CONSTITUTION OF THE New Democratic Party of Canada EFFECTIVE FEBRUARY 2018

Transcription

1 CONSTITUTION OF THE New Democratc Party of Canada EFFECTIVE FEBRUARY 2018

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3 PREAMBLE Canada s a great country, one of the hopes of the world. New Democrats are Canadans who beleve we can be a better one a country of greater equalty, justce, and opportunty. We can buld sustanable prosperty and a socety that shares ts benefts more farly. We can look after our senors. We can offer better futures for our chldren. We can do our part to save the world s envronment. New Democrats work together to these ends for the sake of our fellow ctzens and n the nterests of all of humanty. New Democrats are proud of our poltcal and actvst hertage, and our long record of vsonary, practcal, and successful governments. That hertage and that record have dstngushed and nspred our party snce the creaton of the Co-operatve Commonwealth Federaton n 1933 and the foundng of the New Democratc Party n New Democrats seek a future that brngs together the best of the nsghts and objectves of Canadans who, wthn the socal democratc and democratc socalst tradtons, have worked through farmer, labour, co-operatve, femnst, human rghts and envronmental movements, and wth Frst Natons, Méts and Inut peoples, to buld a more just, equal, and sustanable Canada wthn a global communty dedcated to the same goals. and harmonous exchanges among ndvduals of dfferng cultures. New Democrats beleve n freedom and democracy and n a postve role for democratcally elected and accountable Parlaments, legslatures, and the governments responsble to them. New Democrats affrm a role for government n helpng to create the condtons for sustanable prosperty. We beleve n a rules-based economy, natonally and globally, n whch governments have the power to address the lmtatons of the market n addressng the common good by havng the power to act n the publc nterest for socal and economc justce, and for the ntegrty of the envronment. New Democrats belong to the famly of other progressve democratc poltcal partes that govern successfully n many countres around the world. In co-operaton wth lke mnded poltcal partes and governments, New Democrats are commtted to workng together for peace, nternatonal co-operaton, and the common good of all the common good beng our fundamental purpose as a movement and as a party. New Democrats celebrate Canada s dversty and the deep hstores, tradtons and aspratons of all of ts peoples. New Democrats beleve n an ntercultural ntegraton model based on soldarty CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA 1

4 ARTICLE I NAME The name of ths poltcal party shall be the New Democratc Party. ARTICLE II DEFINITION AND INTERPRETATION 1. Defntons In ths consttuton, wherever the words provnce or provncal appear, they shall be read to nclude terrtory or terrtoral unless the context otherwse requres. 2. Interpretaton Ths consttuton shall be nterpreted by the Presdent. Any such nterpretaton may be over-ruled by a majorty vote of all members present and votng at any meetng of the Executve, Councl or Conventon. 3. Languages Ths consttuton shall be prnted n both offcal languages of Canada. ARTICLE III MEMBERSHIP There shall be ndvdual and afflated membershp n the Party. 1. Indvdual Membershp (1) Indvdual membershp shall be open to every resdent of Canada, regardless of race, colour, relgon, sex, gender dentty or expresson, sexual orentaton, or natonal orgn who undertakes to accept and abde by the consttuton and prncples of the Party and who s not a member or supporter of any other poltcal party. 2. Afflated Membershp (1) Afflated membershp shall be open to trade unons, farm groups, co-operatves, women s organzatons and other groups and organzatons whch, by offcal act, undertake to accept and abde by the consttuton and prncples of the Party, and are not assocated or dentfed wth any other poltcal party. (2) An applcaton for afflated membershp may be receved from: (a) an nternatonal, natonal, provncal or regonal organzaton n respect of ts membershp n Canada or n the provnce or regon concerned; (b) a provncal or regonal secton of an nternatonal or natonal organzaton n respect of ts membershp n that provnce or regon; (c) a local, lodge or branch of any of the above-mentoned organzatons n respect of the membershp of that local, lodge or branch; (d) a local group or organzaton n respect of ts membershp. (3) An applcaton for afflaton must be made to the Executve and nclude (a) evdence that the applcant organzaton offcally supports the NDP (b) confrmaton of the number of ndvdual NDP members wthn the applcant organzaton. (4) The NDP Executve may wave Artcle III (2) (3) (a) n cases where t deems just cause. (2) Applcatons for ndvdual membershp shall be dealt wth n accordance wth the consttuton of the approprate provncal Party and shall be subject to the approval of that provncal Party. 2 CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA

