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S.M. 1999, c. 2
THE ELECTIONS AMENDMENT AND ELECTIONS FINANCES AMENDMENT ACT
(Assented to April 28, 1999)
HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:
THE ELECTIONS ACT
The Elections Act is amended by this Part.
Subsection 10(3) is amended by adding "The Committee shall begin its consideration of the report within 60 days after the report is laid before the Assembly." at the end.
Section 165.1 is repealed and the following is substituted:
Limitation period for prosecutions
A prosecution for any offence under this Act may be commenced not later than one year after the date on which the Chief Electoral Officer has reasonable and probable grounds to believe that an offence has been committed.
THE ELECTIONS FINANCES ACT
The Elections Finances Act is amended by this Part.
The following is added after subsection 10.2(3):
An auditor whose professional judgment or objectivity is impaired in the manner described in subsection (3) is disqualified from being an auditor and shall resign immediately on becoming aware of the disqualification.
Section 10.4 is renumbered as subsection 10.4(1) and the following is added as subsection 10.4(2):
Statement of auditor who resigns
If an auditor for a registered political party or a candidate resigns or ceases to act for any reason, he or she shall provide the Chief Electoral Officer and the new auditor with a written statement giving the reasons for resigning or ceasing to act.
The following is added after section 10.4:
For every statement that is required to be audited under this Act, the auditor shall examine the statement and supporting documentation and make a report to the official agent of the candidate or the chief financial officer of the registered political party. The auditor shall conduct the examination and make the report in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards.
The auditor's report shall include any statements that the auditor considers necessary if
(a) the financial statement to which the report relates does not present fairly the financial transactions contained in the records of the candidate or registered political party;
(b) the auditor has not received all the information and explanations required from the official agent or the chief financial officer; or
(c) the official agent or the chief financial officer has not kept proper accounting records.
The official agent of a candidate and the chief financial officer of a registered political party, and any employee or agent of a candidate or employee, agent or officer of a registered political party, shall
(a) give the auditor access at all reasonable times to the records of the candidate or the registered political party; and
(b) provide the auditor with any information and explanations that the auditor considers necessary to enable the auditor to give a report under this section.
Qualified privilege (defamation)
An oral or written statement or report made under this Act by an auditor of a candidate or a registered political party has qualified privilege.
Subsection 44(1) is amended by adding "or nominated by a constituency association of the registered political party" at the end.
Subsection 44(2) is amended by adding "or nominated by the constituency association" after "endorsed by the registered political party".
Subsection 44(3) is amended by adding "or nominated by a constituency association of a registered political party" after "endorsed by a registered political party".
Section 58 is repealed and the following is substituted:
Every candidate, person responsible for the finances of a constituency association and chief financial officer of a registered political party shall preserve the records upon which a statement or return is based for
(a) at least five years from the date the statement or return is filed; and
(b) any additional period required by the Chief Electoral Officer, if the Chief Electoral Officer is of the opinion that records should be kept for more than five years in order to ensure compliance with this Act.
The following is added after section 70:
INSPECTIONS AND AUDITS BY THE CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER
For the purpose of ensuring compliance with this Act, the Chief Electoral Officer may conduct inspections and audits of the records of candidates, constituency associations and registered political parties that relate or may relate to information that is or should be in the statements and returns required to be filed with the Chief Electoral Officer under this Act.
The Chief Electoral Officer or a representative of the Chief Electoral Officer may, at any reasonable time and where reasonably required for the purposes of this section,
(a) enter any premises where he or she has reason to believe there are records of a registered political party, candidate or constituency association relevant to an inspection or audit under this section; and
(b) inspect and make copies of those records.
Any person occupying premises referred to in subsection (2) shall
(a) produce and permit copies or extracts to be made of all records required by the Chief Electoral Officer or the representative; and
(b) provide any information that the Chief Electoral Officer or representative may reasonably require.
A justice who is satisfied by information on oath that
(a) entry to premises is reasonably required for the purposes of this section; and
(b) entry has been refused or there are reasonable grounds to believe that entry will be refused;
may at any time issue a warrant authorizing the Chief Electoral Officer or representative to enter the premises and exercise the powers set out in this section, subject to any conditions that may be specified in the warrant.
Section 94 is repealed and the following is substituted:
Limitation period for prosecutions
A prosecution for any offence under this Act may be commenced not later than one year after the date on which the Chief Electoral Officer has reasonable and probable grounds to believe that an offence has been committed.
Subsection 99(3) is repealed and the following is substituted:
A report under subsection (1) that contains recommendations concerning amendments to this Act stands referred to the Standing Committee of the Assembly on Privileges and Elections for consideration of those matters. The Committee shall begin its consideration within 60 days after the report is laid before the Assembly.
COMING INTO FORCE
This Act comes into force on the day it receives royal assent.
Coming into force: sections 2 and 3
Notwithstanding section 178 of The Elections Act, the amendments to The Elections Act, as enacted by sections 2 and 3 of this Act, come into force on the day this Act receives royal assent.