Referendum Act (S.C. 1992, c. 30)

Conduct of Referendum

Marginal note:Application of Canada Elections Act to referendum

• 7 (1) Subject to this Act, the Canada Elections Act, as adapted pursuant to subsection (3), applies in respect of a referendum, and, for the purposes of that application, the issue of writs of referendum shall be deemed to be the issue of writs for a general election.

• Marginal note:Provisions not applicable

  (2) The provisions of the Canada Elections Act referred to in Schedule II do not apply in respect of a referendum.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (3) Subject to this Act, the Chief Electoral Officer may, by regulation, adapt the Canada Elections Act in such manner as the Chief Electoral Officer considers necessary for the purposes of applying that Act in respect of a referendum.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (4) The Chief Electoral Officer may make regulations

  • (a) respecting the conduct of a referendum; and

  • (b) generally for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act.

• Marginal note:No examination

  (5) Section 3 of the Statutory Instruments Act does not apply in respect of a regulation made pursuant to subsection (3) or (4).

• Marginal note:Deposit of regulation with Clerk

  (6) A copy of each regulation that the Chief Electoral Officer proposes to make under this section shall be deposited with the Clerk of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Commons at least seven days before the day on which the regulation is proposed to be made.

• Marginal note:Reference to committee

  (7) A regulation deposited with the Clerk of the Senate stands referred to such committee of the Senate, if any, as is designated or established, prior to the deposit, to review the regulation, and a regulation deposited with the Clerk of the House of Commons stands referred to the Special Committee on Electoral Reform established on February 14, 1992 or, if that Special Committee no longer exists, to such committee of the House of Commons as may be designated or established to review the regulation, and the committees may make such recommendations to the Chief Electoral Officer with respect to the regulation as they consider appropriate.

8 and 9 [Repealed, 1996, c. 35, s. 88]

Marginal note:Appointment of deputy returning officers

• 9.1 (1) As soon as convenient after the issue of the writ for a referendum, a returning officer shall, by writing in the prescribed form executed under his hand, appoint one deputy returning officer in each polling division in the electoral district to be appointed from lists supplied by the registered party whose candidate finished first in the electoral district in the last election.

• Marginal note:Appointment of poll clerks

  (2) As soon as convenient after the issue of the writ for a referendum, a returning officer shall, by writing in the prescribed form executed under his hand, appoint one poll clerk in each polling division in the electoral district to be appointed from lists supplied by the registered party whose candidate finished second in the electoral district in the last election.

• (3) to (5) [Repealed, 1996, c. 35, s. 89]

Marginal note:Lists made available

• 10 (1) On a request made before Friday, the tenth day before polling day, by an agent designated in writing for an electoral district by the leader of a registered referendum committee, a federal party or a provincial party, the returning officer for the electoral district shall

  • (a) before Monday, the seventh day before polling day, furnish the agent with one copy of the certified preliminary list of electors for any polling division in the electoral district specified by the agent; and

  • (b) before polling day, furnish the agent with one copy of any amendments to the certified preliminary list of electors and one copy of the lists of electors who have voted in that polling division before polling day.

• Marginal note:Misuse prohibited

  (2) No person shall, for any purpose not related to the conduct of the referendum or an election, copy or use a list or any part of a list furnished to an agent under this section.

Marginal note:Appointment of agents

• 11 (1) The agent of each registered referendum committee designated pursuant to subsection 10(1) may appoint in writing one agent of the committee to be present when voting is taking place at each polling station in the electoral districts in which it indicated, in its application for registration under section 13, it intends to support or oppose the referendum question.

• Marginal note:Appointment of witnesses

  (2) In the absence at a polling station in an electoral district of an agent of at least one of the registered referendum committees that support the referendum question or an agent of at least one of those committees that oppose the question or if there is no registered referendum committee that supports or opposes the question in that district, the returning officer for the district shall, as far as possible, appoint a person who supports or opposes the question, as the case may be, to act as a witness at that polling station when voting is taking place.

• Marginal note:Rights and obligations

  (3) Each agent of a registered referendum committee, and each witness, appointed for a polling station in an electoral district has, for the purposes of proceedings at the polling station, all the rights and obligations under the Canada Elections Act of a candidate’s agent for that polling station.

Marginal note:Appointments in writing and on oath

12 Every person appointed pursuant to section 11 shall be appointed in writing and shall take such oath of office as the Chief Electoral Officer may specify.

Registration of Referendum Committees

Marginal note:Application for registration

• 13 (1) A referendum committee may apply for registration for the purposes of a referendum by filing with the Chief Electoral Officer, at any time during the referendum period, an application in accordance with this section.

• Marginal note:Contents of application

  (2) An application for registration shall be signed by the leader of the referendum committee and shall

  • (a) set out

    • (i) the full name of the committee,

    • (ii) the name, address and telephone number of the leader of the committee,

    • (iii) the address and telephone number of the office of the committee where its books and records are kept and of the office to which communications may be addressed,

    • (iv) the name, address, telephone number and title of each officer of the committee,

    • (v) the name, address and telephone number of the auditor of the committee, and

    • (vi) the name, address and telephone number of the chief agent of the committee;

  • (b) indicate the electoral districts in which the committee intends to support or oppose the referendum question; and

  • (c) be accompanied by two statements, one signed by the person named pursuant to subparagraph (a)(v) and the other signed by the person named pursuant to subparagraph (a)(vi), that the signer has accepted the appointment as auditor or chief agent, as the case may be, of the committee.

