Democratic Local Nomination Act

An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (local endorsement of candidate)

This bill was last introduced in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session, which ended in August 2015.

This bill was previously introduced in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session.

Sponsor

Elizabeth May  Green

Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)

Status

Outside the Order of Precedence (a private member's bill that hasn't yet won the draw that determines which private member's bills can be debated), as of May 1, 2013
(This bill did not become law.)

Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament often publishes better independent summaries.

This enactment amends the Canada Elections Act to require that, where a political party has an electoral district association in a riding, a prospective candidate for the riding must have their nomination papers signed by the chief executive officer and by one board member of the electoral district association in order to stand as that party’s candidate.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Democratic Local Nomination ActRoutine Proceedings

May 1st, 2013 / 3:15 p.m.
See context

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-503, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (local endorsement of candidate).

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure I rise today to put forward a bill to carry forward the momentum of democracy which is sweeping the House of Commons. We saw a blow for democracy from the Federal Court last week in the decision on the Parliamentary Budget Officer and your own ruling, Mr. Speaker, that we as members of this House have the right to free speech.

To ensure our rights to free speech do not operate under the shadow of the leader's ire threatening to not sign our nomination papers, my private member's bill would eliminate the fact that currently the Canada Elections Act requires a leader's signature in order for a member to stand in his or her place as a candidate for the party. It would restore the grassroots democracy in that it would be the electoral district association of a person's riding signing the nomination papers and not the leader.

I hope this bill will have full support from all members of this House.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)