5 ARTICLE IV FEES AND CONTRIBUTIONS 1. The Federal Party and all provncal Sectons shall remt, mmedately on recept, all mones receved on behalf of another secton of the Party. 2. Indvdual Members: Each provncal Secton shall set the amount of the fee n each provnce for ndvdual membershp n the New Democratc Party. ARTICLE V CONVENTIONS General Descrpton: There are two knds of Conventons: Bennal Conventons and Specal Conventons. 1. Tmng and Locaton of Conventons (a) Bennal Conventons shall take place at least once every other calendar year at a tme and place determned by the Councl. (b) Specal Conventons shall be called by the Councl or f requested by a majorty of Electoral Dstrct Assocatons n a majorty of provnces and terrtores. 2. Notce of Conventons (a) Notce of Bennal Conventons wll be sent to each Electoral Dstrct Assocaton, afflate and every group or organzaton elgble for representaton at least 150 days pror to the date of the Conventon. (b) Notce of Specal Conventons shall be determned by the Councl. 3. Quorum at Conventons A quorum for the transacton of busness shall consst of not less than one-thrd of the total regstered delegates at the Conventon. 4. Procedure at Conventons The rules of procedure at Conventons wll be those descrbed n the Appendx to ths Consttuton. 5. Authorty of Conventons Conventons are the supreme governng body of the Party and shall have fnal authorty n all matters of federal polcy, program and consttuton. 6. Delegates to Conventons (a) Elgblty of Delegates and Credental Calculatons each delegate must be an ndvdual member n good standng of the Party. each delegate may have only one vote at Conventon. for the purpose of calculatng credental enttlements for electoral dstrct assocatons, afflates and youth organzatons, formulas shall be calculated based on membershp lsts as at the end of the prevous membershp year, or as at 120 days pror to the conventon, whchever s the greater. (b) Electoral Dstrct Assocaton Delegates Each electoral dstrct assocaton shall be enttled to: one (1) delegate for 50 party members or less; one (1) addtonal delegate for each addtonal 50 party members or major fracton thereof; and one (1) addtonal credental reserved for a youth delegate. (c) Afflate Delegates Each afflate shall be enttled to: one (1) delegate for 50 party members or less; and one (1) delegate for each addtonal 50 party members or major fracton thereof. CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA 3

6 (d) Youth Delegates Each federally chartered chapter, campus club, provncal or terrtoral New Democratc Youth Secton shall be enttled to: one (1) delegate for 50 party members or less; one (1) addtonal delegate for each addtonal 50 party members or major fracton thereof up to 200 members; and one (1) addtonal delegate for each 100 party members or major fracton thereof. (e) Delegate Enttlements The followng shall be enttled to delegate credentals: All former federal leaders of the Party; All members of the federal Caucus; All members of the Councl; v The Canadan Labour Congress shall be enttled to four (4) delegate credentals; v Each natonal labour organzaton wth at least one afflate to the party shall be enttled to two (2) delegate credentals; v Each afflated provncal and terrtoral federaton of labour wth at least one afflate to the party shall be enttled to two (2) delegate credentals; and v Each afflated labour councl wth at least one local afflated to the party shall be enttled to two (2) delegate credentals. 7. Resolutons at Conventon (a) Notce The Party headquarters must receve all resolutons no less than 60 days pror to start of Conventon. (b) Submsson of Resolutons The followng may submt resolutons to Conventons: Electoral Dstrct Assocatons; Afflates or afflated groups or organzatons enttled to representaton; Provncal Partes or Sectons; v New Democratc Youth of Canada; v Provncal Sectons of the New Democratc Youth of Canada, or federally chartered youth chapters; v Councl; v Councls of Electoral Dstrct Assocatons; v Partcpaton of Women Commttee; x Aborgnal Commsson; x Racal Justce and Equty Mnortes Commttee; x Lesban, Gay, Bsexual, Transgendered Commttee x Persons Lvng wth dsabltes Commttee; and x Standng commttees as establshed by the Federal Councl 4 CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA

