BILL NO. 112
(as introduced)
1st Session, 59th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
53 Elizabeth II, 2004
Senatorial Selection Act
Mark Parent
Kings North
First Reading: October 1, 2004
Second Reading:
Third Reading:
An Act Respecting
the Selection of Senators
WHEREAS in the 1987 Constitutional (Meech Lake) Accord the First Ministers of Canada agreed that, as an interim measure until Senate reform is achieved, any person summoned to fill a vacancy in the Senate is to be chosen from among persons whose names have been submitted by the government of the province to which the vacancy relates; and
AND WHEREAS it is appropriate that persons whose names are submitted to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada for appointment to the Senate be determined by the people of Nova Scotia by democratic election;
THEREFORE be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 This Act may be cited as the Senatorial Selection Act.
(a) "candidate" means a person who
(ii) is nominated by a registered political party for endorsation as the official candidate of that party, or
(iii) on or after the date of issue of a writ for an election, declares himself or herself to be an independent candidate at the election;
(b) "Minister" means the member of the Executive Council assigned responsibility for this Act;
(c) "Privy Council" means the Queen's Privy Council for Canada;
(d) "Senate" means the Senate of Canada;
(e) "Senate nominee" means a person declared elected under this Act.
(2) For the purpose of this Act, a document that is required to be filed with the Chief Electoral Officer is filed when it is actually received by the Chief Electoral Officer.
(3) Except as provided in this Act, words and phrases used in this Act have the same meanings as in the Elections Act.
3 (1) The Government of the Province shall submit the names of the Senate nominees to the Privy Council as persons who may be summoned to the Senate for the purpose of filling vacancies relating to the Province.
(2) A person remains as a Senate nominee until
(a) the person is appointed to the Senate;
(b) the person resigns as a Senate nominee by submitting a resignation in writing to the Minister;
(c) the person's term as a Senate nominee expires;
(d) the person takes an oath or makes a declaration or acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power, or does an act whereby the person becomes a subject or citizen, or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or citizen, of a foreign power;
(e) the person is adjudged bankrupt or insolvent, or applies for the benefit of any law relating to insolvent debtors;
(f) the person is convicted of treason or convicted of a felony or of any infamous crime; or
(g) the person ceases to be eligible to be nominated as a candidate under Section 9,
4 An election under this Act shall be held pursuant to Section 6 if a vacancy in the Senate will occur due to age within the four years immediately following the date of the next general election to be held under the Elections Act.
5 (1) Where a vacancy occurs in the Senate due to the death or resignation of a senator, the House of Assembly shall choose a person to be the Senate nominee and the Government of the Province shall submit the name of the person to the Privy Council as the person to be summoned to the Senate.
(2) A person chosen pursuant to subsection (1) shall serve as a Senate nominee until the next general election held under the Elections Act.
6 (1) An election under this Act may be commenced by the passing of an order of the Governor in Council
(a) setting out that the election under this Act is to be held in conjunction with a general election under the Elections Act;
(b) authorizing the Governor in Council to issue a writ of election in the prescribed form addressed to the Chief Electoral Officer and prescribing the date of the writ;
(c) setting out the number of persons to be elected;
(d) appointing nomination day; and
(e) appointing the day on which voting is to take place if voting is necessary.
(2) Where an election under this Act is to be held,
(a) the order under subsection (1) must be made not later than three days after the issue of the writ of election under the Elections Act;
(b) nomination day must be the same day as nomination day for the general election under the Elections Act; and
(c) the day on which voting is to take place, where voting is necessary, must be the same day as ordinary polling day for the general election under the Elections Act.
7 On receipt of a certified copy of the writ under Section 6, the Chief Electoral Officer shall
(a) endorse on it the date on which the Chief Electoral Officer received it;
(b) advise each returning officer that a writ has been issued; and
(c) transmit a copy of the writ to each returning officer.
8 A member of the Senate may not be appointed as an election officer for the purpose of conducting an election under this Act.
9 A person is eligible to be nominated as a candidate in an election under this Act if
(a) on the day the nomination paper is filed, the person
(ii) is not a member of the House of Commons or the Senate, and
(b) the person is not a candidate at the general election being held under the Elections Act;
(c) the person is not prohibited from being a candidate for an election under the Elections Act; and
(d) the person is and has been ordinarily resident in the Province for at least six months immediately preceding ordinary polling day.
