Acts and Regulations

2014, c.106 - Electoral Boundaries and Representation Act

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Current to 1 January 2024
2014, c.106
Electoral Boundaries and Representation Act
Deposited December 30, 2014
1
DEFINITIONS
Definitions
1The following definitions apply in this Act.
“Chief Electoral Officer” means the Chief Electoral Officer appointed under section 5 of the Elections Act. (directeur général des élections)
“Commission” means an Electoral Boundaries and Representation Commission established under section 2. (commission)
“commissioner” means a co-chair or a member appointed to a Commission under section 3. (commissaire)
“electoral quotient” means the electoral quotient established under section 10. (quotient électoral)
“polling division” means a polling division as defined in the Elections Act.(section de vote)
“scheduled general election” means a provincial general election held in accordance with the schedule established in subsection 3(4) of the Legislative Assembly Act.(élections générales programmées )
2005, c.E-3.5, s.1; 2011, c.50, s.1
2
ESTABLISHMENT AND COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION
Establishment and timing of Commission
2(1)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall establish an Electoral Boundaries and Representation Commission within 24 to 25 months before the scheduled general election to be held on September 22, 2014, and within 24 to 25 months before every second scheduled general election held after that date.
2(2)If a Commission is not established under subsection (1), the Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall establish an Electoral Boundaries and Representation Commission within eight to ten years after the establishment of the last Commission.
2(3)A Commission shall consider and report on readjustments to electoral districts in New Brunswick based on the electoral quotient.
2005, c.E-3.5, s.2; 2011, c.50, s.3
Appointment of Commissioners
3(1)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall appoint to a Commission the commissioners recommended by the Legislative Administration Committee of the Legislative Assembly.
3(2)When a Commission completes its mandate under this Act, the Commission is abolished and the appointments to the Commission are revoked.
2005, c.E-3.5, s.4
Composition of Commission
4(1)A Commission shall be composed of the following persons:
(a) two co-chairs, one representing the English linguistic community and one representing the French linguistic community; and
(b) three to five members.
4(2)The following persons shall not be eligible to be appointed to a Commission:
(a) a member of the Legislative Assembly;
(b) a member of the House of Commons;
(c) a member of the Senate; and
(d) the Chief Electoral Officer.
4(3)The following persons shall not be eligible to be appointed to a Commission:
(a) a person who was a candidate in
(i) any of the two provincial or federal general elections immediately preceding the establishment of the Commission, or
(ii) a provincial or federal by-election during that period;
(b) a person who was a member of the Legislative Assembly, the House of Commons or the Senate in any of the two Legislative Assemblies or Parliaments immediately preceding the current Legislative Assembly or Parliament; and
(c) a person who was an official agent, chief agent or campaign manager of a candidate or political party in
(i) any of the two provincial or federal general elections immediately preceding the establishment of the Commission, or
(ii) a provincial or federal by-election during that period.
4(4)A person appointed to a Commission shall be a resident of the Province.
2005, c.E-3.5, s.5
Vacancy
5(1)A Commission may continue to act under the authority of this Act despite that there is a vacancy in the membership of the Commission.
5(2)Within 30 days after a vacancy occurs on a Commission, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall fill the vacancy in accordance with section 3.
2005, c.E-3.5, s.6
Publication
6The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall publish, without delay, notice of the appointments to a Commission in The Royal Gazette.
2005, c.E-3.5, s.7
Remuneration and expenses
7(1)A chair of a Commission shall be entitled to the following:
(a) remuneration as established by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council; and
(b) reimbursement for expenses that the chair incurs while acting on behalf of the Commission at a rate established by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.
7(2)A member of a Commission shall be entitled to the following:
(a) remuneration as established by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council; and
(b) reimbursement for expenses that the member incurs while acting on behalf of the Commission at a rate established by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.
2005, c.E-3.5, s.8
3
MANDATE OF COMMISSION
Information provided to Commission
8Within 14 days after the establishment of a Commission under section 2, the Chief Electoral Officer shall provide the co-chairs with the following information:
(a) information with respect to the number of electors in each electoral district, as determined by the register of electors established under section 20.1 of the Elections Act, for each polling division or part of a polling division; and
(b) any other information that, in the opinion of the Chief Electoral Officer, may assist the Commission in carrying out the Commission’s mandate.
2005, c.E-3.5, s.9; 2011, c.50, s.7
Reports of Commission
9(1)On receiving the information referred to in section 8, a Commission shall prepare, in accordance with this Act, a preliminary report and a final report containing the recommendations of the Commission with respect to readjustments to the electoral districts in the Province.
9(2)When making a recommendation in a preliminary or a final report, the Commission may consider data published by Statistics Canada under the authority of the Statistics Act (Canada) and any other reliable and relevant information available to the Commission.
9(3)The recommendations in a report under subsection (1) shall include the following:
(a) the division of the Province into 49 electoral districts;
(b) the boundary description of each electoral district; and
(c) the name of each electoral district.
9(4)The name of an electoral district shall be based on geographic considerations.
9(5)The preliminary report and the final report of a Commission shall be the report of the majority of the commissioners.
2005, c.E-3.5, s.10; 2011, c.50, s.8
Electoral quotient
10A Commission shall establish the electoral quotient for the Province by dividing the total number of electors in all electoral districts in the Province, as determined by the register of electors established under section 20.1 of the Elections Act, by the total number of electoral districts.
2005, c.E-3.5, s.11; 2011, c.50, s.9
Guiding principles
11(1)Subject to subsections (3), (4), (5) and (6), when dividing the Province into electoral districts, a Commission shall ensure that the number of electors in each electoral district is as close as reasonably possible to the electoral quotient.
