An Act further securing the independence of Parliament

(1) No person accepting or holding any office, commission or employment in the service of the Government of Canada, at the nomination of the Crown, to which an annual salary, or any fee, allowance or emolument in lien of an annual salary from the Crown is attached, shall be eligible as a Member of the House of Commons, nor shall he sit or vote in the same during the time he holds such office, occupation or employment ;

Exception as to Members of the Privy Council, or persons holding certain offices

(2) Nothing in this section shall render ineligible as aforesaid, any person holding any of the following offices, that is to say : President of the Privy Council, Receiver General, Minister of Finance, Minister of Justice, Minister of Militia and Defence, Secretary of State, Secretary of State for the Provinces, Minister of Public Works, Postmaster General, Minister of Agriculture and Emigration, Minister of Inland Revenue, Minister of Customs, or Minister of Marine and Fisheries, or shall disqualify him to sit or vote in the House of Commons,

Proviso

provided he be elected while holding such office, and not otherwise disqualified ;

Exception as to one Commissioner of Intercolonial Railway and Officers in the Army, Navy or Militia

(3) Nothing in this section shall render ineligible, as aforesaid, or disqualify to sit or vote in the House of Commons, one of the Commissioners appointed under the Act respecting the Intercolonial Railway, or any Officer of Her Majesty's Army or Navy, or any Officer in the Militia or Militiaman (except Officers on the Staff of the Militia receiving permanent salaries) unless he be otherwise disqualified.

No contractor with the Gov. of Canada to be a member of the H. of Commons

2. No person whosoever holding or enjoying, undertaking or executing, directly or indirectly, alone or with any other, by himself or by the interposition of any trustee or third party, any contract or agreement with Her Majesty, or with any Public Officer or Department, with respect to the public service of Canada, or under which any public money of Canada is to be paid for any service or work, shall be eligible as a Member of the House of Commons, nor shall he sit or vote in the same.

Election of persons disqualified, to be null

3. If any person hereby disqualified or declared incapable of being elected a Member of the House of Commons, is nevertheless elected and returned as a member, his election and return shall be null and void.

No disqualified person shall sit or vote

4. No person disqualified by the next preceding sections or by any other law, to be elected a Member of the House of Commons, shall sit or vote in the same while he remains under such disqualification :

Penalty for so doing

(2) And if any person disqualified or declared incapable of sitting or voting in the House of Commons, by the first, second or third sections, sits or votes therein, he shall thereby forfeit the sum of two thousand dollars, for each and every day on which he so sits or votes ;

How recoverable

and such sum may be recovered from him by any person who will sue for the same, by action of debt, bill, plaint or information in any Court of competent civil jurisdiction in Canada.

Member accepting Office, &c. to vacate his seat

5. If any Member of the House of Commons, by accepting any office or becoming a party to any contract or agreement, becomes disqualified by law to continue to sit or vote in the same, his election shall thereby become void, and the seat of such Member shall he vacated, and a Writ shall forthwith issue for a new election as if he were naturally dead ;

May be reelected under sect. 1, par. 2

but he may be re-elected if he be eligible under the first section of this Act.

Certain Officers may resign one office and accept the same or another within a month without vacating

6. Nevertheless, whenever any person holding the office of President of the Privy Council, Receiver General, Minister of Finance, Minister of Justice, Minister of Militia and Defence, Secretary of State, Secretary of State for the Provinces, Minister of Public Works, Postmaster General, Minister of Agriculture and Emigration, Minister of Inland Revenue, Minister of Customs, or Minister of Marine and Fisheries, and being at the same time a Member of the House of Commons, resigns his office, and within one month after his resignation accepts any of the said offices, he shall not thereby vacate his seat in the said House of Commons.

