BILL NO. 10

(as introduced)

1st Session, 59th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
52 Elizabeth II, 2003



Government Bill



Municipal Elections Act
(amended)



The Honourable Barry Barnet
Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations



First Reading: October 3, 2003

(Explanatory Notes)

Second Reading: October 9, 2003

Third Reading: October 16, 2003 (WITH COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS) (LINK TO BILL AS PASSED)

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Explanatory Notes

Clause 1 clarifies wording in clause 17(1)(c) of the Municipal Elections Act.

Clauses 2 to 4 amend Sections 24 to 26 of the Act to require enumerators to obtain birthdate information from electors for the preliminary voters list for the purpose of revision as is done for Provincial elections.

Clause 5 removes the requirement to post the preliminary list of electors.

Clause 6 removes references to the preliminary list of electors being posted and requires the returning officer or registrar of voters, if directed by council, to give additional notification that the preliminary list of electors has been prepared.

Clause 7 makes changes that are necessary as a result of the changes made in Clauses 2 to 4, including that birthdate information will not appear on the final voters list nor will it be posted.

Subclause 8(1) provides that any list of electors may be given by a municipality to the Chief Electoral Officer for the Province or the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada for the purpose of preparing a provincial or federal list of electors.

Subclause 8(2) provides that the final list of electors may be given by a municipality to a village for the purpose of preparing a village list of electors.

Clauses 9 to 20 make a number of housekeeping changes to various provisions of the Act.

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An Act to Amend Chapter 300
of the Revised Statutes, 1989,
the Municipal Elections Act

Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:

1 Clause 17(1)(c) of Chapter 300 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Municipal Elections Act, as enacted by Chapter 9 of the Acts of 2003, is amended by

(a) striking out "taxes and other" in the fourth line; and

(b) adding "and the taxes" immediately after "property" in the fifth line.

2 (1) Subsection 24(1) of Chapter 300 is amended by striking out "address" in the third line and substituting "particulars".

(2) Subsection 24(2) of Chapter 300 is amended by striking out "addresses" in the last line and substituting "particulars".

(3) Subsection 24(4) of Chapter 300 is amended by striking out "addresses" in the second line and substituting "particulars".

3 Subsection 25(1) of Chapter 300 is amended by

(a) striking out "and" at the end of clause (a); and

(b) adding immediately after clause (a) the following clause:

4 Clause 26(a) of Chapter 300 is amended by striking out "address" in the first line and substituting "particulars".

5 Section 32 of Chapter 300 is repealed.

6 (1) Subsection 34(1) of Chapter 300 is amended by striking out "posted" in the second line and substituting "prepared".

(2) Subsection 34(2) of Chapter 300, as amended by Chapter 26 of the Acts of 1994, is further amended by striking out "that the lists have been posted and are also available to be inspected at the office of the returning officer" in the second, third and fourth lines and substituting "how a person can check if the person's name is on the list".

(3) Section 34 of Chapter 300 is further amended by adding immediately after subsection (3) the following subsection:

(4) In addition to the notice referred to in subsection (1), the returning officer or the registrar of votes shall, if directed by the council, give additional notification that the preliminary lists of electors have been prepared by

(a) distributing flyers to households;

(b) mailing cards to voters;

(c) providing for advertisements, as directed by the council.

7 Subsection 38(2) of Chapter 300 is amended by

(a) adding "remove the birthdate information and" immediately before "transmit" in the first line of clause (a); and

(b) striking out "where it shall be kept available for public inspection at all reasonable times" in the third and fourth lines of clause (b).

8 (1) Subsection 40(7) of Chapter 300, as enacted by Chapter 6 of the Acts of 1997 and amended by Chapter 9 of the Acts of 2000, is further amended by striking out "The final" in the first line and substituting "A".

(2) Section 40 of Chapter 300, as amended by Chapter 26 of the Acts of 1994, Chapter 6 of the Acts of 1997, Chapter 9 of the Acts of 2000 and Chapter 9 of the Acts of 2003, is further amended by adding immediately after subsection (7) the following subsection:

9 Clause 41A(5)(d) of Chapter 300, as enacted by Chapter 9 of the Acts of 2003, is amended by striking out "appears" in the fifth line and substituting "should appear".

10 Clause 66(1)(a) of Chapter 300 is amended by striking out "or "Election for Alderman"" in the third line.

11 (1) Subsection 81(1) of Chapter 300 is amended by

(a) striking out ", agents and electors" and substituting "and agents" in the third line; and

(b) striking out ", agent or elector" in the second line of clause (b) and substituting "or agent".

(2) Subsection 81(2) of Chapter 300 is amended by striking out ", agents and electors" in the third and fourth lines and substituting "or agents".

12 Subsection 82(1) of Chapter 300, as amended by Chapter 9 of the Acts of 2003, is further amended by striking out "each councillor, as the case may be, to be elected" in the second and third lines and substituting "councillor".

13 Subsection 83(2) of Chapter 300 is amended by striking out ", agent or elector" in the second line and substituting "or agent".

14 Clause 92(1)(b) of Chapter 300 is amended by striking out ", his agent or an elector" in the second and third lines and substituting "or an agent".

15 Clause 93(1)(a) of Chapter 300 is amended by striking out ", agents or electors" in the fourth line and substituting "or agents".

16 Clause 94(b) of Chapter 300 is amended by striking out ""voted for councillor or alderman", as the case may be" in the second and third lines and substituting ""voted for councillor"".

17 (1) Subsection 95(1) of Chapter 300 is amended by striking out ", agents and electors representing candidates" in the sixth and seventh lines and substituting "and agents".

(2) Subsection 95(2) of Chapter 300 is amended by striking out ", agents and electors" in the third line and substituting "and agents".

(3) Subsection 95(3) of Chapter 300 is amended by striking out ", agents and electors" in the second line and substituting "and agents".

18 Subsection 111(4) of Chapter 300 is amended by striking out ", agent or elector" in the second and third lines and substituting "or agent".

19 Clause 114(7)(c) of Chapter 300 is amended by striking out "classes of" in the first line.

20 Clause 121(a) of Chapter 300 is amended by striking out "public inspection" in the fourth line and substituting "inspection by candidates or candidates' official agents".

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