11(2)When dividing the Province into electoral districts, a Commission shall consider the effective representation of the English and French linguistic communities in complying with section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
11(3)In order to comply with its obligations under subsection (2), a Commission may depart from the principle of voter parity as set out in subsection (1).
11(4)A Commission may depart from the principle of voter parity as set out in subsection (1) in order to achieve effective representation of the electorate as guaranteed by section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and based upon the following considerations:
(a) communities of interest;
(b) local government and other administrative boundaries;
(c) the rate of population growth in a region;
(d) effective representation of rural areas;
(e) geographical features, including the following:
(i) the accessibility of a region;
(ii) the size of a region; and
(iii) the shape of a region; and
(f) any other considerations that the Commission considers appropriate.
11(5)If a Commission is of the opinion that it is desirable to depart from the principle of voter parity when establishing an electoral district, the number of electors in the electoral district shall deviate by no greater than 15% from the electoral quotient.
11(6)If a Commission is of the opinion that it is desirable to depart from the principle of voter parity when establishing an electoral district, in extraordinary circumstances the number of electors in the electoral district may deviate by no greater than 25% from the electoral quotient.
11(7)For greater certainty, “extraordinary circumstances” in subsection (6) includes the effective representation of the English and French linguistic communities.
2005, c.E-3.5, s.12; 2011, c.50, s.10; 2012, c.42, s.1; 2015, c.37, s.1; 2017, c.20, s.56
Procedure
12A Commission may make rules to regulate its proceedings and conduct its business.
2005, c.E-3.5, s.13
Assistance to Commission
13(1)The Chief Electoral Officer shall make his or her staff available to a Commission to assist the Commission in performing its duties under this Act.
13(2)A Commission may hire the employees and retain the services of the advisors necessary to perform its duties under this Act.
2005, c.E-3.5, s.14
Initial public hearings
14(1)Before preparing a preliminary report, a Commission shall hold public hearings throughout the Province at the times and places that the Commission considers appropriate in order to hear representations on the existing electoral districts and the establishment of new electoral districts.
14(2)A Commission shall provide reasonable notice to the residents of the Province of the time, place and purpose of a public hearing under subsection (1).
2005, c.E-3.5, s.15
Preliminary report
15(1)A Commission shall prepare a preliminary report within 150 days after the establishment of the Commission under section 2.
15(2)Without delay after completing a preliminary report, a Commission shall do the following:
(a) file a copy of the preliminary report with the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly;
(b) make the preliminary report public; and
(c) provide notice to the residents of the Province of the times and places of public hearings to hear representations on the preliminary report, and the notice shall include the following:
(i) a map indicating the boundaries of the proposed electoral districts recommended in the preliminary report; and
(ii) any other information that the Commission considers appropriate.
2005, c.E-3.5, s.16; 2011, c.50, s.11
Copies of preliminary report
16The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly shall forward a copy of the preliminary report of a Commission to each member of the Legislative Assembly.
2005, c.E-3.5, s.17
Public hearings on preliminary report
17A Commission shall hold public hearings throughout the Province at the times and places that the Commission considers appropriate in order to hear representations on the recommendations contained in the preliminary report of the Commission.
2005, c.E-3.5, s.18
Final report
18(1)After the public hearings under section 17 are complete, a Commission shall prepare its final report after taking into consideration the representations made at the public hearings.
18(2)A Commission shall prepare a final report within 90 days after filing a preliminary report under paragraph 15(2)(a).
18(3)Without delay after completing a final report, a Commission shall do the following:
(a) file a copy of the final report with the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly; and
(b) make the final report public.
18(4)The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly shall immediately forward a copy of the final report of a Commission to each member of the Legislative Assembly.
2005, c.E-3.5, s.19
Objections to final report
19(1)Within 14 days after the final report of a Commission is filed with the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly under paragraph 18(3)(a), a written objection to the report may be submitted to the Commission stating the following:
(a) the recommendation in the final report that is being objected to;
(b) the reason for the objection; and
(c) the manner in which it is proposed that the recommendation be amended.
19(2)An objection under subsection (1) shall be signed by at least two members of the Legislative Assembly.
19(3)A Commission shall consider and dispose of the objections submitted under subsection (1).
19(4)Within 30 days after the expiration of the time period referred to in subsection (1), the Commission’s final report, with or without amendments in accordance with its disposition of the objections submitted under subsection (1),
(a) shall be filed with the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, and
(b) shall be forwarded to the Chief Electoral Officer.
19(5)If no objections are submitted under subsection (1), the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly shall forward immediately to the Chief Electoral Officer the final report of a Commission.
19(6)The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly shall forward to each member of the Legislative Assembly a copy of the final report of a Commission under subsection (4) or (5).
2005, c.E-3.5, s.20
4
ADOPTION OF FINAL REPORT
Adoption of final report
20(1)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall make a regulation prescribing the boundary description and name for each electoral district.
20(2)A regulation under subsection (1) shall be made in accordance with the recommendations in the final report of a Commission forwarded to the Chief Electoral Officer under subsection 19(4) or (5).
20(3)A regulation under subsection (1) shall come into force on the first dissolution of the Legislative Assembly after the final report of a Commission is forwarded to the Chief Electoral Officer under subsection 19(4) or (5).
20(4)Subject to subsection (5), a regulation under subsection (1) shall not be amended except in accordance with the recommendations in the final report of a Commission forwarded to the Chief Electoral Officer under subsection 19(4) or (5).
20(5)The following amendments may be made to a regulation under subsection (1):
(a) on the recommendation of the Legislative Administration Committee of the Legislative Assembly, an amendment with respect to the name of an electoral district; and
(b) an amendment to correct an error in the legal description of the boundary of an electoral district.
2005, c.E-3.5, s.21
N.B. This Act was proclaimed and came into force February 9, 2015.
N.B. This Act is consolidated to January 1, 2018.