Members may resign their seats

7. Any Member of the House of Commons may voluntarily resign and vacate his seat in the manner hereinafter provided.

Proceedings in such case for issue of new writ, by notice in the House

8. Any such Member wishing to resign his seat, may do so by giving in his place in the House of Commons notice of his intention to resign it, in which case and immediately after such notice has been entered by the Clerk on the Journals of the House,

Speaker's warrant

the Speaker may address his Warrant under his hand and seal, to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, for the issue of a Writ for the election of a new member in the place of the member resigning ;

Or by notice in writing to the Speaker

(2) Or such member may address and cause to be delivered to the Speaker a declaration of his intention to resign his seat, made in writing under his hand and seal before two witnesses, which declaration may be so made and delivered either during a Session of Parliament or in the interval between two Sessions,—

Speaker's warrant

and the Speaker may upon receiving such declaration forthwith address his Warrant under his hand and seal to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, for the issue of a Writ for the Election of a new Member in the place of the Member so resigning, and a Writ shall issue accordingly,—

Entry in Journals

and an entry of the declaration so delivered to the Speaker shall be thereafter made in the Journals of the House ;

Seat vacated on such notice

(3) And the Member so tendering his resignation, shall be held to have vacated his seat and cease to be a member of such House.

No member to resign while his seat is contested

9. But no Member shall so tender his resignation while his election is lawfully contested, nor until after the expiration of the time during which it may by law be contested on other grounds than corruption or bribery.

Proceedings when a member wishes to resign, when there is no Speaker, or the member be himself the Speaker

10. If any Member of the House of Commons wishes to resign his seat in the interval between two Sessions of the Parliament, and there is then no Speaker, or if such Member be himself the Speaker,—he may address and cause to be delivered to any two Members of the House, the declaration before mentioned of his intention to resign ; and such two Members upon receiving such declaration shall forthwith address their warrant under their hands and seals to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, for the issue of a new writ for the election of a Member in the place of the Member so notifying his intention to resign, and such writ shall issue accordingly :—And the member so tendering his resignation shall he held to have vacated his seat and cease to be a member of the House.

Proceedings in case of vacancy, by death or acceptance of office

11. If any vacancy happens in the House of Commons by the death of any Member or by his accepting any Office, the Speaker on being informed of such vacancy by any

Member of the House in his place,—or by notice in writing under the hands and seals of any two Members of the House,—

New writ

shall forthwith address his warrant to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery for the issue of a new writ for the election of a Member to fill the vacancy, and a new writ shall issue accordingly :

If the speaker is absent from Canada, or there is no Speaker, or the member resigning is the Speaker

(2) And if when such vacancy happens, or at any time thereafter before the Speaker's warrant for a new writ has issued, there be no Speaker of the House, or the Speaker be absent from Canada, or if the Member whose seat is vacated be himself the Speaker,—then, any two Members of the House may address their warrant under their hands and seals to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery for the issue of a new writ for the election of a Member to fill such vacancy, and such writ shall issue accordingly.

Warrant for filling a vacancy before Parliament meets after a general Election

12. A warrant may issue to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery for the issue of a new writ for the election of a Member of the House of Commons to fill up any vacancy arising subsequently to a general election and before the first meeting of Parliament thereafter, by reason of the death or acceptance of office of any Member, and such writ may issue at any time after such death or acceptance of office :

Proviso : saving right of any person to contest

(2) But the election to be held under such writ, shall not in any manner affect the rights of any person entitled to contest the previous election ;

and the report of any Election Committee appointed to try such previous election, shall determine whether the Member who has so died or accepted office, or any other person, was duly returned or elected thereat, which determination, if adverse to the return of such Member and in favor of any other Candidate, shall avoid the election held under this section, and the Candidate declared duly elected at the previous election shall be entitled to take his seat as if no such subsequent election had been held.

This work is in the public domain worldwide because it was prepared or published by or under the direction or control of the Canadian Government or any government department prior to 1974.

Section 12 of the Canadian Copyright Act provides a reservation for Crown rights or privileges. Lack of modern case law on the subject makes it unclear whether perpetual prerogative rights over these documents still apply, or whether these rights have lapsed. Notwithstanding, these documents are reproducible under the terms of the Reproduction of Federal Law Order.

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