CHAPTER 58. An Act to amend "The Industrial Home Act." [Assented to March 10th, 1916.] IS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the H' 1. Paragraph (d) of section 2 of chapter 93 of the Revised Sec. 2 Statutes of Manitoba, 1913, being "The Industrial Home Act," amended. is hereby amended by striking out the words "Attorney-General for Manitoba" from the first and second line thereof and substituting therefor the words "Minister of Education." 2. 4B added The said Act is hereby amended by adding thereto the Sections 4 and following sections immediately after section 4 thereof. 4A. buildings. The buildings occupied for the purposes of the institu- Control of tion known as "The Industrial Home," and all buildings that may hereafter be constructed, acquired or used for said purposes, shall be under the control of the Minister of Public Works, whose duty it shall be to keep the same in repair and provide such furniture and furnishings therefor as may from time to time be necessary. 4B. The duty of the administration and maintenance of the Duty of admin istration said institution, including the payment of the annual salaries maintenance. of all officers and servants employed therein or in connection therewith, and also the obligation of carrying out the provisions of this Act and seeing that they are carried out by all Minister of Education. All expenditures made for the pur- Expenditures employees of the said institution, shall devolve upon the poses out of consoli Minister, from and out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Province then available and appropriated towards said objects by Legislative authority. aforesaid shall be paid, on the authority of the said ted revenue. 3. This Act shall come into force on the day it is assented to. CHAPTER 59. An Act to enable Electors to Initiate Laws, and relating to the Submission to the Electors of Acts of the Legislative Assembly. [Assented to March 10th, 1916.] IS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the 1. This Act may be cited as "The Initiative and Referendum Short title. Act." 2. In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears vision." (a) "electoral division" means any electoral division in the "electoral diProvince entitled to return a member or members to the Legislative Assembly; (b) "electors" means all persons whose names appear on "electors." the lists of electors which would be used at the time of holding of the vote at a general election of members to serve in the Legislative Assembly were such election being then held; (c) "proposed law" means any proposed law, bill, measure, "proposed resolution or amendment to any Act or Acts of the Legislative Assembly, or to any law or laws enacted under this Act; vote." (d) "referendum vote" means a vote of the electors upon "referendum one or more Acts of the Legislative Assembly or one or more laws enacted under the provisions of sections 3 to 7, inclusive, of this Act. electors required 3. (1) Any electors, not less in number than eight per cent. Number of of the total votes polled at the general provincial election last on petition. held previous to the date of the petition herein referred to, whose names appear on the lists of electors last made and revised under "The Manitoba Election Act" previous to the date of the petition herein referred to, may, by petition in writing presented to the Legislative Assembly within two weeks after the commencement of any regular session thereof submit a proposed law to the Legislative Assembly. speaker. (2) Upon receipt of such petition the Speaker of the Legis- Petition to be lative Assembly shall take steps to ascertain and certify to it, certified by whether the same has been signed by the necessary number of electors, and for that purpose he shall accept the affidavits verifying the signatures on the petition as provided for in What prima section 15 hereof as prima facie evidence of such signatures facie evidence. Speaker may sufficiency. and of the petitioners being duly qualified electors, subject to the right of any person to show that the petition was not so sufficiently signed. (3) The Speaker may either himself decide the question himself decide of such sufficiency, upon objection raised by any person, in a summary manner upon such evidence as he chooses to receive, in which case his decision shall be final and without appeal of any kind, or he may, by writing over his signature, refer the question to a judge of the Court of King's Bench, who shall judge of K.B. thereupon inquire into the matter and, after taking such evidence in relation to it in such manner as he shall think fit, shall, with all convenient speed, report to the Speaker whether such Judge to report petition has been sufficiently signed or not, and whose decision shall be final and without appeal. Or may refer question to a to Speaker. Petition cer tified by Speak er. Speaker's certificate that petition is suf (4) The finding of the Speaker or the report of the judge on the question whether such petition has been sufficiently signed or not shall forthwith be certified by the Speaker to the Legislative Assembly. 