Bill C-237: An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (gender equity)

Short Title Canada Elections Act First Session, Forty-second Parliament, 64-65 Elizabeth II, 2015-2016 HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA BILL C-237 An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (gender equity) FIRST READING, FEBRUARY 25, 2016 Mr. Stewart 421140 SUMMARY This enactment amends the Canada Elections Act to reduce the reimbursement each registered party receives for its election expenses if there is more than a 10% difference in the number of male and female candidates on the party’s list of candidates for a general election. Available on the Parliament of Canada Web Site at the following address: http://www.parl.gc.ca 1st Session, 42nd Parliament 64-65 Elizabeth II, 2015-2016 HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA BILL C-237 An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (gender equity) Preamble Whereas Canadians are committed to achieving gender equity in all aspects of political, economic and social life, including representation in Parliament; Whereas equal access to Canada’s democratic institutions is a question of social justice; Whereas women have never held more than 26% of the seats in the House of Commons or constituted more than 29% of the candidates in a federal election since first acquiring the right to run for office in 1920; Whereas the systemic underrepresentation of women in politics is not caused by a lack of willingness to stand for elected office, but rather by barriers within the process used by political parties to select candidates; Whereas currently, under the Canada Elections Act, political parties are eligible for a reimbursement of up to 50% of their election expenses provided they meet certain conditions and can at any time decline to receive this public subsidy; And whereas all political parties lack an adequate incentive to promote parity in the candidates they nominate for a general election; Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows: Short Title Short title 1 This Act may be cited as the Candidate Gender Equity Act. 2000, c. 9 Canada Elections Act 2 Paragraph 66(1)‍(a) of the Canada Elections Act is amended by adding the following after subparagraph (i): (i.‍1) his or her gender, 3 Subsection 437(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (a): (a.‍1) a statement of the total number of male and female candidates on the party’s list of candidates; 4 Section 444 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2): Reduction of reimbursement — gender equity (2.‍1) If the difference between the percentage of male and female candidates on the list of candidates of a registered party for the election exceeds 10%, the amount that is provided for in subsection (1), after having been reduced under subsection (2) if applicable, is reduced by the percentage that is determined by subtracting 10 from the difference between the percentage of male and female candidates and dividing that resulting percentage by four. Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons