[38] Bill 89 Original (PDF)
Bill 89 2004
An Act to amend the
Representation Act, 1996
respecting the number of
electoral districts in
Northern Ontario
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:
1. Section 1 of the Representation Act, 1996 is amended by adding the following definitions:
"draft representation order" means the order, prepared under the federal Act, that specifies the number of members who shall be elected for each of the provinces to the House of Commons, divides each of the provinces into electoral districts and is declared in force by proclamation of the Governor in Council; ("projet de décret de représentation électorale")
"Northern Ontario" means the Territorial Districts of Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Muskoka, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Timiskaming. ("Nord de l'Ontario")
2. Subsection 2 (1) of the Act is amended by adding "Subject to an adjustment made by the Chief Election Officer in accordance with subsection 3 (4)" at the beginning.
3. The Act is amended by adding the following section:
Districts in Northern Ontario not to be reduced
2.1 The number of provincial electoral districts in Northern Ontario shall not be fewer than the number of such districts as existed on June 3, 1999.
4. Section 3 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:
Process when there is a federal readjustment
3. (1) This section applies when there is a federal readjustment on or after the day the Representation Amendment Act (Northern Ontario), 2004 comes into force.
Readjustments to be examined by Chief Election Officer
(2) No later than one month after a draft representation order has been proclaimed in force under the federal Act, the Chief Election Officer shall determine whether section 2.1 would be violated if Ontario were divided into provincial electoral districts based on the federal readjustment.
Publication of determination
(3) The Chief Election Officer shall promptly publish a determination made under subsection (2) in The Ontario Gazette.
Where readjustment would reduce districts
(4) No later than six months after determining under subsection (2) that section 2.1 would be violated if Ontario were divided into provincial electoral districts based on the federal readjustment, the Chief Election Officer shall adjust the provincial electoral districts to give effect to section 2.1, and in doing so shall apply the following rules:
1. The total number of provincial electoral districts shall be the same as the total number of federal electoral districts for Ontario as are specified in the draft representation order.
2. The names and boundaries of the provincial electoral districts shall correspond, as closely as the Chief Election Officer considers possible, to the federal electoral districts for Ontario as are specified in the draft representation order.
Public hearings
(5) Before making an adjustment under subsection (4), the Chief Election Officer shall hold such public hearings in Northern Ontario as he or she considers appropriate for the purpose of receiving public input on the adjustment.
Publication of notice
(6) The Chief Election Officer shall promptly publish notice of an adjustment made under subsection (4) in The Ontario Gazette.
Effect of adjustment
(7) Despite section 2, on the day that the notice referred to in subsection (6) is published in The Ontario Gazette, Ontario is divided into the electoral districts as adjusted by the Chief Election Officer.
5. The Act is amended by adding the following section:
Effect of federal readjustment
3.1 When there is a federal readjustment on or after the day the Representation Amendment Act (Northern Ontario), 2004 comes into force, new provincial electoral districts are established as follows:
1. Where the Chief Election Officer determines under subsection 3 (2) that section 2.1 would not be violated if Ontario were divided into provincial electoral districts based on the federal readjustment, new provincial electoral districts are established in accordance with section 2 on the first dissolution of the Legislature that follows the first anniversary of the proclamation date of the draft representation order.
2. Where the Chief Election Officer determines under subsection 3 (2) that section 2.1 would be violated if Ontario were divided into provincial electoral districts based on the federal readjustment, new provincial electoral districts are established in accordance with the Chief Election Officer's adjustment made under subsection 3 (4) on the first dissolution of the Legislature that follows that first anniversary of the proclamation date of the draft representation order.
Commencement
6. This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
Short title
7. The short title of this Act is the Representation Amendment Act (Northern Ontario), 2004.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The Bill amends the Representation Act, 1996 to specify that the number of provincial electoral districts in Northern Ontario shall not be fewer than the number of such districts as existed on June 3, 1999.
Ontario's provincial electoral districts are normally identical to the federal electoral districts in the province. When a federal readjustment would have the effect of reducing the number of electoral districts in Northern Ontario, the Bill places a duty on the Chief Election Officer to adjust the provincial electoral districts so that the number of districts in Northern Ontario is not fewer than the number as existed on June 3, 1999.