7 ARTICLE VI OFFICERS 1. Composton Offcers shall be comprsed of: (a) Leader; (b) Presdent; (c) Vce Presdent; (d) Vce Presdent Labour; (e) Treasurer; and (f) Natonal Drector. 2. Powers and Responsbltes of the Offcers (a) Offcers shall be responsble for: emergences that occur between regularly scheduled meetngs of Executve and Councl; the admnstraton and fnances of the Party, and; the preparaton of agendas for Executve and Councl. (b) Decsons made by Offcers shall be subject to approval by Executve or Councl. (c) Offcers shall meet pror to Executve and Councl, or as crcumstances necesstate. (d) At all meetngs of Offcers, 50% plus one of the total number of sttng Offcers shall consttute a quorum. 3. Electons and Appontment of Offcers (a) Leader The Leader shall be elected by secret ballot. Every member s enttled to cast a ballot for the selecton of the Leader. Canddates for the leadershp wth the fewest number of votes wll drop off the ballot n subsequent rounds untl one canddate receves 50% plus one or more of the total votes cast n that round. The Councl shall determne other leadershp selecton gudelnes. v Should the poston of Leader become vacant at any pont, the Councl may, n consultaton wth the Parlamentary Caucus, appont a Leader for the nterm perod untl a new Leader has been elected. v At every conventon that s not a leadershp conventon; a secret ballot vote wll be held to determne whether or not a leadershp electon should be called. If 50% plus one delegate supports the callng of a leadershp electon, such an electon wll be held wthn one year of the conventon vote. (b) Presdent All delegates at each Conventon shall elect the Presdent. (c) Vce Presdent The Vce Presdent shall be a member of the lngustc language group other than the Presdent. When the elected Presdent dentfes as an Anglophone, the francophone caucus shall nomnate the Vce Presdent to be ratfed by Conventon. The francophone caucus shall consst of delegates who dentfy themselves as Francophone. When the elected Presdent dentfes as a Francophone, the Vce Presdent shall be elected by all Conventon delegates. CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA 5

8 (d) Vce Presdent Labour General Descrpton: The Vce Presdent shall represent afflates and the partnershp wth the Labour Movement. The Vce Presdent Labour shall be nomnated by a caucus of labour delegates and ratfed by Conventon. (e) Treasurer All delegates at each Conventon shall elect the Treasurer. (f) Natonal Drector General Descrpton: The Natonal Drector shall be the Chef Executve Offcer of the Party and shall be pad such remuneraton as may be determned by the Offcers. The Natonal Drector shall be apponted by the Offcers and ratfed by the Councl. (g) Between Conventons, the Councl shall fll any the vacancy among the Offcers. The Executve may, on an nterm bass, fll such vacances untl the Councl meets. (h) The Conventon may name a Presdent Emertus and an Honorary Presdent, who shall be members of the Councl and the Executve by vrtue of ther offces. Gender party shall apply when electng or appontng Offcers. ARTICLE VII EXECUTIVE 1. The Executve shall concern tself prmarly wth the settng of goals and objectves for the Party. The Executve shall form the bass of the Electon Plannng Commttee. The Executve shall also receve admnstratve and fnancal reports from Offcers. As such, t shall have the authorty to ncur credt and loan oblgatons as requred for the proper conduct of Party affars and electons. Such undertakngs shall be executed by two of the followng Offcers; Presdent, Secretary and Treasurer, and such Offcers as the Executve may from tme to tme empower for ths purpose. 2. The Executve may also ssue statements n the name of the Party, subject to report to and confrmaton by the Councl. 3. The Executve of the Party shall consst of the Offcers, and: (a) eleven regonal representatves. For the purpose of representaton on Executve and Councl, the regons defned as: Brtsh Columba, Ontaro, Québec and the Atlantc provnces shall be enttled to two representatves, at least one of whom wll be a woman. The regons defned as: Alberta, Saskatchewan and Mantoba shall each receve one representatve. Gender party wll be respected wthn each of these regons. Each regon shall elect these representatves at a Caucus of delegates from the sad regon, and submt them to Conventon for ratfcaton; (b) the Northern Caucus shall elect one regonal representatve on Executve at ther regonal caucus meetng of delegates at Conventon and submt that name to Conventon for ratfcaton. The Northern Caucus at Conventon shall consst of delegates from the Yukon, the Northwest Terrtores, and Nunavut. 6 CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA

