Regulation Adapting the Canada Elections Act for the Purposes of a Referendum
Part 3
Referendum officers
General
Referendum officers
22. (1) The following persons are referendum
officers:
(a) returning officers appointed under subsection
24(1) of the Canada Elections Act;
(b) assistant returning officers appointed
under subsection 26(1) or 28(5) and additional
assistant returning officers appointed
under subsection 30(1) of the Canada
Elections Act;
(c) persons authorized by a returning officer
under section 27 to perform duties under this Act and the Referendum Act;
(c.1) persons designated pursuant to subsection
28(3.1);
(d) revising agents appointed under paragraph
32(a);
(e) deputy returning officers appointed
under subsection 9.1(1) of the Referendum
Act and referred to in paragraphs 32(b) and
(c) and subsection 273(1) of this Act;
(f) poll clerks appointed under subsection
9.1(2) of the Referendum Act and referred
to in paragraphs 32(b) and (c) and subsection
273(1) of this Act;
(g) registration officers appointed under
paragraph 32(d);
(h) information officers appointed under
paragraph 124(1)(a);
(i) persons responsible for maintaining
order at a central polling place appointed
under paragraph 124(1)(b);
(j) central poll supervisors appointed under
subsection 124(2);
(k) persons appointed under subsection
290(2) to collect ballot boxes;
(l) the special voting rules administrator
appointed under section 181 of the Canada
Elections Act;
(m) special ballot officers appointed under
subsection 183(1) or section 184;
(n) liaison officers for correctional institutions
appointed under subsection 248(1);
and
(o) deputy returning officers and poll clerks
for correctional institutions appointed
under subsection 253(1).
Referendum officers — exclusions
(2) For greater certainty, an agent of a registered
referendum committee or a witness who is
present at a polling station is not a referendum
officer.
Who shall not be appointed referendum officers
(3) The following persons shall not be
appointed as a referendum officer:
(a) a minister of the Crown or a member of
the executive council of a province;
(b) a member of the Senate or the House of
Commons;
(c) a member of the legislature of a province,
the Council of the Northwest Territories
or the Legislative Assembly of Yukon
or Nunavut;
(d) a judge or deputy judge of any superior
court or any bankruptcy or insolvency
court and, in Yukon and the Northwest
Territories, a judge of the Supreme Court;
(d.1) a person who was a candidate at the
last general election or at a by-election held
since the last general election;
(e) a person who has served in Parliament
in the session immediately before the referendum
or in the session in progress at the
time of the referendum; and
(f) a person who, within seven years before
the proposed appointment, has been found
guilty of any offence under the Canada
Elections Act, the Referendum Act or any
Act of the legislature of a province relating
to provincial, municipal or school board
elections.
Qualifications
(4) A referendum officer must be qualified as
an elector and a referendum officer referred to
in any of paragraphs (1)(a), (b), (d) to (g) and
(j) must reside in the electoral district in which
he or she is to perform duties under this Act and
the Referendum Act.
Exception
(5) In the case of an appointment that is to
be made by a returning officer, if he or she is
unable to appoint a referendum officer who
meets the requirements set out in subsection
(4), he or she may, with the approval of the
Chief Electoral Officer, appoint
(a) a Canadian citizen who is 16 years of
age or older and who resides in the electoral
district; or
(b) a person who is qualified as an elector
but does not live in the electoral district.
Prohibition — acting as referendum officer
(6) No person shall act as a referendum officer
knowing that they do not meet the requirements
for a referendum officer set out in this section.
Oath
23. (1) Before assuming duties, a referendum
officer shall swear an oath in writing, in the prescribed
form, to perform the duties of the office
in an impartial manner.
Prohibition
(2) No referendum officer shall communicate
information obtained in the course of performing
his or her duties under this Act and
the Referendum Act, other than for a purpose
related to the performance of those duties.
Sending of oaths
(3) The returning officer shall send the documents
containing the oaths of the returning officer
and assistant returning officer without delay
to the Chief Electoral Officer.
Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers
24. (1) Not applicable.
(1.1) Not applicable.
(1.2) Not applicable.
(1.3) Not applicable.
(1.4) Not applicable.
(1.5) Not applicable.
