Interpretation

1 The definitions in this section apply to these Regulations,

Act

Act means the Canadian Wheat Board Act. (Loi)

election coordinator

election coordinator means the person who is employed to conduct the election of directors. (coordonnateur d’élection)

oath

oath means a solemn affirmation or a statutory declaration. (serment)

rejected ballot

rejected ballot means a ballot paper

• (a) that is contained in an envelope that is postmarked after the last day of the election period;

• (b) that was not furnished by the election coordinator;

• (c) on which there is any writing or mark by which the voter could be identified;

• (d) marked in such a manner that the preference of candidates by the voter cannot be determined with certainty by the election coordinator; or

• (e) that has not been marked in the space provided adjacent to the name of a candidate. (bulletin rejeté)

spoiled ballot

spoiled ballot means a ballot paper that is

• (a) soiled, illegible or improperly printed in such a manner that it cannot be used by a voter; or

• (b) received in error by a voter and returned to the election coordinator in exchange for another ballot in accordance with paragraph 18(1)(b). (bulletin détérioré)

void vote

void vote means a preference on a ballot paper for a person who is not officially nominated in accordance with section 13 or a candidate who has withdrawn from the election in accordance with section 15. (vote nul)

Election Coordinator

• 2 (1) None of the following persons may be employed as the election coordinator:

  • (a) an employee, officer or director of the Corporation;

  • (b) a producer; and

  • (c) any other person who would be unable, by reason of a conflict of interest, to carry out the election coordinator’s duties in a fair and impartial manner.

• (2) In carrying out their duties, the election coordinator shall ensure that the conduct and management of the elections of directors is conducted fairly, impartially and in accordance with the Act and these Regulations.

• (3) The election coordinator and any person employed to assist the election coordinator shall, before commencing their duties, take an oath, in a manner approved by the Corporation, to honestly and faithfully perform their duties without partiality.

3 The election coordinator shall fix and publish in a periodical that has a large circulation in the designated area

• (a) the days on which nominations open and close; and

• (b) the days on which the election period begins and ends.

Electoral Districts

4 One director is to be elected from time to time in respect of each electoral district set out in Schedule 1.

Voters

• 5 (1) A producer who is an individual may vote if they have attained the age of 18 years by the last day of the election period or, if under 18 years of age the producer has designated a cosignatory of a permit book who is at least 18 years old on that day and who has consented to vote on behalf of the producer.

• (2) No producer may vote more than once in an election.

Voters List

• 6 (1) Subject to subsection (2), every producer is entitled to be included in the voters list in respect of the electoral district in which they produce grain.

• (2) A producer who produces grain in more than one electoral district may only be included in one voters list, which is chosen by the producer.

• 7 (1) Not later than 60 days before the last day of the election period, the Corporation shall provide the election coordinator with a list of producers who are named in a permit book on the day the list is sent or who were named in a permit book during the previous crop year.

• (2) The election coordinator shall, not less than 30 days before the last day of the election period,

  • (a) make publicly available a list of the names of the voters in each electoral district; and

  • (b) send to each candidate a list of the names and addresses of the voters in the candidate’s electoral district.

8 Any producer whose name is not included on the voters list may, at least fourteen days before the last day of the election period, request the election coordinator to add the name of the producer to the voters list, if the producer provides proof of their identity and eligibility.

• 9 (1) No person may use the voters list for any purpose other than that of conducting an election campaign.

• (2) Immediately after the last day of the election period, each candidate shall return the list and all copies of it to the election coordinator.

Candidates for Election

• 10 (1) Subject to subsection (2), any person may be a candidate in an electoral district referred to in subsection (6), if on the day on which nomination papers are filed in accordance with section 11, the person is a Canadian citizen who has attained the age of 18 years and

  • (a) is named in a permit book as an actual producer; or

  • (b) is a shareholder in a corporation, a member of a co-operative or a partner in partnership that is named as an actual producer.

• (2) The following persons are not eligible to be candidates at an election:

  • (a) a member of Parliament;

  • (b) a member of a provincial legislature;

  • (c) subject to subsection (4), a director of a grain company or an employee or an officer of, or a professional consultant to, the Corporation, a grain company, the Government of Canada or a province; and

  • (d) the election coordinator or any other person employed in the conduct of the election.

  • (e) [Repealed, SOR/2000-302, s. 2]

• (3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(c), the expression grain company means a company that is engaged in commercial dealings in grain other than as a producer and includes

  • (a) an accredited or international exporter of the Corporation;

  • (b) a dealer;

  • (c) a processor of grain;

  • (d) a commodity exchange or its members; and

  • (e) an international grain trading company.

