Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
Legal and
Constitutional Affairs
Issue 28 - Evidence
OTTAWA, Monday, June 8, 1998
The Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, to which was referred Bill C-410, to change the name of certain electoral districts; and Bill C-411, to amend the Canada Elections Act, met this day at 3:34 p.m. to give consideration to the bills.
Senator Pierre Claude Nolin (Acting Chairman) in the Chair.
[English]
The Acting Chairman: This afternoon, in dealing with these two bills, we will hear from expert witnesses.
We will hear from the witnesses on both bills, but we will commence with Bill C-410.
[Translation]
Mr. Jacques Girard, Director, Legal Services and Registrar of Political Parties, Elections Canada: As I indicated to the committee clerk, since we were not notified until last Friday that we were to appear before the committee, we have not prepared any preliminary notes. The purpose of the bill is to change the name of 18 electoral districts. This is not the first time that legislation of this nature has been introduced and it does not create any major problems for Elections Canada.
The Acting Chairman: You have examined the bill and the proposed changes to the names of 18 or 19 electoral districts and you say that this poses no problem for Elections Canada?
Mr. Girard: That is correct. Our position over the last several years has been that when an electoral district gets a new name, we do not destroy any existing material. We liquidate our inventory of maps, saving a considerable amount of money in the process. When the next printing is done, the amended names appears on the new documents. In the meantime, we include an addendum in each provincial atlas mentioning the name changes in the case of a certain electoral districts.
Senator Gigantès: If I understand correctly then, a member wishes to change the name of his riding to the designation that appears in the bill.
The Acting Chairman: Several members, in fact, have applied to change the names of their ridings.
Senator Gigantès: Several members?
The Acting Chairman: The bill proposes to change the name of 18 electoral districts. An amendment will be tabled later to change the name of a 19th district. Therefore, 19 members in all are requesting that the name of their electoral district be changed.
Senator Gigantès: I have been told that with respect to one of the ridings, the member wishes to make a further name change. I am not talking about the 19th riding, but about one of the original eighteen in the bill.
The Acting Chairman: I believe you are referring to clause 6 of the bill which pertains to a Quebec riding.
Senator Gigantès: What happens in this case? Should we proceed to change the name and then send everything back to the House with an amendment? I have been told that technically, we can do this and the House will look the other way.
The Acting Chairman: We have only one amendment to make to this bill and it is the one to which you referred. This amendment does not change the names given, but rather the order in which they appear. Perhaps we could hear from the Senate counsel, Mr. Audcent, as to why we can proceed with nothing more than an editorial change. However, I do not think that we will take that route since there is also an additional amendment which would add a 19th clause to this bill.
Senator Gigantès: A name change is being proposed for a 19th riding?
The Acting Chairman: Precisely. This is a legitimate amendment, which means that the bill will have to be referred back to the House of Commons in its entirety. In fact, we are proposing to add a new clause, clause 19, and to amend clause 6. I am going to recommend to the committee that it consider these two amendments as real amendments, not merely technical ones, as is actually the case with clause 6.
[English]
We will deal with Bill C-410, clause-by-clause.
A new section 19 is proposed.
Before we proceed further, I would welcome Senators Fitzpatrick and Chalifoux. This is your first meeting of our committee.
Senator Fitzpatrick: Thank you. I am experiencing quite a few firsts.
I move that Bill C-410 be amended on page 4 by adding after line 16 clause 19, the text of which has been distributed to committee members.
The Acting Chairman: We all have copies of the amendments, so you need not read it into the record.
Senator Fitzpatrick: By way of explanation, in that riding, there are three cities: Port Moody, Coquitlam, and Port Coquitlam. I believe one of those city names was left out.
The Acting Chairman: Shall the new clause 19 carry?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Acting Chairman: Carried.
Shall clauses 1 to 5 carry?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Acting Chairman: Carried.
Senator Gigantès, I know you wish to introduce an amendment to the proposed section 6.
[Translation]
Senator Gigantès: I move that Bill C-410 be amended in clause 6, on page 2, by replacing lines 13 and 14 with the following:
"ing the name Beauport--Montmorency--Côte-de-Beaupré--Ile d'Orléans" for"
[English]
The Acting Chairman: Shall clause 6 as amended carry?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Acting Chairman: Carried.
