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This archived statute consolidation is current to November 2, 1999 and includes changes enacted and in force by that date. For the most current information, click here. |
[Updated to October 31, 1997]
Contents
Section | ||
1 In this Act, "commission" means the Electoral Boundaries Commission appointed under section 2.
2 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council must, as required by this Act, appoint an Electoral Boundaries Commission consisting of
(a) a judge or a retired judge of the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal who is nominated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council,
(b) a person who is not a member of the Legislative Assembly or an employee of the government and who is nominated by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, after consultation with the Premier and the Leader of the Official Opposition, and
(c) the chief electoral officer appointed under the Election Act.
(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council must appoint one member of the commission as chair.
3 (1) The function of the commission is to make proposals to the Legislative Assembly as to the area, boundaries and names of the electoral districts of British Columbia.
(2) If the commission in carrying out its functions under subsection (1) considers that the number of electoral districts in British Columbia should be increased, it may make proposals to the Legislative Assembly to increase the number of electoral districts up to a maximum of 81.
4 (1) The commission member who is a retired judge appointed under section 2 (1) (a) and the commission member who is appointed under section 2 (1) (b) may be paid remuneration for his or her services on the commission in an amount prescribed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
(2) The commission members, while absent from their ordinary place of residence and in the course of their duties as commission members, must be paid their reasonable travelling and living expenses at the rates the Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe.
5 (1) The first commission must be appointed during the second session of the 36th Parliament.
(2) A new commission must be appointed during the first session of the Legislature following every second general election following the appointment of the first commission.
6 The commission and each member of it has, for the purposes of this Act, all of the powers conferred on commissioners under Part 2 of the Inquiry Act.
7 The commission may
(a) employ or retain technical and other advisors and employees that it considers necessary, including a person to act as secretary to the commission, and
(b) subject to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, determine
(i) their conditions of employment, and
(ii) the remuneration and reimbursement for expenses to which they are entitled.
8 Money required to meet the remuneration and expenses of commission members and of the persons referred to in section 7 may be paid out of the consolidated revenue fund.
9 (1) In determining the area to be included in and in fixing the boundaries of proposed electoral districts, the commission must be governed by the following principles:
(a) that the principle of representation by population be achieved, recognizing the imperatives imposed by geographical and demographic realities, the legacy of our history and the need to balance the community interests of the people of British Columbia;
(b) to achieve that principle, the commission be permitted to deviate from a common statistical Provincial electoral quota by no more than 25%, plus or minus;
(c) the commission be permitted to exceed the 25% deviation principle where it considers that very special circumstances exist.
(2) For the purpose of making proposals under section 3 (2), the commission must take into account the following:
(a) geographic and demographic considerations, including the sparsity, density or rate of growth of the population of any part of British Columbia and the accessibility, size or physical configuration of any part of British Columbia;
(b) the availability of means of communication and transportation between various parts of British Columbia.
10 (1) The commission, after considering any representations made to it, and within 12 months of the date on which the commission is appointed, must submit to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly a report, which must delineate the number, which must not be less than 75 nor more than 81, and the names, areas and boundaries of the proposed electoral districts.
(2) On receipt of the report under subsection (1), the Speaker must promptly cause it to be made public and to be published in the Gazette.
(3) If the office of Speaker is vacant, the report must be submitted to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly who must comply with subsection (2).
11 (1) The commission
(a) may before its report is submitted to the Speaker or to the Clerk under section 10, and
(b) must after its report has been made public
hold hearings at the places and times it considers appropriate to enable representations to be made by any person as to the area and boundaries of any proposed electoral district.
(2) The commission must give reasonable public notice of the time and place and purpose of any public hearings to be held by it.
12 (1) The commission may, after considering any further representations made to it, and within 6 months of the date it submits a report under section 10, submit to the Speaker any amendments to the report it considers advisable.
(2) The commission must give reasonable public notice of the time and place of any public hearings to be held by it.
(3) After the commission has heard from all other persons, it must give all current members of the Legislative Assembly an opportunity to make submissions to it.
(4) The amendments must be made public and published in the same manner as the report under section 10.
(5) If the office of Speaker is vacant, the amended report must be submitted to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, who must comply with subsection (4).
13 (1) The report of the commission, together with any amendments to it, must,
(a) if the Legislative Assembly is in session when the report is submitted, be promptly laid before the Assembly, or
(b) if the Legislative Assembly is not then in session, be laid before the Assembly within 7 days after the commencement of the next ensuing session.
(2) If the report and amendments are completed when the Legislative Assembly is not in session, they must be delivered to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly.
14 If the Legislative Assembly, by resolution, approves or approves with alterations the proposals of the commission, the government must, at the same session, introduce a Bill to establish new electoral districts in accordance with the resolution.
15 (1) If the Legislative Assembly is not in session, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by regulation, establish the names and the areas and boundaries of the electoral districts from which the 75 members of the Legislative Assembly are elected.
(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council must not enact a regulation under subsection (1) unless the Select Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly on Labour, Justice and Intergovernmental Relations has made a unanimous report to the Legislative Assembly recommending the names and specifying the areas and boundaries of the electoral districts.
(3) A report under subsection (2) must set out, with precision and clarity, the recommended names, areas and boundaries of the proposed electoral districts and the regulation under subsection (1) must be prepared and enacted accordingly.
(4) A regulation under subsection (1) that does not comply with subsection (2) has no effect.
(5) To assist the committee in preparing its report, the chief electoral officer and any public officers required by the chief electoral officer must, on the request of the chair of the committee, assist the committee in the manner requested by the chair.
(6) A report under subsection (2) is deemed to be made to the Legislative Assembly if it is submitted to the Clerk of the Assembly.
(7) The government must, at the next ensuing session of the Legislative Assembly after the enactment of a regulation under subsection (1), introduce a Bill to establish the boundaries of the electoral districts, but only in accordance with the regulation under subsection (1).
(8) The Lieutenant Governor in Council must not, before the Bill referred to in subsection (7) is enacted, amend or repeal a regulation under subsection (1), and any regulation that purports to do so has no effect.
(9) The electoral boundaries established under or in accordance with this section remain in effect until they are adjusted or changed under the other provisions of this Act.