• (4) A person referred to in paragraph (2)(c) is eligible to be a candidate if they undertake in writing to terminate their position before assuming office as a director.

• (5) [Repealed, SOR/2000-302, s. 2]

• (6) A person may be a candidate in an electoral district in which they, the corporation, the co-operative or partnership are actual producers or in an electoral district that borders that electoral district.

Nominations

• 11 (1) A candidate for election may be nominated by submitting to the election coordinator during the period fixed by the election coordinator pursuant to paragraph 3(a) nomination papers that contain

  • (a) the name and home address of the candidate;

  • (b) the name of the electoral district in which the candidate is nominated;

  • (c) a statement signed by the candidate and a witness to the candidate’s signature that sets out

    • (i) the criteria referred to in subsection 10(1) and that the candidate meets those criteria,

    • (ii) that the person is not a person referred to in subsection 10(2) unless, in the case of a person referred to in paragraph 10(2)(c), the person satisfies the conditions set out in subsection 10(4),

    • (iii) that the person acknowledges having read the duties of a director set out in section 3.12 of the Act, and that, if elected, they are bound to perform their duties in the manner set out in that section, and

    • (iv) the person’s consent to be nominated as a candidate;

  • (d) the names, addresses and signatures of at least 25 persons who may vote in the electoral district and who support the nomination of the candidate, together with the name, address and signature of a witness to each signature;

  • (e) a disclosure statement, completed in a manner established by the election coordinator, describing any actual or potential conflict of interest that the candidate may have once elected as a director of the Board;

  • (f) a certified cheque, bank draft or money order in the amount of $500 made payable to the election coordinator in trust; and

  • (g) one 8.5″ x 11″ double-sided page for distribution to voters that contains a biographical history of the candidate and that may include a policy statement.

• (2) No nomination papers may be accepted by the election coordinator if the papers are received after 6:00 P.M. on the day fixed as the close of nominations.

12 No person may be nominated as a candidate in more than one electoral district.

13 The election coordinator shall accept a person as being officially nominated as a candidate if

• (a) the election coordinator is satisfied on reasonable grounds that the person

  • (i) meets the criteria set out in subsection 10(1), and

  • (ii) is not ineligible as a candidate under subsection 10(2) unless, in the case of a person referred to in paragraph 10(2)(c), the person satisfies the conditions set out in subsection 10(4); and

• (b) the nomination papers meet the requirements set out in section 11.

Return of Deposits

• 14 (1) After a person has been accepted in accordance with section 13, the election coordinator shall issue a receipt in respect of the deposit referred to in paragraph 11(1)(f), which is evidence that the person has been officially nominated.

• (2) Subject to subsection (2.1), the election coordinator shall return the deposit referred to in paragraph 11(1)(f) if

  • (a) in accordance with section 15, the candidate withdraws from the election within 14 days after the day the election coordinator issues the receipt in respect of the deposit;

  • (b) the candidate is defeated; or

  • (c) the candidate is elected.

• (2.1) The deposit shall be returned to the candidate, provided that

  • (a) in the case referred to in paragraph (2)(a), the candidate submits to the election coordinator a statement that contains

    • (i) the name of each donor who made a donation of money or of goods or services over $100 to the candidate and the amount,

    • (ii) an accounting of election expenses made during the election period, and

    • (iii) a statutory declaration attesting to the accuracy and completeness of the information referred to in subparagraphs (i) and (ii); and

  • (b) in the cases referred to in paragraphs (2)(b) and (c), the candidate complies with section 26.

• (3) If a candidate dies before the last day of the election period, the deposit shall be returned to their personal representative.

• (4) The election coordinator shall, after the completion of an election, forward all deposits not disposed of in accordance with subsection (2) or (3) to the Corporation.

• (5) Deposits received by the Corporation pursuant to subsection (4) shall be applied against the costs of the election.

Withdrawal of Candidate

15 A candidate for election may withdraw before the last day of the election period by filing with the election coordinator a notice of withdrawal signed by the candidate and attested by the signatures of two witnesses.

Acclamation

16 If, on the day fixed as the close of nominations, only one candidate has been officially nominated in respect of an electoral district, the election coordinator shall without delay

• (a) notify the Corporation in writing that the candidate named in the nomination papers is elected by acclamation in respect of that electoral district; and

• (b) send a certified copy of the notice to that candidate.