9 (c) two representatves from Labour afflates elected by the Labour Caucus at Conventon and submtted to Conventon for ratfcaton. At least one of the two shall be a woman; (d) the Chars of the Partcpaton of Women Commttee, the New Democratc Youth of Canada, the Racal Justce and Equty Commttee, the Aborgnal Commsson, the Lesban-Gay Bsexual-Transgendered Commttee, the Persons Lvng wth dsabltes Commttee and the Federal Caucus representatve - all elected by the respectve Caucus at Conventon and ratfed by Conventon. 4. The Executve may, on an nterm bass, fll vacances from among the members of the Councl. 5. The Executve shall meet at least three tmes per calendar year. At all meetngs of the Executve, ten members shall consttute a quorum. An Executve member who fals to attend three successve meetngs wthout adequate justfcaton shall cease to be a member of the Executve. ARTICLE VIII COUNCIL 1. Composton The Councl shall be comprsed of: (a) The Offcers; (b) The Executve; (c) One Representatve from each provnce and terrtory; and a second representatve from each provnce or terrtory where membershp exceeds 5,000 a thrd representatve from each provnce or terrtory where membershp exceeds 10,000 a fourth representatve from each provnce or terrtory where membershp exceeds15,000 v a ffth representatve from each provnce or terrtory where membershp exceeds 25,000 Representaton from provnces or terrtores that have more than one Councl representatve shall be gender balanced. Representaton from provnces or terrtores wth only one Councl representatve shall elect a representatve that ensures gender party wthn the provncal and terrtoral presentaton to Councl. (d) Two Offcers from each provncal or terrtoral party or secton, at least one of whom shall be a woman, apponted by the respectve executve or councl. (e) No more than thrty representatves from natonal labour organzatons, elected by delegates comprsng the labour caucus at conventon. Each natonal labour organzaton wth more than 500 Party members s elgble to have one (1) representatve for ts frst 1,000 members and one (1) addtonal representatve for ts CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA 7