Responsibility of returning officer
(2) A returning officer is responsible, under
the general direction of the Chief Electoral
Officer, for the preparation for and conduct of a
referendum in his or her electoral district.
Obligation to act to enable referendums to be held
(3) Every returning officer to whom a writ is
directed shall, on its receipt, or on notification
by the Chief Electoral Officer of its issue, cause
to be promptly taken any of the proceedings
directed by this Act and the Referendum Act
that are necessary in order that the referendum
may be regularly held.
(4) Not applicable.
(5) Not applicable.
(6) Not applicable.
Removal from office
(7) The Chief Electoral Officer may remove
from office any returning officer who
(a) is incapable, by reason of illness, physical
or mental disability or otherwise, of
satisfactorily performing his or her duties
under this Act or the Referendum Act; or
(b) fails to discharge competently a duty
of a returning officer under this Act or
the Referendum Act, or to comply with an
instruction of the Chief Electoral Officer
described in paragraph 16(c);
(c) Not applicable;
(d) Not applicable.
25. Not applicable.
26. Not applicable.
Authorization
27. (1) The returning officer for an electoral
district may, with the prior approval of the Chief
Electoral Officer, authorize any person acting
under his or her direction to perform any of the
functions of a returning officer under this Act,
except those described in subsection 24(3), sections
62, 103, 104, 130, 293 to 298, subsections
300(4) and 301(6), and sections 313 to 316.
Authorization in writing
(2) An authorization under subsection (1) shall
be signed and dated by the returning officer.
28. (1) Not applicable.
(2) [Repealed]
(3) Not applicable.
Designated person to act
(3.1) If a returning officer and an assistant
returning officer are both absent or unable to
act or if both their offices are vacant during a
referendum period, the Chief Electoral Officer
shall designate a person to act in place of the
returning officer, and that person may, during
and after that period, perform the duties of a
returning officer in relation to that referendum.
(4) Not applicable.
(5) Not applicable.
29. Not applicable.
30. (1) Not applicable.
(2) Not applicable.
Delegation limited
(3) An assistant returning officer appointed
under subsection 30(2) of the Canada Elections
Act may perform the functions of an assistant
returning officer only in respect of the area for
which they are appointed.
Further limitation
(4) An assistant returning officer appointed
under subsection (2) may not perform the functions
described in subsections 28(1), 60(2) and
293(1).
Prohibition — acting in another capacity
31. No returning officer or assistant returning
officer appointed under subsection 26(1) of
the Canada Elections Act shall act in any other
capacity under this Act or the Referendum Act.
Referendum Officers Appointed by Returning Officer
General
Referendum officers
32. After the issue of the writ, a returning
officer shall appoint the following referendum
officers in the prescribed form:
(a) the revising agents that the returning
officer considers necessary, provided that
the Chief Electoral Officer approves of
their number;
(b) one deputy returning officer and one
poll clerk for each advance polling station
in the electoral district;
(c) one deputy returning officer and one
poll clerk for each polling station in the
electoral district; and
(d) a registration officer for each registration
desk.
Revising Agents
Solicitation of names
33. (1) Before appointing revising agents,
a returning officer shall solicit names of suitable
persons from the registered parties whose
candidates finished first and second in the last
election in the electoral district and, if sufficient
names are not provided by those parties
within three days after receipt of the request,
the returning officer may solicit names from
any other source.
Equal distribution
(2) A returning officer shall appoint half of the
revising agents from among the persons recommended
by the registered party whose candidate
finished first in the last election in the electoral
district, and half from among the persons recommended
by the registered party whose candidate
finished second in that election.
Revising agents to work in pairs
(3) A returning officer shall appoint revising
agents to work in pairs and each pair shall consist,
as far as possible, of persons recommended
by different registered parties.
Replacement
(4) A returning officer may replace a revising
agent at any time and the former revising agent
shall return all referendum materials in his or
her possession to the returning officer.
Lists of revising agents
(5) Each returning officer shall make available
to each agent who made a request pursuant
to subsection 10(1) of the Referendum Act a list
of the revising agents for the electoral district,
on completion of the list.
Identification
(6) Each revising agent shall, while performing
his or her functions, wear or carry the identification
that is supplied by the Chief Electoral
Officer and shall show it on request.
Deputy Returning Officers and Poll Clerks
34. (1) Not applicable.