Manner of Voting

17 The election coordinator shall, not later than 25 days before the last day of the election period, mail to each voter named in a voters list in respect of an electoral district

• (a) one ballot paper in a form approved by the Minister that

  • (i) contains the names of the candidates officially nominated for election in the electoral district, and

  • (ii) allows voters to indicate their numbered preferences for each of the candidates;

• (b) a copy of each page referred to in paragraph 11(1)(g); and

• (c) a postage-paid return envelope that is addressed to the election coordinator.

• 18 (1) At least fourteen days before the last day of the election period, a producer who may vote in a particular electoral district and who

  • (a) has not received a ballot may request one from the election coordinator; or

  • (b) has received a ballot in respect of another electoral district, if the ballot received in error is returned to the election coordinator, may request one from the election coordinator in respect of the electoral district in which the producer may vote.

• (2) If the election coordinator receives a request referred to in subsection (1), the election coordinator shall, without delay, furnish the voter with the ballot, pages and envelope referred to in section 17.

• 19 (1) To vote, a voter shall, in accordance with subsection (2), rank each candidate listed on the ballot paper in the order of the voter’s preference and return the ballot to the election coordinator in the envelope provided for that purpose on or before the last day of the election period.

• (2) The voter shall rank the candidates by marking in the space provided adjacent to the name of the voter’s most preferred candidate the number “1”, the number “2” for the second most preferred candidate and so on until the voter has completed the ranking of all candidates for whom the voter wishes to vote.

• (3) The election coordinator shall reject any ballots contained in an envelope that is postmarked after the last day of the election period.

Counting and Reporting Votes

• 20 (1) In this section the expression majority of votes means, in respect of any count, more than one half of the total number of votes cast in the electoral district, other than void votes, votes cast on rejected ballots or votes cast on exhausted ballots.

• (2) The election coordinator, in the presence of independent scrutineers appointed by the Minister, shall, in the following order,

  • (a) sort the ballots by electoral district;

  • (b) in respect of each electoral district

    • (i) exclude all rejected ballots,

    • (ii) count the number of first preferences recorded on the ballots for each candidate, excluding any void votes, and

    • (iii) declare as elected the candidate who obtains a majority of votes;

  • (c) if, after the count referred to in paragraph (b), no candidate has received a majority of votes,

    • (i) eliminate the candidate who received the least number of first preferences from any subsequent counts, and

    • (ii) count each vote counted as first preference to that candidate to the next candidate in the order of preference who is not eliminated; and

  • (d) repeat the method of vote counting described in paragraph (c) until one candidate has received a majority of votes.

• (3) Every ballot paper that is not a rejected ballot shall be considered in every count, unless it is exhausted in accordance with subsection (4).

• (4) A ballot paper is exhausted when all the candidates in respect of which a preference has been made are eliminated.

• (5) The election coordinator shall recount the ballots if the difference in the number of votes between the candidate who received a majority of votes and the candidate who finished second is equal to or less than one per cent of the total votes for each of the candidates who are not eliminated.

• (5.1) To conduct a recount of votes in an electoral district, the election coordinator shall manually re-examine each ballot and follow the procedure for counting set out in paragraphs (2)(b) to (d).

• (5.2) If, following a recount conducted by a computer, the number of votes between the candidate who received a majority of votes and the candidate who finished second is equal to or less than one per cent of the total votes for each of the candidates who are not eliminated, the election coordinator shall conduct a recount manually if the candidate who received the majority of votes or who finished second requires it.

• (5.3) For the purpose of declaring a candidate as elected after a recount, the election coordinator shall rely upon the results obtained by the use of a computer or, if a manual recount was conducted, the results of the manual recount.

• (6) The election coordinator, in the presence of the scrutineers, shall draw a name from a container to break a tie in votes cast for any candidates.

Election Report

21 Immediately after the votes have been counted, the election coordinator shall

• (a) send to the Corporation a report that states, in respect of each electoral district, the name of the candidate elected, the number of votes cast for each candidate, the numbers of spoiled ballots and rejected ballots and the number of names on the final voters list, together with any other information that the election coordinator may deem fit to include; and

• (b) make the results of the election public.

Retention of Documents

• 22 (1) Immediately after the votes have been counted, the election coordinator shall, in respect of each electoral district, place in separate sealed parcels

  • (a) the nomination papers for each candidate;

  • (b) any ballot papers that were not distributed to voters;

  • (c) spoiled ballot papers;

  • (d) rejected ballot papers;

  • (e) all valid ballots;

  • (f) the final voters list, including any information relating to the establishment of the list; and

  • (g) any other documents used in conducting the counting of the votes.

• (2) The parcels referred to in subsection (1) shall be forwarded to the Corporation and kept for 10 years after each election.

