest Territories, a judge of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories;
	(h) in relation to the electoral district of Nunavut, a judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice; and
	(i) in relation to any place or territory in Canada,
	(i) if a vacancy exists or arises in the office of any such judge or if such a judge is unable to act by reason of illness or absence from their judicial district, the judge exercising the jurisdiction of that judge,
	(ii) if there is more than one judge exercising that jurisdiction, the senior of them, and
	(iii) if no judge is exercising that jurisdiction, a judge designated for the purpose by the Minister of Justice.
``list of electors'' « liste électorale »	``list of electors'' means the list showing the surname, given names, civic address and mailing address of every elector in a polling division.
``member'' « député »	``member'' means a member of the House of Commons.
``Minister'' « ministre »	``Minister'' means the member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada designated by the Governor in Council for the purposes of this Act.
``monetary contribution'' « contribu- tion monétaire »	``monetary contribution'' means an amount of money provided that is not repayable.
``non-monetar y contribution'' « contribu- tion non monétaire »	``non-monetary contribution'' means the commercial value of a service, other than volunteer labour, or of property or of the use of property or money to the extent that they are provided without charge or at less than their commercial value.
``oath'' « serment »	``oath'' includes a solemn affirmation and a statutory declaration.
``official agent'' « agent officiel »	``official agent'' means the official agent appointed by a candidate as required by subsection 83(1).
``official list of electors'' « liste électorale officielle »	``official list of electors'' means the list of electors prepared by the returning officer under section 106.
``periodical publication'' « publication périodique »	``periodical publication'' means a paper, magazine or periodical that is published periodically or in parts or numbers and that contains public news, intelligence or reports of events, or advertisements.
``personal information'' « renseigne- ments personnels »	``personal information'' means personal information as defined in section 3 of the Privacy Act.
``political affiliation'' « appartenan- ce politique »	``political affiliation'', in respect of a candidate, means the name of the registered party or the word ``independent'', as the case may be, referred to in subparagraph 66(1)(a)(v) in the statement included in the candidate's nomination paper.
``polling day'' « jour du scrutin »	``polling day'', in relation to an election, means the date fixed under paragraph 57(1)(c) for voting at the election.
``polling division'' « section de vote »	``polling division'' means a polling division referred to in section 538.
``polling station'' « bureau de scrutin »	``polling station'' means a place established under section 120, 122, 125, 205, 206, 207, 253 or 255 for electors to cast their votes.
``preliminary list of electors'' « liste électorale préliminaire »	``preliminary list of electors'' means the list of electors prepared by the Chief Electoral Officer under subsection 93(1).
``prescribed'' « prescrit »	``prescribed'', in relation to a form or an oath, means one that is authorized by the Chief Electoral Officer.
``recount'' « dépouille- ment judiciaire »	``recount'' means a recount of votes by a judge under Part 14.
``registered agent'' « agent enregistré »	``registered agent'', in relation to a registered party, means a person referred to in section 375 and includes the chief agent of the registered party.
``registered party'' « parti enregistré »	``registered party'' means a political party that is entered in the registry of parties referred to in section 374 as a registered party.
``Register of Electors'' « Registre des électeurs »	``Register of Electors'' means the Register of Electors established under section 44.
``revised list of electors'' « liste électorale révisée »	``revised list of electors'' means the list of electors prepared by the returning officer under section 105.
``spoiled'' « annulé »	``spoiled'', in relation to a ballot or a special ballot as defined in section 177, means
	(a) one that has not been deposited in the ballot box but has been found by the deputy returning officer to be soiled or improperly printed; or
	(b) one that is dealt with under subsection 152(1), including in relation to advance polls by virtue of subsection 171(1), or subsection 213(4), 242(1) or 258(3).
``volunteer labour'' « travail bénévole »	``volunteer labour'' means any service provided free of charge by a person outside their working hours, but does not include such a service provided by a person who is self-employed if the service is one that is normally charged for by that person.
``writ'' « bref »	``writ'' means a writ of election.
No commercial value	(2) For the purposes of this Act, the commercial value of property or a service is deemed to be nil if
	(a) it is provided by a person who is not in the business of providing that property or those services; and
	(b) the amount charged for it is $200 or less.
Satisfactory proof of identity and residence	(3) For the purposes of this Act, satisfactory proof of an elector's identity and satisfactory proof of residence are established by the documentary proof of the elector's identity and residence that is prescribed by the Chief Electoral Officer.
Time	(4) A reference to a time of day in this Act is a reference to local time.

Bill C-2

BILL C-2

SHORT TITLE

INTERPRETATION