Shall clauses 7 to 18 carry?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Acting Chairman: Carried.
Shall the title carry?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Acting Chairman: Carried.
Shall the bill as amended carry?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Acting Chairman: Carried.
Shall I report the bill as amended to the Senate?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
The Acting Chairman: Carried.
I will report the bill this evening. If the Senate agrees, we will then debate our report to ensure that the bill as amended will be return to the House of Commons and be dealt with before the adjournment.
We will now deal with Bill C-411, an act to amend the Canada Elections Act. Again, we have Mr. Girard and Mrs. Cerretti here to answer our questions. Please proceed.
[Translation]
Mr. Girard: For anyone who took the time to read this bill, it must have seemed highly technical. With your permission, I will try to explain the impact this legislation will have.
The provisions of the Elections Act adopted nearly 20 years ago apply each time a candidate or official agent files a return containing an error, neglects to act within the prescribed time, fails to submit a claim following an election or fails to pay it within the time specified or seeks an extension on certain grounds for filing his return. As a result of these legislative provisions, a candidate must retain a lawyer and file an application with a judge. The outcome can vary from one province to another. The candidate's actions may be excused or he may be granted a further extension. Sometimes, a candidate seeks an extension merely because he wishes to make extremely minor corrections to his return.
In 1996, Elections Canada recommended to Parliament that it amend the legislation to authorize the Chief Electoral Officer, at the request of a candidate or his agent, to extend the time prescribed for filing certain documents.
This is the intent of this legislation. Prior to involving the courts, a candidate or his agent will first be given time to explain the reason for the delay or to advise us that he wishes to amend his return because, for instance, he failed to include a Bell Canada invoice which arrived after he had filed his expense report. Elections Canada could then authorize the payment of the bill and the amendment of the return. This would be a way to settle the matter rather than get the courts involved.
We at Elections Canada are satisfied with this bill. It will certainly speed up the process of settling claims after general elections and by-elections.
Senator Gigantès: However, you would still reserve the right to reject the application and if the explanations provided were not deemed satisfactory, you could still consider the possibility of election fraud. Is that correct?
Mr. Girard: Yes, we can reject an application, in which case the current mechanism kicks in. In such instances, the candidate or agent must go before a judge and argue that his application is justified.
The Acting Chairman: Mr. Girard, how much time does a candidate have to file his return?
Mr. Girard: Four months, starting from the date the election is held.
The Acting Chairman: Looking back at 1997, we see that the election was held on June 2, which means that Elections Canada should have received all of the returns by October 2. Correct?
Mr. Girard: Correct.
The Acting Chairman: Every time there is an election, some official agents have to go before the courts after this date to apply to have their return amended or to settle outstanding claims. Is this legislation intended to address this problem?
Mr. Girard: Occasionally, a candidate may even have had to convince the judge that his failure to file a return was due to the illness of his official agent. These things do happen. If they happen again in the future, we will be able to deal with the situation without having to involve the courts. These are purely administrative considerations.
The Acting Chairman: What about the penalties for failing to file a return. Are there any changes here?
Mr. Girard: No, the bill does not provide for any changes in this area.
The Acting Chairman: We will now proceed with the clause-by-clause adoption of the bill. Shall clause 1 carry?
Some senators: Carried.
The Acting Chairman: Carried. Shall clause 2 carry?
Some senators: Carried.
The Acting Chairman: Carried. Shall clause 3 carry?
Some senators: Carried.
The Acting Chairman: Carried. Shall clause 4 carry?
Some senators: Carried.
The Acting Chairman: Carried. Shall clause 5 carry?
Some senators: Carried.
The Acting Chairman: Carried. Shall clause 6 carry?
Some senators: Carried.
The Acting Chairman: Shall clause 7 carry?
Some senators: Carried.
The Acting Chairman: Carried. Shall the title of the bill carry?
Some senators: Carried.
The Acting Chairman: Carried. Shall I report the bill to the Senate?
Some senators: Agreed.
The Acting Chairman: Agreed.
The meeting is adjourned.