BILL NO. 51

1st Session, 58th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
49 Elizabeth II, 2000

Private Member's Bill

Education Act (amended)

Maureen MacDonald
Halifax Needham

First Reading: May 8, 2000

(Explanatory Notes)

Second Reading:

Third Reading:

Clause 1 makes amendments to the provisions of the Education Act dealing with elections to the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial so that they mirror the provisions for election of African Nova Scotian representatives to school boards.

Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:

1 Subsection 13(3) of Chapter 1 of the Acts of 1995-96, the Education Act, is amended by

(a) striking out clauses (b) and (c) and substituting the following clauses:

(b) only an entitled person may nominate a candidate for election as a member of the Conseil acadien;

(c) a person applying to vote in an election for the Conseil acadien shall not be required to take an oath or make an affirmation attesting to that person's status as an entitled person but shall be required to sign a statement stating the person's status as an entitled person in a form prescribed pursuant to the Municipal Elections Act;

(b) striking out "directed by the Municipal Elections Officer" in the third and fourth lines of clause (d) and substituting "prescribed by or pursuant to the Municipal Elections Act"; and

(c) striking out clause (e) and substituting the following clause:

(e) for greater certainty, the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs may, pursuant to that Act, prescribe or alter any forms under that Act for the purpose of this Section;

2 Chapter 1 is further amended by adding immediately after Section 42 the following Section:

42A (1) In this Section,

(a) "African Nova Scotian" means a person who is African Nova Scotian or a black person;

(b) "African Nova Scotian elector" means a person who is qualified to vote in an election of a school board who is also

(i) an African Nova Scotian, or

(ii) the parent of an African Nova Scotian.

(2) This Section does not apply with respect to the Conseil acadien.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the membership of a school board includes, in addition to those members as determined by the Utility and Review Board, one African Nova Scotian representative, elected by African Nova Scotian electors throughout the school district or school region over which the school board has jurisdiction.

(4) The election of the African Nova Scotian member of a school board shall be held at the same time as the regularly scheduled elections to the school board.

(5) Notwithstanding the Municipal Elections Act,

(a) only a person who is

(i) an African Nova Scotian, and

(ii) qualified to be a candidate for election to a school board,

is qualified to be a candidate for election as the African Nova Scotian member of a school board;

(b) only an African Nova Scotian elector may nominate a candidate for election as the African Nova Scotian member of a school board;

(c) where a person intends to vote in an election of an African Nova Scotian to a school board, that person shall not be required to take an oath or make an affirmation in a form attesting to that person's status as an African Nova Scotian elector, but shall be required to sign a statement stating that person's status as an African Nova Scotian elector, in a form prescribed pursuant to the Municipal Elections Act;

(d) where a person votes in an election of an African Nova Scotian member of a school board, that fact shall be entered in the poll book in the manner prescribed pursuant to the Municipal Elections Act;

(e) for greater certainty, the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs may, pursuant to that Act, prescribe or alter any forms under that Act for the purpose of this Section; and

(f) the Municipal Elections officer may give such directions as may be necessary for the purpose of this Section.

(6) Except as provided by this Section, the Municipal Elections Act applies mutatis mutandis to the election of the African Nova Scotian member to a school board as if the district or region over which the school board has jurisdiction were a single electoral district.

(7) A qualified African Nova Scotian elector may vote in a school board election for either

(a) a candidate for election as the African Nova Scotian member of the school board; or

(b) a candidate for election to the school board other than as the African Nova Scotian member of the school board,

but not both.