British Columbia's Local Government Elections Task Force Issues Final Report
31 May 2010 | Municipal Government
The report, which contains 31 recommendations to improve the process of local government elections, is available here.
The mandate of the task force was to deliberate and make recommendations on enacting new legislative provisions in order to improve the electoral process for municipal governments in British Columbia.
The key recommendations in the report include:
- establish election and advertising expense limits
- regulate third party election advertising
- ban anonymous contributions
- extend the term of office from three years to four
- no public financing
- no corporate vote
- give Elections BC a central role in enforcement and administration of election finance rules and reporting
- establish a seperate Act for election finance rules in municipal elections.
While the report recommends imposing election expense limits, it does not recommend contribution limits.
Here are some of my initial reactions after reading the report:
- These are very good recommendations. Overall, I agree with most of the recommendations. If adopted, they will significantly improve the integrity, transparency, administration, and efficiency of municipal elections in British Columbia.
- I think that the report should have recommended contribution limits. A cap on election expenses helps ensure that parties or candidates with the most money do not have an undue advantage in elections. Financial disclosure allows the public to know who finances parties and candidates. While a limit on contributions is a restriction on freedom of expression, I think that a contribution limit would make a positive impact in countering the perception that large contributors unduly influence the political process. However, as contributions are one of the few ways that non-voters can participate in the process, and given that expense limits and financial reporting mechanisms would already be in place, I do not think that the contribution limit should be low. Proponents of low contribution limits are often supporters of direct subsidies to political parties, which I steadfastly oppose.
- I think that Elections BC should have a broader role in municipal elections than just election finance. I think that Elections BC should be responsible for the administration of municipal elections as well.
- I agree that a new act is necessary for municipal election finance. However, I think that the new law should address all aspects of municipal elections. The election provisions in the Vancouver Charter and the Local Government Act should be removed and join the new municipal election finance rules in a new Local Government Elections Act. It is much simpler to have one statute dedicated to municipal elections rather than having three.