Regulation Adapting the Canada Elections Act for the Purposes of a Referendum
Part 21
GENERAL
Reports of Chief Electoral Officer
Polling division reports
533. The Chief Electoral Officer shall, in the
case of a referendum, without delay, publish, in
the manner and form that he or she considers
appropriate, a report that sets out
(a) by polling division, the number of votes
cast for each answer to a referendum question,
the number of rejected ballots and the
number of names on the final list of electors; and
(b) any other information that the Chief
Electoral Officer considers relevant.
Report to Speaker on referendum
534. (1) In the case of a referendum, the
Chief Electoral Officer shall, within 90 days
after the return of the writ, make a report to the
Speaker of the House of Commons that sets out
(a) any matter or event that has arisen or
occurred in connection with the administration
of the Chief Electoral Officer's office
since the last report and that he or she considers
should be brought to the attention of
the House of Commons; and
(b) any measures that have been taken under
subsection 17(1) or (3) or sections 509 to 513 since the issue of the writs that he or she considers
should be brought to the attention of the House of Commons.
(2) Not applicable.
Report on proposed legislative amendments
535. The Chief Electoral Officer shall, as
soon as possible after a referendum, make a
report to the Speaker of the House of Commons
that sets out any amendments that, in his or her
opinion, are desirable for the better administration
of the Referendum Act.
Consultation
535.1 The Chief Electoral Officer may, before
making a report under section 534 or 535, consult
the Director of Public Prosecutions on any
question relating to measures taken under section
511 or 512.
535.2 Not applicable.
Submission of report to House of Commons
536. The Speaker of the House of Commons
shall submit a report received by him or her
from the Chief Electoral Officer under section
534 or 535 to the House of Commons without
delay.
536.1 Not applicable.
537. Not applicable.
Polling Divisions
538. Not applicable.
Amendments to Schedule 3
539. Not applicable.
Custody of Referendum Documents and Documents Relating to the Register of Electors
Chief Electoral Officer to retain referendum documents
540. (1) The Chief Electoral Officer shall
retain in his or her possession the referendum
documents sent to him or her by a returning
officer, with the return of the writ, for at least
one year.
Documents relating to Register of Electors
(2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall, for at
least two years after receiving them, retain in
his or her possession, on film or in electronic
form, all documents that relate to the updating
of the Register of Electors.
Inspection of documents
(3) No referendum documents, or documents
that relate to the establishment or updating of
the Register of Electors, that are retained in the
custody of the Chief Electoral Officer under
subsection (1) or (2) shall, during the period of
their retention, be inspected or produced except
under an order of a judge of a superior court,
which, if made, the Chief Electoral Officer shall
obey.
Exception
(4) Subsection (3) does not prohibit the Chief
Electoral Officer, any authorized member of his
or her staff or the Commissioner from inspecting
the documents referred to in that subsection,
and any of those documents may be produced by
the Commissioner for the purpose of an inquiry
made under section 510 or provided to the
Director of Public Prosecutions who may produce
them for the purpose of a prosecution — or
possible prosecution — by the Director for an
offence under this Act or the Referendum Act.
Referendum documents or papers admissible in evidence when certified
(5) When a judge of a superior court has
ordered the production of referendum documents,
the Chief Electoral Officer need not,
unless the judge orders otherwise, appear personally
to produce them but shall certify the
documents and send them by courier to the
clerk or registrar of the court, who shall, when
the documents have served the purposes of
the judge, return them by courier to the Chief
Electoral Officer.
Certified documents
(6) Documents purporting to be certified by
the Chief Electoral Officer are admissible in
evidence without further proof.
Filmed or electronic evidence
(7) In any proceedings under this Act or
the Referendum Act, a print that is made from
a photographic film or from a document in
electronic form made by the Chief Electoral
Officer for the purpose of keeping a permanent
record of a document, and certified by the
Chief Electoral Officer or by a person acting in
the name of or under the direction of the Chief
Electoral Officer, is admissible in evidence for
all purposes for which the recorded document
would be admitted as evidence, without proof
of the signature or official character of the person
appearing to have signed the certificate.
Order of Court
(8) A judge may make an order under subsection
(3) on being satisfied by evidence on oath
that the inspection or production of a document
referred to in that subsection is required for the
purpose of instituting or maintaining a prosecution
for an offence in relation to a referendum.
Conditions of inspections
(9) An order for the inspection or production
of referendum documents or documents
that relate to the updating of the Register of
Electors may be made subject to any conditions
with respect to persons, time, place and mode
of inspection or production that the judge considers
appropriate.
Inspection of instructions, correspondence and other reports
541. (1) All documents referred to in sections
19 and 20 of the Referendum Act, all other
reports or statements, other than referendum
documents received from referendum officers,
all instructions issued by the Chief Electoral
Officer under this Act and the Referendum Act,
all decisions or rulings by him or her on points
arising under this Act and the Referendum Act
and all correspondence with referendum officers
or others in relation to a referendum are
public records and may be inspected by any
person on request during business hours.