Secrecy

23 No candidate, election coordinator or scrutineer shall at any time communicate to any person any information as to the candidate for whom any voter voted.

Election Spending

24 For the purposes of sections 25 to 28

advertising

advertising means any notice, article or illustration, which may include pictures or text published or shown in any media, including electronic media and periodical publications, and includes notices, articles, illustrations, newspapers and like publications designed for mass distribution but does not include

• (a) publishing or broadcasting editorials, news, interviews, columns, letter or commentaries in a periodical publication, a radio or television program; or

• (b) producing, promoting or distributing a book for no less than its commercial value, if the book was planned to be sold regardless of the election. (publicité)

advertising expenses

advertising expenses means amounts paid and liabilities incurred for the production, publication, broadcast and distribution of any advertising for the purpose of promoting or opposing, directly or indirectly during an election period, a particular candidate or group of candidates. (frais de publicité)

election expenses

election expenses means

• (a) amounts paid;

• (b) liabilities incurred;

• (c) the commercial value of goods or services, other than volunteer labour, provided;

• (d) amounts that represent the differences between amounts paid and liabilities incurred for goods and services, other than volunteer labour, and the commercial value thereof if they are provided at less than their commercial value;

(all of which are in this definition referred to as the cost) except reasonable amounts in respect of travel, living and other related personal costs of a candidate, incurred for the purpose of promoting or opposing during an election period, the election of a particular candidate and includes,

• (e) the cost of acquiring the right to the use of time on the facilities of any broadcasting undertaking or the right to the publication of an advertisement in any periodical publication;

• (f) the cost of acquiring the services of any person, including remuneration and expenses paid to the person or on behalf of the person unless the services are donated or provided at materially less than their commercial value and such donation is made known to the election coordinator in advance of the donation;

• (g) the cost of acquiring meeting space, of the provision of light refreshments and of acquiring and distributing mailing objects, material and devices of a promotional nature; and

• (h) the cost of goods or services provided by a government, Crown corporation or any other public agency,

when those costs are incurred for a purpose set out in this definition.(dépenses d’élection)

25 No candidate or any person on behalf of a candidate shall expend more than $15,000 in election expenses in respect of the candidate during an election period.

26 Each candidate shall submit to the election coordinator within two months after the last day of the election period a statement that contains

• (a) the name of each donor who made a donation of money or of goods or services over $100 to the candidate and the amount; and

• (b) an accounting of election expenses made during the election period; and

• (c) a statutory declaration attesting to the accuracy and completeness of the information referred to in paragraph (a) and (b).

• 27 (1) Any person who is not a candidate, and any group, shall, prior to incurring any advertising expenses during an election period, register with the election coordinator as a third-party intervenor.

• (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), group means an unincorporated union, trade association or other group of persons acting together by mutual consent for a common purpose.

28 A third-party intervenor shall not expend more than a total of $10,000 for advertising expenses during an election period for all electoral districts.

28.01 A third-party intervenor shall identify itself in any advertising placed by it and indicate that it has authorized the advertising.

28.02 Each third-party intervenor shall submit to the election coordinator, within two months after the last day of the election period, a statement that contains

• (a) the name of each donor who made a donation of money or of goods or services over $100 to the third-party intervenor for the purpose of promoting or opposing a candidate or a group of candidates during the election period;

• (b) for each donor, the amount of the donation;

• (c) an accounting of advertising expenses made during the election period; and

• (d) a statutory declaration attesting to the accuracy and completeness of the information referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c).

Report to President

28.1 After each election, the election coordinator shall submit to the President a report on the election which report may include any matter concerning election expenses.

Term of Office

• 29 (1) A director elected before December 31, 1998 in an election conducted in respect of

  • (a) Electoral District No. 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 as described in Schedule 1 holds office for a period of two years beginning on the day they assume office, unless they resign or are removed in accordance with the bylaws of the board; and

  • (b) Electoral District No. 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 as described in Schedule 1 holds office for a period of four years beginning on the day they assume office, unless they resign or are removed in accordance with the bylaws of the board.

• (2) Directors elected on or after December 31, 1998 shall hold office for a period of four years beginning on the day they assume office, unless they resign or are removed in accordance with the bylaws of the board.

• 30 (1) Subject to subsection (2), if a director resigns, dies or is otherwise removed from office, a new election shall be held and the director so elected holds office for the remainder of the term of office of the former director.

• (2) The election referred to in subsection (1) shall not be held if the remainder of the term of office of the former director is less than six months and the board, in accordance with its bylaws, maintains a quorum of directors during that period.

Coming into Force

31 These Regulations come into force on August 25, 1998.