10 (1) At any time following an order made pursuant to Section 6, one hundred and fifty or more electors may nominate a person eligible to be a candidate as a candidate by signing a nomination paper in the prescribed form and filing it with the Chief Electoral Officer.
(2) The signatures of the electors nominating a candidate shall be witnessed by another elector who shall complete the required affidavit prior to the filing of the nomination papers.
(3) A person who is a candidate by virtue of subclause 2(1)(a)(ii) or (iii) and who does not file the person's nomination papers prior to the time set for the closing of nominations ceases to be a candidate on the closing of nominations.
11 (1) Each person being nominated as a candidate shall appoint an elector to be the person's official agent on the person's nomination and shall include the name, address and telephone number of the person so appointed in the appropriate place on the nomination form.
(2) The duties of an official agent are those prescribed by the candidate.
(3) The official agent shall not perform the duties of the chief financial officer unless the official agent is the candidate's chief financial officer.
(4) Where it becomes necessary to appoint a new official agent, the candidate shall immediately notify the Chief Electoral Officer in writing of the name, address and telephone number of the person so appointed.
12 (1) A nomination paper is not valid unless
(a) it states an address within the Province at which documents may be served and notices given respecting the candidate;
(b) it contains the appointment, name, address and telephone number of the official agent of the person being nominated;
(c) it states that the person being nominated
(d) it states whether the person being nominated is an independent candidate or is the officially endorsed candidate of a registered political party;
(e) it is accompanied with an affidavit in the prescribed form of each elector who witnessed the signatures of the electors nominating the candidate;
(f) it is accompanied with a deposit of one hundred dollars;
(g) it is signed by the candidate; and
(h) it is filed with the Chief Electoral Officer before two o'clock in the afternoon on nomination day.
(2) Where the person being nominated is the candidate of a registered political party, the person shall, at the time of filing the person's nomination paper, file a certificate in the prescribed form stating that the person is a candidate for that registered political party.
(3) On the filing of a valid nomination paper, the Chief Electoral Officer shall give a receipt in the prescribed form, which is proof of receipt of the deposit and of the filing of the nomination paper.
13 The Chief Electoral Officer, on the filing of the nomination paper of a candidate, shall provide to the candidate the name, address and telephone number of each returning officer.
14 Where the number of candidates nominated by the close of nominations on nomination day equals or is less than the number of persons to be elected, the Chief Electoral Officer shall
(a) immediately declare the candidate or candidates elected; and
(b) make the Chief Electoral Officer's return in the prescribed form certifying the election of the candidate or candidates.
15 An election under this Act is necessary if the number of candidates nominated by the close of nominations on nomination day exceeds the number of persons to be elected.
16 (1) At any time after the filing of a candidate's nomination paper but not later than ninety-six hours before the opening of the polls on ordinary polling day, the candidate may withdraw by filing with the Chief Electoral Officer a declaration to that effect signed by the candidate and having the candidate's signature witnessed.
(2) Where, after a candidate withdraws, the number of candidates equals or is less than the number of persons to be elected, the Chief Electoral Officer shall proceed in accordance with Section 14.
(a) a candidate withdraws after the ballots are printed; and
(b) there remain more candidates than the number of persons to be elected,
the Chief Electoral Officer shall advise each returning officer of the withdrawal and, where there is sufficient time, the returning officer shall prepare a notice of withdrawal and distribute a copy to each deputy returning officer, who shall post it in a conspicuous location in the deputy returning officer's polling station.
(4) Where there is insufficient time to prepare and distribute a notice of withdrawal under subsection (3), the Chief Electoral Officer, when advising the returning officers of the withdrawal, shall instruct each of them to cause a notice of the withdrawal to be prepared by hand, and each deputy returning officer shall post the notice in a conspicuous location in the deputy returning officer's polling station.
17 (1) Where a candidate dies after being nominated and prior to the closing of the polling stations on ordinary polling day, the election under this Act is cancelled.
(2) Nominations of candidates previously filed remain valid for a period of six months following the date the election is cancelled.
18 (1) At two o'clock in the afternoon on nomination day, the Chief Electoral Officer shall, at the place fixed for the filing of nominations,
(a) declare the nominations closed;
(b) announce the names of all officially nominated candidates;
(c) announce the name, address and telephone number of each candidate's official agent; and
(d) announce the ordinary polling day and the place, date and time at which the official results of the election will be announced.