Extracts
(2) Any person may take extracts from documents
referred to in subsection (1) and is entitled
to obtain copies of them on payment of a
fee of up to $0.25 per page.
Evidence
(3) Any copies of documents referred to in
subsection (1) purporting to be certified by the
Chief Electoral Officer are admissible in evidence
without further proof.
Fees and Expenses of Referendum Officers
Tariff
542. (1) On the recommendation of the Chief
Electoral Officer, the Governor in Council
may make a tariff fixing or providing for the
determination of fees, costs, allowances and
expenses to be paid and allowed to returning
officers and other persons employed at or in
relation to referendums under this Act and the
Referendum Act.
Effective date
(2) The Governor in Council may specify that
a tariff made under subsection (1) has effect as of
a day that is before the one on which it is made.
Copy to House of Commons
(3) A copy of a tariff made under subsection
(1) and of any amendment made to one shall be
laid before the House of Commons on any of
the first 15 days on which that House is sitting
after the making of the tariff or amendment.
543. Not applicable.
Accountable advance
544. (1) An accountable advance may be
made to a referendum officer to defray office
and other incidental expenses in any amount
that may be approved under the tariff made
under subsection 542(1).
Preparation of accounts
(2) A returning officer shall prepare, in the
prescribed form, all accounts to be submitted
by the returning officer to the Chief Electoral
Officer and is responsible for their correctness.
Increase of fees and allowances
545. (1) If it appears to the Governor in
Council that the fees and allowances provided
for by a tariff made under subsection 542(1)
are not sufficient remuneration for the services
required to be performed at a referendum, or
that a claim for any necessary service performed
or for materials supplied for or at a referendum
is not covered by the tariff, the Governor in
Council may authorize the payment of any sum
or additional sum for the services or materials
supplied that the Governor in Council considers
just and reasonable.
Payment of additional sums
(2) The Chief Electoral Officer may, in accordance
with regulations made by the Governor
in Council, in any case in which the fees and
allowances provided for by a tariff made under
subsection 542(1) are not sufficient remuneration
for the services required to be performed
at a referendum, or for any necessary service
performed, authorize the payment of such additional
sum for the services as he or she considers
just and reasonable.
Taxation of accounts
546. (1) The Chief Electoral Officer shall, in
accordance with the tariff made under subsection
542(1), tax all accounts that relate to the
conduct of a referendum and transmit them
without delay to the Receiver General.
Rights saved
(2) Despite subsection (1), the rights, if any,
of claimants to compel payment or further payment
by process of law remain unimpaired.
Notice
Giving of notices
547. (1) When any referendum officer is by
this Act authorized or required to give a public
notice and no special mode of notification
is indicated, the notice may be in the form and
given in the manner established by the Chief
Electoral Officer.
Posting of notices, etc.
(2) Notices and other documents required by
this Act to be posted may be posted despite any
law of Canada or of a province or any municipal
ordinance or by-law.
Prohibition — removal of notices
548. (1) No person shall, without authority,
remove, cover up or alter any Notice of
Referendum or other document that is authorized
or required by this Act to be posted.
Notice
(2) A notice that may be easily read — to the
effect that it is an offence with severe penalties
to remove, cover up or alter the document
— shall appear on, or be posted near, a Notice
of Referendum or other document referred to in
subsection (1).
Oaths and Affidavits
Administration of oaths, etc.
549. (1) When an oath or affidavit is authorized
or directed to be taken under this Act or
the Referendum Act, it shall be administered by
the person who by this Act is expressly required
to administer it and, if there is no such person,
then by the Chief Electoral Officer or a person
designated by him or her in writing, a judge, the
returning officer, an assistant returning officer,
a deputy returning officer, a poll clerk, a notary
public, a provincial court judge, a justice of the
peace or a commissioner for taking affidavits in
the province.
No fees for oaths, etc.
(2) All oaths or affidavits taken under this Act
or the Referendum Act shall be administered
free of charge.
Taking oath falsely
(3) No person shall take falsely an oath that is
provided for by this Act or the Referendum Act.
Compelling or inducing false oath
(4) No person shall compel, induce or attempt
to compel or induce any other person to take
falsely an oath that is provided for by this Act
or the Referendum Act.
Signed Pledges by Candidates Prohibited
550. Not applicable.
By-Elections
551. Not applicable.
Forms
552. Not applicable.
Payments out of Consolidated Revenue Fund
553. Not applicable.
Amendments
554. (1) Not applicable.
Consolidation of amendments
(2) It is the duty of the Chief Electoral Officer
immediately after the passing of an amendment
to this Act to consolidate the amendment, so far
as necessary, in the copies of the Act printed for
distribution to returning officers, to correct and
reprint all forms and instructions affected by it
and to publish a notice in the Canada Gazette
as soon as copies of the Act and the forms
and instructions have been so corrected and
reprinted.