• Marginal note:Examination and disposition of application

  (3) Forthwith on receipt of an application for registration of a referendum committee, the Chief Electoral Officer shall examine the application and determine whether the committee can be registered and shall

  • (a) if the committee can be registered, register it and so inform the person who signed the application; or

  • (b) if the committee cannot be registered, inform the person who signed the application that the committee cannot be registered and indicate the reason why it cannot be registered.

• Marginal note:Restrictions on registration

  (4) A referendum committee cannot be registered if

  • (a) the application for registration does not comply with this section; or

  • (b) the name of the committee so resembles the name of a previously registered referendum committee that the committee is likely to be confused with that previously registered referendum committee.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (5) A referendum committee cannot be registered if the name or logo of the committee is the name or logo of a federal party or a provincial party or so resembles such a name or logo that the committee is likely to be confused with the party, unless the committee is that party.

• Marginal note:Name of parties

  (6) For the purposes of subsection (5), the name of a party means

  • (a) the full name of the party; and

  • (b) any name, or abbreviation of a name, used to identify the party in election documents.

• Marginal note:Examination in order of receipt

  (7) Applications for registration shall be examined in the order in which they were received by the Chief Electoral Officer.

• Marginal note:Amendment of information

  (8) Subject to subsections 18(2) and (3), where a referendum committee is registered and any information given by the committee pursuant to subsection (2) or this subsection ceases to be applicable or to be complete or accurate, the committee shall forthwith send a report in writing, signed by the leader or chief agent of the committee, to the Chief Electoral Officer setting out such information as is necessary to bring the information up to date.

• Marginal note:Validity of registration

  (9) The registration of a referendum committee for the purposes of a referendum is valid only for that referendum.

Referendum Expenses and Contributions

Marginal note:Restriction on contributions

14 No registered referendum committee shall accept contributions from

• (a) an individual who is not a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident;

• (b) a corporation that does not carry on business in Canada;

• (c) a trade union that does not hold bargaining rights for employees in Canada; or

• (d) a foreign government or an agent thereof.

Marginal note:Limit on referendum expenses

• 15 (1) No person or group, other than a registered referendum committee, shall incur referendum expenses during a referendum period that, in the aggregate, exceed five thousand dollars.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) No registered referendum committee shall incur referendum expenses during a referendum period that, in the aggregate, exceed the product obtained by multiplying the number referred to in subsection (3) by the number of names appearing on all preliminary lists of electors at the referendum for the electoral districts in which the committee indicated, in its application for registration under section 13, it intends to support or oppose the referendum question.

• Marginal note:Escalator

  (3) For the purposes of subsection (2), the number

  • (a) for the year commencing on April 1, 1992, is 56.4 cents; and

  • (b) for the year commencing on any subsequent April 1 is the product obtained by multiplying 30 cents by the fraction published pursuant to subsection 39(2) of the Canada Elections Act for that year.

• Marginal note:Records

  (4) Every registered referendum committee shall keep such record of the referendum expenses and contributions of the committee as the Chief Electoral Officer may prescribe.

• Marginal note:Bank accounts

  (5) Every registered referendum committee shall, with any of the following financial institutions, keep such accounts and make such deposits therein and payments therefrom as the Chief Electoral Officer may prescribe:

  • (a) a member of the Canadian Payments Association; and

  • (b) any local cooperative credit society that is a member of a central cooperative credit society having membership in the Canadian Payments Association.

Marginal note:Payment out of contributions

• 16 (1) A registered referendum committee that incurs referendum expenses during the referendum period shall pay the expenses out of contributions received by it during or after that period, except that it shall not knowingly pay them out of contributions accepted contrary to subsection (4).

• Marginal note:Use of borrowed money

  (2) Money provided to a registered referendum committee in the manner and under the conditions described in paragraph (a) of the definition contribution in subsection 2(1) may be used to pay referendum expenses incurred by the committee during the referendum period.

• Marginal note:Repayment of borrowed money

  (3) Before the chief agent of a registered referendum committee files the referendum finances return with the Chief Electoral Officer, the committee shall repay any money provided and used as described in subsection (2) and pay any interest thereon or other charges or costs of obtaining it out of contributions received by the committee during or after the referendum period.

• Marginal note:No contributions after return filed

  (4) No person shall accept a contribution on behalf of a registered referendum committee after the chief agent of the committee has filed the referendum finances return.

• Marginal note:Repayment of contribution

  (5) Any person who accepts a contribution contrary to subsection (4) shall return the amount of the contribution to the contributor or, if that is not possible, shall pay that amount to Her Majesty in right of Canada.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (6) Where the aggregate of all contributions received by a registered referendum committee exceeds the aggregate of all referendum expenses and other expenses incurred by the committee before the chief agent of the committee files the referendum finances return with the Chief Electoral Officer, the committee shall return the amount of the excess to the contributors in proportion to their contributions or, to the extent that a return is not possible, shall pay to Her Majesty in right of Canada an amount equal to the amount of the excess that is not returnable.

• Marginal note:Debt due to Her Majesty

  (7) Any amount not paid as required by subsection (5) or (6) is a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada and is recoverable as such in any court of competent jurisdiction.