Evidence of meeting #127 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was elections.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Senior Counsel, Legal Services, Elections Canada
That's under the current law. Bill C-76 changes that by adding a maximum election period of 50 days.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
I'm trying to anticipate scenarios. The fundamental principle we have is that Canadians are due representation at all times unless there are extreme circumstances. The circumstance of somebody nine months out...or could it even be 10 or 11 months out, given they vacate the seat? I'm just wondering what the implication of this is. If they're 10 months out and they vacate the seat and the Prime Minister at the time delays any call into the nine-month window now, would it then roll right through to the general election? How would that work?
Senior Policy Advisor, Privy Council Office
No. With this amendment, only a vacancy that would occur on the last day or the last few days could be rolled into the general election, and only in years that are not leap years.
NDP
Senior Policy Advisor, Privy Council Office
It adds one day.
But seriously, all the vacancies that would occur up to very close to the nine months would have to be held and conducted fully up to polling day before the general election.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Can you explain why, though? Could I not interpret this to say that 10 months out from the fixed election day, if somebody says, “I'm out,” the Prime Minister has a minimum of 11 days that he or she can call—
Senior Policy Advisor, Privy Council Office
That's it. Ten months out would be, for example, December 21. Then there would be a minimum 11-day delay before the election can be called. The Prime Minister would have before the 11th and the 180th day to call the election. If the Prime Minister were to wait for the full extent—
October 18th, 2018 / 12:35 p.m.
Senior Policy Advisor, Privy Council Office
—the election would be called somewhere around June 21. Because there is now a maximum of 50 days for the writ period, the election would be held at the beginning of August. Under Bill C-76—
Senior Policy Advisor, Privy Council Office
No, not with this amendment. But with Bill C-76, again with the maximum period of 50 days, in 2019 the first day on which the writ for the general election could be issued, I think, is September 1. The by-election would be held. The candidate who won would be declared the winner up to mid-August, and then the general election would be called.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
That's contemplating a nine-month window, not the six-month window.
NDP
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
I'm just trying to understand. This might seem technical to folks—and it is.
I'm imagining our existing.... Right now under Bill C-76, with this as an amendment, and somebody in Parliament right now saying, “At the beginning of December, I'm done,” is there a scenario where, from that moment all the way through to the general, the people in that riding don't have representation? You're suggesting not. You're suggesting that timelines would require the PM to call the by-election, which would result sometime around June, or later. You said later than June.
Senior Policy Advisor, Privy Council Office
The earlier the vacancy occurs, the earlier the maximum day on which the by-election can be called will occur.
Senior Counsel, Legal Services, Elections Canada
Perhaps I'll add one more piece of context.
In Bill C-76, as it stands now, the trigger is that the writ may not be issued within the nine months before the general election.
NDP
Senior Counsel, Legal Services, Elections Canada
That's right—without this amendment. That actually extends the period of the vacancy, which could lead to a period of non-representation back to 15 months or so.
That wasn't the intention of our recommendation, although I don't think our recommendation, to be honest, was perfectly well crafted. Our idea was to have a period where a by-election does not need to be called, and a clear period where it does not need to be called. By drawing it from the vacancy period, it makes it clearer.
This amendment responds to a concern we had about the way the provision exists in Bill C-76, and it reduces the time in which you will not have representation.
Liberal
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair, but we also said that we would be somewhat adaptable to this.
What I'm trying to understand, which was just revealed now, I think, is that the.... If anyone is comfortable with citizens not having representation for 12 months because someone is playing around with the schedule—
