BILL 9

An Act to Amend the Electoral Boundaries and Representation Act

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, enacts as follows:

1 Section 1 of the Electoral Boundaries and Representation Act, chapter E-3.5 of the Acts of New Brunswick, 2005, is amended

(a)  by repealing the definition “census”;

(b)  by repealing the definition “total population”;

(c)  by adding the following definitions in alphabetical order:

“polling division” means a polling division as defined in the Elections Act. (section de vote)

“scheduled general election” means a provincial general election held in accordance with the schedule established in subsection 2(4) of the Legislative Assembly Act. (élections générales programmées )

2 The heading “Establishment of Commission” preceding section 2 of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:

Establishment and timing of Commission

3 Section 2 of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:

2(1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall establish an Electoral Boundaries and Representation Commission within 24 to 25 months before the scheduled general election to be held on the fourth Monday in September 2014, and within 24 to 25 months before every second scheduled general election thereafter.

2(2) If a Commission is not established under subsection (1), the Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall establish an Electoral Boundaries and Representation Commission within eight to ten years after the establishment of the last Commission.

2(3) A Commission shall consider and report on readjustments to electoral districts in New Brunswick based on the electoral quotient.

4 The heading “Timing of establishment of Commission” preceding section 3 of the Act is repealed.

5 Section 3 of the Act is repealed.

6 The heading “Census information provided to Commission” preceding section 9 of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:

Information provided to Commission

7 Section 9 of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:

9 Within 14 days after the establishment of a Commission under section 2, the Chief Electoral Officer shall provide the co-chairpersons with the following:

(a)  information with respect to the number of electors in each electoral district, as determined by the register of electors established under section 20.1 of the Elections Act, for each polling division or part of a polling division; and

(b)  any other information that, in the opinion of the Chief Electoral Officer, may assist the Commission in carrying out the Commission’s mandate.

8 Section 10 of the Act is amended

(a)  by repealing subsection (1) and substituting the following:

10(1) Upon receiving the information referred to in section 9, a Commission shall prepare, in accordance with this Act, a preliminary report and a final report containing the recommendations of the Commission with respect to readjustments to the electoral districts in the Province.

(b)  by adding after subsection (1) the following:

10(1.1) In making a recommendation in a preliminary or a final report, the Commission may consider data published by Statistics Canada under the authority of the Statistics Act (Canada) and any other reliable and relevant information available to the Commission.

(c)  in paragraph (2)(a) by striking out “55 electoral districts” and substituting “49 electoral districts”.

9 Section 11 of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:

11 A Commission shall establish the electoral quotient for the Province by dividing the total number of electors in all electoral districts in the Province, as determined by the register of electors established under section 20.1 of the Elections Act, by the total number of electoral districts.

10 Section 12 of the Act is amended

(a)  in subsection (1) by striking out “the population of” and substituting “the number of electors in”;

(b)  in subsection (3) by striking out “greater than 10%” and substituting “greater than 5%”;

(c)  in subsection (4) by striking out “more than 10%” and substituting “more than 5%”.

11 Subsection 16(1) of the Act is amended by striking out “within 90 days” and substituting “within 150 days”.