The House of Commons. tion of in Canada. 37. The House of Commons shall, subject to the provisions of Constituthis Act, consist of One hundred and eighty-one Members, of House of whom eighty-two shall be elected for Ontario, Sixty-five for Commons Quebec, Nineteen for Nova Scotia, and Fifteen for New Brunswick. 38. The Governor-General shall from time to time, in the Summoning of Queen's name, by Instrument under the Great Seal of Canada, House of summon and call together the House of Commons. 39. Commons. A Senator shall not be capable of being elected or of not to sit in Honse sitting or voting as a Member of the House of Commons. of Commons. of the four 40. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, Electoral Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, shall, for the Districts purposes of the Election of Members to serve in the House of Provinces. Commons, be divided into Electoral Districts as follows: Ontario shall be divided into the Counties, Ridings of Counties, Cities, Parts of Cities, and Towns enumerated in the First Schedule to this Act, each whereof shall be an Electoral District, each such District as numbered in that Schedule being entitled to return one Member. 2. QUEBEC. Quebec shall be divided into Sixty-five Electoral Districts, composed of the Sixty-five Electoral Divisions into which Lower Canada is, at the passing of this Act, divided under Chapter Two of the Consolidated Statutes of Canada, Chapter Seventy-five of the Consolidated Statutes for Lower Canada, and the Act of the Province of Canada of the Twenty-third Year of the Queen, Chapter One, or any other Act amending the same in force at the Union, so that each such Electoral Division shall be for the purposes of this Act an Electoral District entitled to return One Member. Each of the Eighteen Counties of Nova Scotia shall be an Electoral District. The County of Halifax shall be entitled to Parliament of Canada otherwise return Two Members, and each of the other Counties One Member. 4. NEW BRUNSWICK. Each of the Fourteen Counties into which New Brunswick is divided, including the City and County of St John, shall be an Electoral District. The City of St John shall also be a separate Electoral District. Each of those Fifteen Electoral Districts shall be entitled to return One Member. Continu- 41. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, all ance of laws in force in the several Provinces at the Union relative to the existing Election following matters or any of them, namely:-The qualifications Laws until and disqualifications of persons to be elected or to sit or vote as Members of the House of Assembly or Legislative Assembly in the several Provinces; the Voters at Elections of such Members; provides. the oaths to be taken by Voters; the Returning Officers, their powers and duties; the proceedings at Elections; the periods during which Elections may be continued; the trial of controverted Elections, and proceedings incident thereto; the vacating of seats of Members, and the execution of new Writs in case of seats vacated otherwise than by dissolution,-shall respectively apply to Elections of Members to serve in the House of Commons for the same several Provinces. Provided that, until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, at any Election for a Member of the House of Commons for the District of Algoma, in addition to persons qualified by the law of the Province of Canada to vote, every male British Subject, aged Twenty-one years or upwards, being a householder, shall have a vote. Writs for first Election. 42. For the first Election of Members to serve in the House of Commons, the Governor-General shall cause Writs to be issued by such person, in such form, and addressed to such Returning Officers as he thinks fit. The person issuing Writs under this Section shall have the like powers as are possessed at the Union by the Officers charged with the issuing of Writs for the Election of Members to serve in the respective House of Assembly or Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, or New Brunswick; and the Returning Officers to whom Writs are directed under this Section shall have the like powers as are possessed at the Union by the Officers charged with the Returning of Writs for the Election of Members to serve in the same respective House of Assembly or Casual 43. In case a vacancy in the representation in the House of As to Commons of any Electoral District happens before the meeting of Vacancies. the Parliament, or after the meeting of the Parliament before provision is made by the Parliament in this behalf, the provisions of the last foregoing Section of this Act shall extend and apply to the issuing and returning of a Writ in respect of such vacant District. As to 44. The House of Commons on its first assembling after a General Election shall proceed with all practicable speed, to elect of Speaker one of its members to be Speaker. of House of Commons. 