Should Toronto Mayoral Candidates be Required to Disclose who Contributes to their Campaigns before the Election?
19 September 2010 | Election Finance, Municipal Government
There was an article in the Globe and Mail this Friday about which Toronto mayoral candidates were going to release the names of their contributors before the date of the municipal elections on 25 October 2010.
According to this article, three of the leading candidates for mayor will not reveal the names of the contributors to their campaigns before election day.
Disclosing the names of contributors before election day is not required under the Municipal Elections Act (Ontario). According to section 77 of the Act, financial statements reflecting candidates' election finances (including lists of contributors) do not have to be filed until the last Friday in March following the election (25 March 2011).
While disclosing the names of contributors before the election is not required by law, it was an expected practice in the past.
An important distinction between this Toronto mayoral election and previous ones is that this time corporate and union contributions are prohibited. Without these contributions, the usefulness of the list of contributors is somewhat reduced.
This issue demonstrates why election finance rules need to be clearly set out in law. If the information contained in the list of contributors is useful to electors when they cast their vote, it should be made available to them before election day. Since this is not required, candidates can choose whether or not to disclose, and can choose when and in what format to disclose.
If political contribution data is to be any use to electors, it has to be made available in advance of voting day, in a prescribed, easy to understand form.