C-79
First Session, Thirty-eighth Parliament,
53-54 Elizabeth II, 2004-2005
HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA
BILL C-79
An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (third party election advertising)
first reading, November 23, 2005
THE DEPUTY LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
90366
SUMMARY
This enactment amends the Canada Elections Act to limit the ability of a third party to use, for election advertising purposes, contributions that are made during the period beginning six months before the issue of the writs and ending on polling day. The limits are set at $5,000 from the total contributions received from an individual and $1,000 from the total contributions received from any other person or entity.
The enactment creates additional reporting requirements for third parties that receive contributions during that period that exceed those amounts.
It also provides that the total amount of contributions that a person or other entity can make to third parties during that period for election advertising purposes cannot exceed the spending limit applicable to a third party during that election.
The enactment amends the anti-collusion provision for third parties to ensure that persons and other entities cannot circumvent the limits and creates new offences to enforce those limits.
Also available on the Parliament of Canada Web Site at the following address:http://www.parl.gc.ca
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1st Session, 38th Parliament,
53-54 Elizabeth II, 2004-2005
house of commons of canada
BILL C-79
An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (third party election advertising)
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
2000, c. 9
CANADA ELECTIONS ACT
1. The definition “polling day” in subsection 2(1) of the Canada Elections Act is replaced by the following:
“polling day”« jour du scrutin »
“polling day”, in relation to an election, means the date fixed under paragraph 57(1.2)(c) for voting at the election.
2. Section 349 of the Act is renumbered as subsection 349(1) and is amended by adding the following:
Contributions
(2) For the purposes of this Part, a contribution includes a third party’s use of its own funds if the funds are used to make a contribution to another third party.
3. (1) Subsection 350(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Spending limit
350. (1) Subject to subsection 350.2(1), a third party shall not incur election advertising expenses of a total amount of more than $150,000 during an election period in relation to a general election.
(2) The portion of subsection 350(2) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
Spending limit — electoral district
(2) Subject to subsection 350.2(2), not more than $3,000 of the total amount referred to in subsection (1) shall be incurred to promote or oppose the election of one or more candidates in a given electoral district, including by
(3) Subsection 350(3) of the English version of the Act is replaced by the following:
Party leader
(3) If a candidate referred to in subsection (2) is a leader of a registered party or an eligible party, the limit set out in that subsection applies only to the extent that the amount is incurred to promote or oppose his or her election in a given electoral district.
(4) Subsection 350(4) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Spending limit — by-election
(4) Subject to subsection 350.2(3), a third party shall not incur election advertising expenses of a total amount of more than $3,000 in a given electoral district during the election period of a by-election.
(5) Section 350 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (5):
Limit on spending out of contributions
(6) Not more than $5,000 of the total amount of contributions made to a third party by an individual in the period beginning six months before the issue of the writ or writs and ending on polling day may be used by the third party to pay, or be incurred by the third party as, election advertising expenses. The third party shall not exceed that limit.
Limit on spending out of contributions
(7) Not more than $1,000 of the total amount of contributions made to a third party by any person other than an individual or any entity in the period beginning six months before the issue of the writ or writs and ending on polling day may be used by the third party to pay, or be incurred by the third party as, election advertising expenses. The third party shall not exceed that limit.
Inflation adjustment factor
(8) The amounts referred to in subsections (6) and (7) shall be multiplied by the inflation adjustment factor referred to in subsection 405.1(1) that is in effect on the issue of the writ or writs.
4. Section 351 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Contribution limit
350.1 (1) Subject to subsection 350.2(1), no person or entity shall, in the period beginning six months before the issue of the writs and ending on polling day, make contributions of a total amount of more than $150,000 to third parties for the purpose of election advertising in a general election.
Contribution limit — electoral district
(2) Subject to subsection 350.2(2), no person or entity shall, in the period beginning six months before the issue of the writs and ending on polling day, make contributions of a total amount of more than $3,000 to third parties for the purpose of election advertising to promote or oppose the election of one or more candidates in a given electoral district in a general election.
Party leader
(3) If a candidate referred to in subsection (2) is a leader of a registered party or an eligible party, the limit set out in that subsection applies only to the extent that the contribution is made to promote or oppose his or her election in a given electoral district.
Contribution limit — by-election
(4) Subject to subsection 350.2(3), no person or entity shall, in the period beginning six months before the issue of the writ and ending on polling day, make contributions of a total amount of more than $3,000 to third parties for the purpose of election advertising in a given electoral district in a by-election.
Inflation adjustment factor
(5) The amounts referred to in this section shall be multiplied by the inflation adjustment factor referred to in section 414 that is in effect on the issue of the writ or writs.
Contribution and spending limits combined
350.2 (1) For the purposes of subsections 350(1) and 350.1(1), if a third party incurs election advertising expenses during the election period of a general election and, in the period beginning six months before the issue of the writs and ending on polling day, makes contributions for the purpose of election advertising in a general election, the total amount of those expenses and contributions shall not exceed $150,000.
Contribution and spending limits combined — electoral district
(2) For the purposes of subsections 350(2) and 350.1(2), if a third party incurs election advertising expenses to promote or oppose the election of one or more candidates in a given electoral district in a general election and, in the period beginning six months before the issue of the writs and ending on polling day, makes contributions for the purpose of election advertising in that electoral district, the total amount of those expenses and contributions shall not exceed $3,000.
