(Section 3 and subsection 11(7) of the Board Regulation - Regional Health Authorities Act, and section 18 of the Municipal Elections Act)
General Requirements: To be a candidate in a Regional Health Authority election, a person must:
- be 18 years of age on or before election day;
- be a Canadian citizen; and
- ordinarily reside in the relevant health region and subregion in New Brunswick for at least six months before election day; and
- ordinarily reside in the health region and subregion on election day.
People Who Cannot Be Candidates: The following persons are not eligible to be a candidate for any Regional Health Authority election:
- an employee of a regional health authority;
- a person who has privileges with a regional health authority;
- an employee with the Department of Health;
- a member of the Legislative Assembly, the House of Commons of Canada or the Senate;
- a director, officer or employee of Ambulance New Brunswick Inc.;
- an employee, the chief executive officer or a member of the New Brunswick Health Council;
- a director, officer or employee of Service New Brunswick;
- a judge of the Court of Appeal, The Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick or the Provincial Court;
- an election officer; and
- a person who is disqualified from voting under a law relating to the disqualification of electors for corrupt or illegal practices.
People Who May Not Be Able To Be Candidates: Some public sector employees are restricted from engaging in political activity, even at a local level, or may need prior approval from their employer before filing nomination papers. If you work in the federal or provincial public service, check with your employer before filing nomination papers. It is the responsibility of a candidate to obtain any approval required by his or her employer; the Municipal Returning Officer is not responsible for determining whether such approval is required or has been obtained in processing nomination papers.
New Brunswick Public Service Employees: Other than the restrictions mentioned above on employees of the Department of Health, or of any Regional Health Authority, or any persons who have privileges with any Health Authority running for office, there is no general restriction on New Brunswick public service employees running for municipal offices. However, it may be considered inappropriate or create a significant conflict of interest for some positions. If you work in the public sector and are interested in running for local office, consult senior management in your department or agency before filing nomination papers.
Nomination Papers (Section 17 of the Municipal Elections Act, and sections 7,9, and 10 of the Board Regulation - Regional Health Authorities Act)
Nomination papers can be obtained from any Municipal Returning Office, or can be printed from the Elections NB website.
Nomination papers must be completed and returned to the office of the Municipal Returning Officer for the subregion where the person will be a candidate (not the local municipal offices) on or before the day fixed for the close of nominations.
Nominations close at 2:00 p.m. on the Friday, the thirty-first day before polling day. If this day is on a holiday, nominations will close on the Thursday, the thirty-second day before polling day.
Do not leave filing to the last minute, in case corrections or additions are needed in your nomination papers. Under subsection 15(1) of the Municipal Elections Act, no nomination papers can be accepted after the deadline under any circumstances.
Candidates in rural subregions who wish to file their papers at a satellite returning office should file well ahead of the deadline, as their papers must be faxed to the main returning office for their area to be reviewed by the Municipal Returning Officer before the papers can be accepted.
Contents of Nomination: The Nomination Paper must be filled out completely, and must include:
- the name, civic address, and occupation of the candidate;
- the health region and subregion for which the candidate is offering. The Department of Heath does not permit a candidate residing in two subregions (A1/B1 or A2/B2) to offer their candidacy for both boards;
- the candidate’s certification of his or her name, civic address, and occupation and address for service as shown on the nomination paper is correct as stated;
- The candidate’s certification that he or she:
- is a Canadian citizen;
- will be eighteen years of age or more as of the day of the election;
- will have been ordinarily resident in the health subregion for at least six months immediately before the election;
- expects to be ordinarily resident in the Province and in the health subregion on election day; and
- is not an employee of a regional health authority, a person who has privileges with a regional health authority, an employee with the Department of Health, a member of the Legislative Assembly, the House of Commons of Canada or the Senate, a director, officer or employee of Ambulance New Brunswick Inc., an employee, the chief executive officer or a member of the New Brunswick Health Council, a director or employee of Service New Brunswick, a judge of the Court of Appeal, The Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick or the Provincial Court;
- the consent of the candidate, with the signature of the person witnessing the consent of the candidate;
- the signatures of at least ten (10) nominators, each of whom must be a qualified voter living in the region and subregion of the candidate; and
- a completed declaration of the witness who obtains the nominators’ signatures.
Witness and Nominators: Each signature must be witnessed and the witness cannot be a nominator unless another person witnesses him or her. The candidate may collect and witness nominator signatures, but may not nominate himself or herself. Each witness who collects signatures must complete a separate declaration. Relatives of a candidate may be nominators if they are qualified voters. The returning officer will check the list of nominators on the list of electors to determine if they are qualified to vote in your area. If a nominator has moved recently, ask them to call the returning office to update their information so that they are listed at their current address.
Candidate’s Name: The name of a candidate will appear on the ballot as it is spelled on the Nomination Paper. No prefixes (e.g., Mr, Mrs, Dr) are used on the ballots. A nickname is permitted if it is in brackets and is printed on the Nomination Paper as the candidate wishes it to appear on the ballot.
The Department of Health does not permit a person to offer as a candidate in both health regions in the same election.
Acceptance of Nomination: The nomination of a candidate is completed when the Municipal Returning Officer indicates it has been accepted by dating and signing or initialling the papers.