Replacing deputies
(2) A returning officer may, at any time,
remove a deputy returning officer.
35. (1) Not applicable.
Replacing poll clerks
(2) A returning officer may, at any time,
remove a poll clerk.
36. Not applicable.
37. Not applicable.
Replacement for deputy returning officer
38. (1) When the office of deputy returning
officer is vacant or if the deputy returning officer
is unable or unwilling to act, and the returning
officer has not appointed a replacement, the
poll clerk shall act as deputy returning officer
without taking another oath.
Another poll clerk appointed
(2) When a poll clerk acts as deputy returning
officer, the poll clerk shall, in the prescribed
form, appoint a person to act as poll clerk.
Registration Officers
Registration offices
39. (1) The returning officer shall establish
one or more registration desks in accordance
with the instructions of the Chief Electoral
Officer.
Appointment of registration officers
(2) The returning officer shall appoint, for
each registration desk, a registration officer to
receive, on polling day, the applications for registration
of electors whose names are not on the
list of electors.
Solicitation of names
(3) Before appointing registration officers,
the returning officer shall solicit names of suitable
persons from the registered parties whose
candidates finished first and second in the last
election in the electoral district, to be submitted
to the returning officer no later than the 17th
day before polling day. If, by that time, a sufficient
number of names of suitable persons are
not provided by those parties, the returning officer
may solicit names from other sources.
Equal distribution of appointments
(4) The returning officer shall, as far as
possible, appoint half of the registration officers
from among the persons recommended by each
of the registered parties under subsection (3). If
either of those parties did not provide a sufficient
number of names of suitable persons, that
party's remaining share of the appointments
shall be made from among the names solicited
by the returning officer from other sources.
Equality of Votes
40. Not applicable.
New Electoral Districts
Results transposed
41. (1) When a new electoral district is
established, the Chief Electoral Officer shall
transpose the results from the previous general
election to the polling divisions that are in
the new electoral district in order to determine
which registered parties have the right to provide
the returning officer with lists of persons
to be appointed as referendum officers.
Special case
(2) If the Chief Electoral Officer cannot transpose
the results from the previous general election
to a portion of the new electoral district
because no candidate was returned in respect of
that portion due to an equality of votes, the Chief
Electoral Officer shall transpose the results from
the by-election that was subsequently held under
subsection 29(1.1) of the Parliament of Canada
Act in respect of that portion.
Exception
(3) If, in a case to which subsection (2)
applies, a referendum is held before the by-election,
the registered parties that have the right to
provide the returning officer with lists of names
of suitable persons to be appointed as referendum
officers in respect of that referendum are the same registered parties as those that had
that right for the purposes of the election that
resulted in the equality of votes.
Notice to parties
(4) When the Chief Electoral Officer has
determined which parties have the right to provide
lists of names under subsection (1), (2) or
(3), he or she shall notify the parties without
delay of that right.
Merger of Registered Parties
Attribution of votes for appointments
42. For the purposes of subsections 33(1) and
(2), subsections 39(3) and (4), section 41, and
section 9.1 of the Referendum Act in determining
whether the candidate of a registered party
finished first or second in the last election in a
case where the registered party is the result of
a merger with two or more parties that were
registered parties at that election, there shall be
attributed to the candidate of the merged party
the number of votes of the candidate of the
merging party with the largest number of votes
at that election.
Prohibitions
Prohibitions
43. No person shall
(a) wilfully obstruct a referendum officer
in the performance of his or her duties;
(b) without authority, use identification
simulating that used by a revising agent or
intended to replace that prescribed by the
Chief Electoral Officer for that purpose; or
(c) having been replaced as a referendum
officer, fail to give to their replacement or
to an authorized person any referendum
documents or other referendum materials
that the person has received or prepared in
the performance of his or her duties.
Right of access
43.1 (1) No person who is in control of an
apartment building, condominium building or
other multiple-residence building or a gated
community may prevent a referendum officer
or a member of the staff of a returning officer
from obtaining access to the building or gated
community, as the case may be, between 9:00
a.m. and 9:00 p.m., to perform his or her duties
under this Act or the Referendum Act.
Exception
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect
of a person who is in control of a multiple residence
building whose residents' physical or
emotional well-being may be harmed as a result
of permitting the activities referred to in that
subsection.
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