45. In case of a vacancy happening in the office of Speaker by As to filling up death, resignation, or otherwise, the House of Commons shall, Vacancy with all practicable speed, proceed to elect another of its members in office of to be Speaker. Speaker. 46. The Speaker shall preside at all meetings of the House of Speaker to Commons. preside. 47. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, in Provision case of the absence for any reason of the Speaker from the chair in case of of the House of Commons for a period of forty-eight consecutive Speaker. hours, the House may elect another of its members to act as Speaker, and the Member so elected shall, during the continuance of such absence of the Speaker, have and execute all the powers, privileges, and duties of Speaker, absence of House of 48. The presence of at least Twenty Members of the House Quorum of of Commons shall be necessary to constitute a meeting of the Commons. House for the exercise of its powers; and for that purpose the Speaker shall be reckoned as a Member. Commons. 49. Questions arising in the House of Commons shall be Voting in decided by a majority of voices other than that of the Speaker, and House of when the voices are equal, but not otherwise, the Speaker shall have a vote. of House of Commons. 50. Every House of Commons shall continue for Five Years Duration from the day of the return of the Writs for choosing the House (subject to be sooner dissolved by the Governor-General), and no longer. ment of Decennial 51. On the completion of the census in the year One Re-adjust thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, and of each subsequent Represen- decennial census, the representation of the four Provinces shall be re-adjusted by such authority, in such manner, and for such time, tation. Increase of number of House of as the Parliament of Canada from time to time provides, subject and according to the following rules: (1) Quebec shall have the fixed number of Sixty-five (2) There shall be assigned to each of the other Provinces (4) On any such re-adjustment the number of Members for a (5) Such re-adjustment shall not take effect until the termination of the then existing Parliament. 52. The number of Members of the House of Commons may be from time to time increased by the Parliament of Canada, Commons. provided the proportionate representation of the Provinces prescribed by this Act is not thereby disturbed. Appropriation and Tax Bills. Money Votes; Royal Assent. 53. Bills for appropriating any part of the Public Revenue, or for imposing any tax or impost, shall originate in the House of Commons. 54. It shall not be lawful for the House of Commons to Recom menda votes. adopt or pass any Vote, Resolution, Address, or Bill for the tion of appropriation of any part of the Public Revenue, or of any Tax money or Impost, to any purpose that has not been first recommended to that house by Message of the Governor-General in the Session in which such Vote, Resolution, Address or Bill is proposed. Assent to Bills, &c. 55. Where a Bill passed by the Houses of Parliament is Royal presented to the Governor-General for the Queen's assent, he shall declare, according to his discretion, but subject to the provisions of this Act and to Her Majesty's Instructions, either that he assents thereto in the Queen's name, or that he withholds the Queen's assent, or that he reserves the Bill for the signification of the Queen's pleasure. Order in of Act Governor 56. Where the Governor-General assents to a Bill in the DisallowQueen's name, he shall by the first convenient opportunity, send ance by an authentic copy of the Act to one of Her Majesty's Principal Council Secretaries of State, and if the Queen in Council within two years assented after receipt thereof by the Secretary of State thinks fit to disallow to by the Act, such disallowance (with a certificate of the Secretary of General. State of the day on which the Act was received by him) being signified by the Governor-General, by Speech or Message to each of the Houses of Parliament, or by Proclamation, shall annulthe Act from and after the day of such signification. 57. tion of on Bill reserved. A Bill reserved for the signification of the Queen's Significapleasure shall not have any force unless and until within two Queen's years from the day on which it was presented to the Governor- pleasure General for the Queen's Assent, the Governor-General signifies, on by Speech or Message to each of the Houses of Parliament, or by Proclamation, that it has received the Assent of the Queen in Council. An entry of every such Speech, Message, or Proclamation shall be made in the Journal of each House, and a duplicate thereof duly attested shall be delivered to the proper Officer to be kept among the Records of Canada. 58. For each Province there shall be an officer, styled the AppointLieutenant-Governor, appointed by the. Governor-General in ment of Council by Instrument under the Great Seal of Canada. Lieutenant Governors. M. · 19 |