4. In case the Speaker's certificate shows that such petition has been sufficiently signed as aforesaid, such proposed law, ficiently signed. unless enacted by the Legislative Assembly at the session at which it is submitted without change, other than changes approved of by the Speaker and certified to by him as not altering the meaning of such proposed law, shall, subject to the proSubmission to vision of the next following section, be submitted by the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council, in manner hereinafter provided, to vote. Attorney-Gen to court opinion as to ultra vires. a vote of the electors of the Province to be taken at the next general Provincial election, unless a special referendum vote is asked for in the petition. 4a. (1) If the Attorney-General is of the opinion that try forply such proposed law or any essential provision thereof might be held by the courts to be ultra vires of the Legislature, the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council shall, before submitting it to the vote of the electors as aforesaid, take the necessary steps under the Act chapter 38 of the Revised Statutes of Manitoba, 1913, to procure the opinion of the court as to whether such proposed law or provision thereof is within the power of the Legislature or not. If such opinion is given in the affirmative, then law is intra vires the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council shall submit the proposed law to the vote of the electors as soon as possible after the next session of the Legislature, unless the same shall be enacted as aforesaid at such next session. If courts hold then same to be submitted to vote. If courts hold (2) If such opinion is in the negative the said proposed law then no submis- shall not be submitted to the vote aforesaid. law is ultra vires sion. Limit of time for special referendum. 5. Where a special referendum vote is asked for the same shall be taken not more than six months from the date of the presentation of the petition; provided, however, that, where, at the date of the presentation of the petition, a less period than two years has elapsed from the date of the holding of the last preceding general provincial election or referendum vote upon the same, or substantially the same, proposed law, said special referendum vote shall not be taken earlier than the expiration of the said two years. to referendum 6. If the proposed law to be submitted is enacted by the Law not to go Legislative Assembly, at the session at which it is submitted, unless on petiwithout change other than changes certified to by the Speaker tion. as aforesaid, it shall not go to a referendum vote unless in pursuance of a petition under sections 9 to 11 inclusive hereof. allowance. 7. A proposed law so referred to the electors and approved Law approved to take effect of by a majority of the votes polled thereon shall, unless a later subject to disdate is specified therein, take effect and become law, subject, however, to the same powers of veto and disallowance as are provided in the British North America Act or as exist in law with respect to any Act of the Legislative Assembly, as though such law were an Act of the said Assembly, on a date to be fixed on day fixed by by proclamation to be made by the Lieutenant-Governor-inCouncil, which date shall not be later than thirty days after the clerk of the Executive Council shall have published in The Manitoba Gazette a statement of the result of the vote on said law in accordance with section 35 hereof. proclamation. 8. Said petition may be in the following form or to the like Petition, form effect: To the Honorable the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba: of We, the undersigned electors, respectfully request that the following proposed law (or bill, measure, resolution or amendment to chapter Act of the Legislative Assembly, Geo. v, or as the case may be) (the full text of the bill, measure, resolution or amendment, as the case may be, shall be set out) shall be submitted to a vote of the electors of the Province for their approval or rejection, unless enacted by the Legislative Assembly as provided in section 4 of "The Initiative and Referendum Act, "" and we nominate the following persons, namely as a committee to frame the arguments in favor of the said proposed law. Date (date on which first signature is made). of. Name Residence Occupation Electoral Division quired to peti 9. (1) Upon petition in writing of any electors, not less Number of in number than five per cent. of the total votes polled at the electors regeneral Provincial election last held previous to the date of the tion. petition herein referred to, whose names appear on the lists of electors last made and revised under "The Manitoba Election Act" previous to the date of the petition herein referred to, addressed to the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council, and filed in the office of the clerk of the Executive Council, requesting that any Act of the Legislative Assembly or part or parts thereof, whether now or hereafter in force, or not yet in effect |