Statutes of Newfoundland and Labrador 2015 Chapter 1

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

RSNL1990 cE-4
as amended

1. (1) Section 6 of the Electoral Boundaries Act is amended by adding immediately after subsection (1) the following:

(1.1) For the purpose of the appointment of a commission in 2015, the speaker of the House of Assembly shall appoint the members of the commission not more than 5 days after the appointment of the chairperson under section 3.

(2) Section 6 of the Act is amended by adding immediately after subsection (2) the following:

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), the appointments of the members of a commission in 2015 shall lapse after the expiration of 120 days after the appointment of the chairperson under section 3.

(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3), the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, may by order, extend the time period referred to in subsection (3) for one additional period of not more than 10 days.

(5) Where a commission appointed for the purpose of preparing a report in 2015 does not report as required by this Act, the failure to report shall not in any way affect the requirement for a general election under an Act of the province, and a general election shall be held in accordance with that legislation.

(6) Where a commission appointed for the purpose of preparing a report in 2015 lapses without the commission having submitted a report in the time frame required under subsection (3), a commission shall be appointed in the calendar year 2016, and all references in this Act to a requirement of or a consideration by a commission appointed for the purpose of preparing a report in 2015 shall apply, with the necessary changes, to the commission appointed in 2016.

2. Section 13 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Redistribution and population quotient

13. (1) In the calendar year 2015 the commission shall divide the province into 40 proposed one-member districts.

(2) In the calendar year beginning in 2026, and every 10 calendar years after that, the commission shall, as soon as is convenient after March 31, divide the province into 40 proposed one-member districts.

(3) The commission shall determine a quotient for each proposed district by dividing the total population of the province by the number 39.

(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3), for the purpose of the commission's report in 2015, the commission shall determine a quotient for each proposed district by dividing the total population of the province by the number 36.

(5) For the purpose of establishing the quotient under subsection (3), the population of the province shall be taken as in the latest census figures available under the Statistics Act (Canada) on March 31 of the calendar year in which the quotient is being established, irrespective of when those census figures were actually taken.

(6) For the purpose of establishing the quotient under subsection (4), the population of the province shall be taken as in the latest census figures available under the Statistics Act (Canada) when the quotient is being established, irrespective of when those census figures were actually taken.

(7) For the purpose of the commission's report in 2015, the total population of the province shall, for the purpose of subsection (4), be considered not to include that portion of the total population living within the area of the province comprising Labrador.

(8) For the purpose of subsection (3), the total population of the province shall be considered not to include that portion of the total population living within the area of the province comprising the district proposed by the commission under subsection 15(4).

3. Section 14 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Reports

14. (1) In 2015, and in 2026 and every 10 calendar years after that, the commission shall prepare a report to the minister setting out their recommendations concerning

(a) the division of the province into the number of one-member districts determined under section 13;

(b) the description of the boundaries of each district; and

(c) the name to be given to each district and the name shall incorporate the historical and geographical factors that the commission considers appropriate.

(2) Not more than 120 days after the appointment of a chairperson for the purpose of the commissions report in 2015, and before the end of the calendar year 2026 and before the end of every 10 calendar years after that, the commission shall submit the report referred to in subsection (1) to the minister, who shall

(a) submit a copy immediately to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council; and

(b) lay a copy before the Legislature within 10 days after the report is submitted to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

4. (1) Paragraph 15(3)(a) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(a) the community of interests of the residents of those communities of the province that are not connected by road; or

(2) Section 15 of the Act is amended by adding immediately after subsection (3) the following:

(3.1) Notwithstanding subsections (1) to (3), for the purpose of the commission's report in 2015, the commission may recommend the creation of not more than 2 districts on the island portion of the province with a population that departs from the quotient established under section 13 and the deviation permitted under subsection (3) where that departure, in the opinion of the commission, is warranted on the basis of those considerations referred to in subsection (3).

(3) Subsection 15(6) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(6) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, for the purpose of the commission's report in 2015, the commission shall divide the Labrador portion of the province into 4 proposed districts, including the district referred to in subsection (4), and shall, in describing the boundaries of those districts, consider their historical boundaries.

5. Section 16 of the Act is amended by deleting the reference "Public Inquiries Act" and substituting the reference "Public Inquiries Act, 2006".