(2) On complying with subsection (1), the Chief Electoral Officer shall, as soon as possible,
(a) make available a list of the candidates to each candidate or each candidate's official agent; and
(b) publish in the prescribed form the names and addresses of the candidates' official agents in one or more newspapers of general circulation.
19 (1) Every ballot used in an election shall contain a brief explanatory note stating the maximum number of candidates who can be voted for in order not to make the ballot void.
(2) The name of each candidate shall be printed on each ballot together with
(a) the name of the registered political party for which the candidate is the candidate; or
(b) the word "Independent" if the candidate is not a candidate for a registered political party.
(3) The names of the candidates shall be printed on the ballot as follows:
(b) the candidate's surname, following the given name, initials or nickname, as the case may be;
(c) the candidates' names listed in alphabetical order by surname;
(d) no titles, degrees, prefixes or suffixes included with a name.
20 (1) Where it appears that two or more candidates received the same number of votes, and where it is necessary for determining which candidate is elected, the Chief Electoral Officer shall write the names of those candidates separately on blank sheets of paper of equal size and of the same colour and texture and, after folding the sheets of paper in a uniform manner and so that the names are concealed, shall deposit them in a receptacle and direct some person to draw one of the sheets.
(2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall declare the candidate whose name appears on the drawn sheet to have one more vote than the other candidate or candidates, as the case may be.
21 (1) The Chief Electoral Officer shall attend at the place, date and time stated in the election proclamation to announce the official results of the election under this Act and declare which candidate or candidates are elected.
(2) Where only one person is to be elected, the candidate with the highest number of votes shall be declared elected.
(3) Where more than one person is to be elected, the candidate with the highest number of votes shall be declared elected and the candidate with the next highest number of votes shall be declared elected and so on until the number of candidates to be elected at the election under this Act are declared elected.
(4) The Chief Electoral Officer shall retain the prescribed forms for a period of ten days after announcing the official results of the election under this Act to allow for possible appeals or applications for a recount of the votes.
22 (1) A candidate who has been declared elected under this Act may, by filing a disclaimer in the prescribed form with the Chief Electoral Officer, request
(a) that the candidate's name not be submitted to the Privy Council; or
(b) that, where the candidate's name has been submitted, the submission of the candidate's name be withdrawn.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), where a disclaimer is filed under subsection (1), the election of that candidate is void and a new election shall be held to elect another person.
(3) The filing of a disclaimer under subsection (1) does not affect any application for an appeal or recount by another candidate or the right of that other candidate to be declared elected if that application or appeal is successful.
23 (1) Subject to subsection (2), eight days after the candidate or candidates are declared elected the Chief Electoral Officer shall submit a notice of the name of the candidate or candidates declared elected under this Act for publication in the next issue of the Royal Gazette.
(2) Where there is an appeal, the names of the persons declared elected shall be published after the expiration of the appeal period.
24 The list of electors compiled and revised under the Elections Act is to be the list of electors for an election under this Act.
25 The returning officers appointed under the Elections Act are to be the returning officers for the purpose of an election under this Act.
26 The Elections Act applies mutatis mutandis to an election held pursuant to this Act.
27 Notwithstanding Section 26, the Minister shall give such directions and make such regulations and prepare such forms as may appear necessary for the purpose of this Act and for the guidance of the returning officers and other persons employed in the taking of the vote and may apply, modify or alter any of the provisions of the Elections Act and make due provision for circumstances that may arise and that are not otherwise provided for.
28 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations
(a) fixing the term of a Senate nominee;
(b) respecting the duties and functions of a Senate nominee;
(c) respecting the remuneration and expenses to be paid to a Senate nominee;
(d) respecting the performance and accountability of a Senate nominee;
(e) respecting forms, notices, affidavits and oaths to be used for the purpose of an election under this Act;
(f) defining any word or expression used but not defined in this Act;
(g) respecting any matter the Governor in Council deems necessary or advisable to carry out effectively the intent and purpose of this Act.
(2) The exercise by the Governor in Council of the authority contained in subsection (1) is regulations within the meaning of the Regulations Act.
29 This Act comes into force on such day as the Governor in Council orders and declares by proclamation.
This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2004 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created October 1, 2004. Send comments to legc.office@novascotia.ca.