10 second 1,000 Party members or major fracton thereof. No natonal labour organzaton may have more than two (2) Councl representatves. If there are more than thrty labour sector Councl representatves elgble under the terms descrbed n ths secton, the caucus of labour delegates at conventon wll determne the allotment of these thrty representatves. (f) Two Caucus representatves, one of whom shall be a woman. (g) Twelve regonal Women Commsson representatves, to be elected by the respectve regonal caucus of women delegates at Conventon and ratfed by Conventon; (h) Eleven youth representatves, selected n accordance wth the terms and condtons defned by the New Democratc Youth of Canada. Includng the Youth Char on Executve, at least sx of the 12 youth representatves shall be women; One representatve from each of the: Aborgnal Commsson; Persons Lvng wth dsabltes Commttee; Racal Justce and Equty Commttee; and v Lesban, Gay, Bsexual and Transgendered Commttee; to be elected by the respectve groups at Conventon and ratfed by Conventon. Each shall be of the gender other than that of the Char of the Commttee. 2. Powers and Responsbltes General Descrpton: The Councl s the governng body of the Party between Conventons. The Offcers and the Executve shall report to Councl on admnstratve and fnancal matters and Councl shall have the fnal word on such matters between Conventons. The Councl shall: (a) Have full authorty to ssue polcy statements and electon statements n the name of the Party, consonant wth the decsons of the Conventon, and to ntate polcy statements consonant wth the phlosophy of the Party n matters not yet consdered by Conventon. (b) Wth the approval of two thrds of ts members present and votng, elect not more than three addtonal persons to be members of the Councl, at least two of whom shall be women. (c) Meet at least twce per calendar year at the call of the Executve. (d) Strke ad hoc commttees of the Party provded that such commttees have clearly set out objectves, and that once such objectves have been realzed, the sad commttee wll cease to exst. (e) Have at least one thrd of ts members present to consttute a quorum. (f) Elect a replacement for any poston elected at Conventon that becomes vacant, and shall ratfy all replacements to other postons. (g) Deem a Councl member resgned for falng to attend two successve meetngs, wthout adequate justfcaton. ARTICLE IX ELECTORAL DISTRICT ASSOCIATIONS 1. Descrpton The Electoral Dstrct Assocaton s the prmary organzaton through whch the rghts of the members of the Party are exercsed. 8 CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA

11 2. Councl of Electoral Dstrct Assocatons (a) Upon recognton by the Councl, a provncal or regonal groupng of electoral dstrct assocatons shall be known as Councl of Electoral Dstrct Assocatons. (b) The purpose of a Councl of Electoral Dstrct Assocatons s to: Offer a venue for collaboraton, plannng and nformaton sharng between Assocatons; Support assocatons n ther communcatons, organzaton, fundrasng, polcy development and canddate search; Offer advce to the Party on organzatonal and strategc matters; v Elect delegates to postons on the Councl. (c) Upon approval of the Councl, each Councl of Electoral Dstrct Assocatons shall conduct ts affars through ts own representatonal structure and bylaws. (d) Each Councl of Electoral Dstrct Assocatons shall meet at least once annually. ARTICLE X COMMISSIONS Wthn the NDP, Commssons may be establshed. A Commsson s a formal organzaton, nternal to the Party, whch regroups members on a bass of dentty, or around a specfc poltcal ssue. (a) A Commsson has clearly stated objectves, whch would nclude: offer a forum for acton and nformaton sharng between ts members; make outreach to people or groups outsde the Party, notably wth the ntent of recrutng members or canddates for the Party; contrbute to polcy development n ther area of nterest; (b) n order to hold the ttle of Commsson of the New Democratc Party such an organzaton must be formally recognzed by the Federal Councl of the Party. It must, among other thngs, establsh a workng Executve. It must also present the Party Executve wth an annual acton plan and an annual report of ts actvtes; (c) f a Commsson s set up emanatng from an exstng Commttee (ncludng Equty Commttees), the Commsson would replace the relevant Commttee, ncludng ts rght to representaton and submsson of resolutons ncluded n the present Party Consttuton. ARTICLE XI NEW DEMOCRATIC YOUTH 1. There shall be an autonomous youth secton of the NDP of Canada whose name shall be the New Democratc Youth of Canada and whose consttuton shall not conflct wth the consttuton of the NDP of Canada. 2. A provncal Party shall, f n ts opnon suffcent nterest s shown, charter a youth provncal Secton to be known as the Young New Democrats, subject to Artcle XII. 3. Each such provncal Secton shall be fully autonomous as to ts consttuton and program, provded that the consttuton and program are not n conflct wth those of the Federal Party or wth those of the provncal Party. 4. Where a provncal/terrtoral Party has not chartered a Young New Democrats secton, New Democratc Youth of Canada may charter a federal youth chapter. To be elgble to send delegates to federal conventons, such a chapter must also comply wth the followng provsons, to the satsfacton of Federal Councl: (a) membershp n a federal chapter shall be open to all youth members n good CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA 9

