[38] Bill 41 Original (PDF)
Bill 41 2004
An Act to amend the
Election Finances Act and the
Members' Integrity Act, 1994
with respect to the election platforms
of registered political parties
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:
Election Finances Act
1. (1) Subsection 37 (4) of the Election Finances Act, as re-enacted by the Statutes of Ontario, 1998, chapter 9, section 69, is amended by adding the following paragraph:
5. Compliance with section 37.1 by the leader of a registered party or the Chief Election Officer.
(2) The Act is amended by adding the following section:
Election platform
37.1 (1) During an election campaign and no later than two weeks before polling day, the leader of a registered party shall give the Chief Election Officer a written statement describing those measures and bills forming part of the party's publicly stated election platform that the party intends to implement and that members of the Executive Council intend to introduce if the party forms the government following the election.
Statement
(2) The description of the measures and bills in the statement must be clear, concise and unambiguous.
Estimate
(3) If the statement refers to a proposed increase in a tax rate under a designated tax statute as defined in the Taxpayer Protection Act, 1999 or a proposed new tax under such a designated tax statute, it must also set out the increase in annual revenues that the leader expects to result from the proposed increase or new tax.
Review
(4) Within five days after receiving the statement of a registered party, the Chief Election Officer shall review it to determine whether it complies with subsections (2) and (3).
Publication
(5) If of the opinion that the statement complies with subsections (2) and (3), the Chief Election Officer shall promptly give the statement and a written copy of the opinion to the Clerk of the Assembly and make them available to the public.
Amended statement
(6) If of the opinion that the statement does not comply with subsections (2) and (3), the Chief Election Officer shall promptly so notify the leader of the party and allow the leader a further two days to comply with those subsections.
Review and publication of amended statement
(7) If the Chief Election Officer receives a statement within the further two days mentioned in subsection (6), the Chief Election Officer shall,
(a) review it to determine whether it complies with subsections (2) and (3); and
(b) promptly give the statement and a written copy of the opinion to the Clerk of the Assembly and make them available to the public.
If no amended statement
(8) If the Chief Election Officer does not receive a statement within the further two days mentioned in subsection (6), the Chief Election Officer shall promptly give the Clerk of the Assembly the statement received under subsection (1) and a written copy of the opinion resulting from the review described in subsection (4) and make them available to the public.
If no statement
(9) If the Chief Election Officer does not receive a statement from a registered party under subsection (1), the Chief Election Officer shall give written notice of that fact to the Clerk of the Assembly and make the notice available to the public.
Members' Integrity Act, 1994
2. Section 24 of the Members' Integrity Act, 1994 is amended by adding the following subsection:
Report on election platforms
(3) The Commissioner shall,
(a) review annually the statement of the leader of the registered party as defined in the Election Finances Act forming the government that the Chief Election Officer filed with the Clerk of the Assembly under section 37.1 of that Act during the most recent election campaign;
(b) determine, in his or her opinion, which of the measures and the bills described in the statement mentioned in clause (a) the government has implemented and introduced; and
(c) include in the annual report mentioned in subsection (1),
(i) a statement of the determination described in clause (b), if the Clerk of the Assembly received a statement mentioned in clause (a), or
(ii) a statement that the Clerk of the Assembly received no statement mentioned in clause (a), if that is the case.
Commencement and Short Title
Commencement
3. This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
Short title
4. The short title of this Act is the Keep Your Promises Act, 2004.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The Bill amends the Election Finances Act to require the leader of a registered party to give the Chief Election Officer a written statement during an election campaign and no later than two weeks before polling day. The statement must describe the measures that the party intends to implement and the bills that members of the Executive Council intend to introduce if the party forms the government following the election. The measures and bills must form part of the party's publicly stated election platform.
The Chief Election Officer reviews the statement to determine whether it is clear, concise and unambiguous, then gives the statement and a written copy of his or her opinion to the Clerk of the Assembly and makes them available to the public. If the leader of a registered party does not give the required statement to the Chief Election Officer, the latter gives written notice of that fact to the Clerk of the Assembly and makes the notice available to the public.
The Bill also amends the Members' Integrity Act, 1994 to require the Integrity Commissioner to review annually the statement that the leader of the party forming the government files with the Chief Election Officer under the Election Finances Act and to include in the Commissioner's annual report a statement of which measures and bills contained in the leader's statement the government has implemented and introduced.