Contribution and spending limits combined — by-election
(3) For the purposes of subsections 350(4) and 350.1(4), if a third party incurs election advertising expenses in a given electoral district during the election period of a by-election and, in the period beginning six months before the issue of the writ and ending on polling day, makes contributions for the purpose of election advertising in that electoral district, the total amount of those expenses and contributions shall not exceed $3,000.
No circumvention of limit
351. No person or entity shall circumvent, or attempt to circumvent, a limit set out in section 350 or 350.1 in any manner, including by splitting into two or more persons or entities, or acting in collusion with another person or entity.
5. Subsection 353(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Registration requirement for third parties
353. (1) A third party shall register immediately after having incurred election advertising expenses of a total amount of $500 and may not register before the issue of the writ or writs.
6. Subsection 355(1) of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:
Nomination d’un vérificateur
355. (1) Le tiers qui engage des dépenses de publicité électorale de 5 000 $ ou plus, au total, doit sans délai nommer un vérificateur.
7. (1) Subsection 359(3) of the French version of the Act is replaced by the following:
Cas d’absence de dépenses
(3) Dans les cas où aucune dépense de publicité électorale n’a été engagée, le rapport doit signaler ce fait.
(2) Paragraph 359(4)(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(a) the amount, by class of contributor, of contributions for election advertising purposes that were received in the period beginning six months before the issue of the writ or writs and ending on polling day;
(3) Subsection 359(5) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Contributions
(5) The election advertising report shall also include
(a) the name and address of every individual who made contributions of a total amount of more than $5,000 in the period beginning six months before the issue of the writ or writs and ending on polling day, the amount and date of each contribution and the amount that the third party paid out of, or incurred as expenses from, those contributions for election advertising expenses, if any; and
(b) the name, address and class of every other person or every entity that made contributions of a total amount of more than $1,000 during that period, the amount and date of each contribution, the amount that the third party paid out of, or incurred as expenses from, those contributions for election advertising expenses, if any, and, if the contributor is a numbered company, the name of the chief executive officer or president of that company.
Inflation adjustment factor
(5.1) The amounts referred to in subsection (5) shall be multiplied by the inflation adjustment factor referred to in subsection 405.1(1) that is in effect on the issue of the writ or writs.
(4) The portion of subsection 359(6) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
Categories
(6) For the purposes of subsections (4) and (5), the following are the classes of contributor:
(5) Subsection 359(7) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Names must be provided
(7) If one or more contributions for election advertising purposes are made to a third party in the period referred to in paragraph (4)(a) and the third party is unable to identify which contributions it received for those purposes in that period, the third party shall list the name and address of every contributor who donated a total of more than $200 to it during that period and, if the contributor is a numbered company, the name of the chief executive officer or president of that company.
Loans
(7.1) For the purposes of subsections (4), (5) and (7), a contribution includes a loan.
8. Paragraph 362(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(b) publish, within one year after the issue of the writ or writs, reports made under subsection 359(1).
9. (1) The portion of subsection 496(1) of the Act before paragraph (b) is replaced by the following:
Strict liability offences — summary conviction
496. (1) Every third party is guilty of an offence who contravenes
(a) any of subsections 350(1), (2), (4), (6) and (7) (exceeding election advertising expense limits);
(2) The portion of subsection 496(2) of the Act before paragraph (b) is replaced by the following:
Offences requiring intent — dual procedure
(2) Every third party is guilty of an offence who wilfully contravenes
(3) Section 496 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):
Offence requiring intent — dual procedure
(3) Every person or entity who wilfully contravenes any of subsections 350(1), (2) and (4) (exceeding election advertising expense limits), any of subsections 350.1(1), (2) and (4) (exceeding contribution limits) or section 351 (circumventing election advertising expense or contribution limits) is guilty of an offence.
10. (1) The portion of subsection 500(5) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
Punishment — offences requiring intent (dual procedure)
(5) Every person who is guilty of an offence under any of subsections 480(1) and (2), sections 481 to 483, subsections 484(3), 485(2), 486(3), 487(2), 488(2) and 489(3), section 490, subsections 491(3) and 492(2), section 494, subsections 495(5), 496(2) and (3) and 497(3), section 498 and subsection 499(2) is liable
(2) Subsection 500(6) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Additional punishment — third parties
(6) Every third party that is guilty of an offence under paragraph 496(1)(a) or subsection 496(3) is, in addition to the punishment provided under subsection (1) or (5), liable to a fine of up to five times the amount by which the third party exceeded the election advertising expense limit in question.
2003, c. 19, s. 59(1)
11. Subsections 503(1) and (2) of the Act are replaced by the following:
Deregistered parties
503. (1) A political party that is deregistered during an election period does not commit an offence under paragraph 496(1)(a) or subsection 496(3) if the party, during the portion of the election period before the deregistration, has spent more than the spending limit set out in section 350.
Eligible party
(2) An eligible party that, during the election period of a general election, does not become a registered party does not commit an offence referred to in paragraph 496(1)(a) or subsection 496(3) if its election advertising expenses, as of the day on which it is informed under subsection 370(4) that it has not been registered, are more than the spending limit set out in section 350.
COMING INTO FORCE
Coming into force
12. (1) This Act comes into force six months after the day on which it receives royal assent.
Non-application
(2) If a writ of election is issued before this Act comes into force, the provisions of the Canada Elections Act, as enacted by this Act, do not apply in respect of that election.
Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of CommonsAvailable from:Publishing and Depository ServicesPublic Works and Government Services Canada