12 standng as defned by ther respectve provncal or terrtoral consttuton; (b) applcaton for a charter shall be made or renewed b-annually and shall nclude wth the applcaton: a current membershp lst of at least 15 youth members, a lst of the chapter s executve, and a copy of the chapter s bylaws; (c) applcatons for a charter must be accompaned by a recommendaton from the NDYC; (d) there shall be only one federal youth chapter chartered n any one provnce or terrtory. 5. The New Democratc Youth of Canada may charter campus clubs. To be elgble to send delegates to Federal Conventons, such a campus club must also comply wth the followng provsons, to the satsfacton of Federal Councl: (a) Membershp n a campus club shall be open to all youth members n good standng as defned by ther respectve provncal or terrtoral consttuton; (b) Applcaton for a charter shall be made or renewed b-annually and shall nclude wth the applcaton: a current membershp lst of at least 15 youth members, a lst of the chapter s executve, and a copy of the chapter s bylaws; (c) Applcatons for a charter must be accompaned by a recommendaton from the NDYC; (d) There shall be only one federal youth campus club chartered on any one campus; (e) A campus shall be understood to refer to any secondary or post-secondary nsttuton. ARTICLE XII PROVINCIAL PARTIES 1. Each provnce of Canada shall have a fully autonomous provncal Party, provded ts consttuton and prncples are not n conflct wth those of the Federal Party. 2. In the event of dspute as to whether any partcular organzaton s or s not a provncal Party n good standng, the Federal Councl of the Party s empowered to rule on whether an organzaton shall contnue to be a provncal Party, subject to appeal to Conventon. ARTICLE XIII QUEBEC 1. There shall be a Quebec secton of the Federal Party to be known as the New Democratc Party of Canada (Quebec) to carry out the work of the New Democratc Party n the federal jursdcton n Quebec. 2. There may also be an autonomous provncal Party workng wthn the provncal electoral jursdcton known as the Nouveau part démocratque Québec. The NPD-Québec wll conduct tself n general consstency wth the socal democratc prncples of the New Democratc Party of Canada as outlned n the preamble of ths consttuton, and wll be governed otherwse only by Artcle XIII. 3. (a) The NDP Canada (Quebec) wll exercse authorty on federal matters n Quebec, under a consttuton approved by the Federal Councl; (b) Except where a matter of responsblty or authorty s specfcally addressed n the consttuton of NDP Canada (Quebec), the Federal Party Consttuton shall apply to the NDP Canada (Quebec) so that where the federal consttuton refers to provncal Party or provncal Secton n Quebec ths shall be nterpreted to mean NDP Canada (Quebec), except for Artcle XIII, whch shall apply to both NDP 10 CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA

13 Canada (Quebec) and NPD-Québec; (c) Membershp: for the purposes of federal ndvdual membershp n the provnce of Quebec, membershp shall be open to every resdent of Quebec, regardless of race, colour, relgon, sex or natonal orgn, who undertakes to accept and abde by the consttuton and prncples of the Federal Party and who s not a member or supporter of any other federal poltcal party. ARTICLE XIV DISCIPLINE 1. Provncal Partes shall be responsble for the dscplne of ndvdual and afflated members of the Party ncludng the youth secton, n accordance wth the provsons of the approprate provncal consttuton. 2. The Councl of the Federal Party shall be responsble for the dscplne of organzatons afflated under Artcle III, secton 2. ARTICLE XV CANDIDATES 1. The Federal Councl shall create rules and procedures for the nomnaton of the federal canddates. 2. The Federal Councl shall revew these rules after each general electon. ARTICLE XVI AMENDMENT Ths consttuton may be amended by a two-thrds majorty vote of all delegates present and votng at any Conventon. CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA 11

14 APPENDIX RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR PLENARY SESSIONS (See Artcle V, Secton 4) 1. The Presdent or one of the Vce Presdents shall take the Char at the tme specfed, at all regular or specal Conventons. The Presdent or one of the Vce Presdents, or a Conventon Charperson or Charpersons chosen by the Conventon, shall occupy the Char and presde over the plenary sessons of a Conventon. 2. A delegate wshng to speak shall proceed to one of the mcrophones provded for that purpose When recognzed by the charperson the delegate shall gve hs/her name and the consttuency or organzaton represented and shall confne any remarks to the queston at ssue. 3. Speeches shall be lmted to three mnutes. Ths shall not apply to the spokesperson for a commttee when ntroducng a report on behalf of the commttee. 4. A delegate shall not speak more than once upon a moton, except that the spokesperson for a commttee who ntroduced a report may also close the debate. 5. A delegate shall not nterrupt another except f t be to call to a pont of order. 6. A delegate called to order shall yeld the floor untl the queston of order has been decded. 7. Two delegates may appeal the decson of the Char, one of whom may state the reasons for the appeal. When thus challenged, the Charperson must vacate the Char untl the appeal s resolved. The queston shall not be debatable except that the Charperson may make an explanaton of the decson. The actng Charperson shall put the queston thus: Shall the decson of the Char be sustaned? 8. Questons shall be decded by a show of hands or by a standng vote. A standng vote shall be counted upon a request from the floor when there s an apparent closeness n the vote 9. The Charperson shall not vote on any queston, except n the case of a te. In that event the Charperson shall cast the decdng vote. 10. When the prevous queston s moved, no dscusson or amendment of ether moton s permtted. If a majorty of votng delegates vote that the queston be now put, t shall be put wthout debate. If the moton to put the queston s defeated, dscusson wll contnue. If n the vew of the Charperson suffcent debate has taken place, a moton for the prevous queston made drectly from the floor, may be accepted at the dscreton of the Charperson, whether or not the mover thereof has proceeded to one of the mcrophones as provded n Rule Reports from panels shall not be amended drectly from the floor. Panels shall report resolutons to plenary n numercal order n the followng order of categores: those passed by panel, those tabled by panel, those defeated n panel, and those wthout a mover n panel. A delegate may, however move a moton to refer a resoluton to the Resolutons Commttee, wth nstructons, and f ths s supported by a majorty vote, the Resolutons Commttee wll consder the nstructons. Followng such consderaton, the Resolutons Commttee wll brng back the resolutons to plenary wth ther recommendaton. 12. Reports of commttees shall not be amended drectly on the floor, but t shall be n order to refer a commttee s report, or any secton thereof, back to the commttee for reconsderaton n the lght of the dscusson on the floor, or for consderaton of a partcular pont rased n the moton to refer. A moton to refer s not debatable unless t rases a partcular pont, n whch case debate shall be confned to such pont. 13. A delegate shall not move a moton to refer back after havng spoken on the queston at ssue. 14. A moton may be reconsdered provded the mover of the moton to reconsder voted wth the majorty, and notce of moton s gven for 12 CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA

15 consderaton at the next plenary sesson, and sad moton to reconsder s supported by twothrds of the delegates present and votng. 15. The hours of a Conventon shall be establshed at the frst plenary sesson of the Conventon. These hours may be changed durng a Conventon only under the provson of Rule In all matters not regulated heren, Roberts Rules of Order shall apply. RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR PANEL OR COMMITTEE SESSIONS The above rules shall, wth such changes as the context requres, apply to proceedngs n panel or commttee sessons provded that a panel or commttee may lmt the length of speeches made n the panel or commttee, as they see ft. 17. Any of the above rules may be suspended by unanmous consent or may be changed for the Conventon at whch such change s made, by a majorty vote, on a moton of whch one day s notce has been gven. 18. The unfnshed busness of the Conventon shall be referred to the Councl. CONSTITUTION OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF CANADA 13

16 cope:225-cm