Politicians will have to disclose financial information
It will soon be mandatory for politicians in the big four municipalities on P.E.I. to publicly disclose information that includes any financial interests.
Those municipalities include Charlottetown, Summerside, Cornwall and Stratford.
As for the other 40 municipalities across the province, Communities
Minister Richard Brown said it’s still a work in progress. Making the information public could be left up to individual councils.
Under the new Municipal Government Act, each member of council is to file a disclosure statement with the chief administrative officer within 30 days of being elected. It’s not a hard date, however. Each council must first establish a code of conduct, and there are other factors to consider, such as possible recounts following the results on Monday.
The disclosure statement is to identify the name and nature of employment, financial interests and other involvement that may be seen to affect fairness in making a municipal decision. The statement will not include specific details about a member of council’s personal financial matters such as salary, the value of holdings or other specific personal financial information.
“The regulations are there, the review is being done but I’ll err on the side of transparency and expect them to disclose the statements or a summary of the statements,’’ Brown told The Guardian Wednesday in regard to the big four municipalities.
While the disclosure statements were meant to be mandatory all along, there had been some confusion as to whether making the information public on municipal websites would also be mandatory.
“For the big (municipalities), it’s a nobrainer, it will be done. For the towns and cities, that will be mandatory, and I will come up with a plan working with the smaller municipalities to cover them off. The smaller municipalities wouldn’t have the same issues the big ones do.’’
Journalism instructor and political commentator Rick MacLean said it’s a good move by government.
“As far as the transparency, I’m a big fan of transparency because it’s important for voters to understand what are the political motivations behind (why) politicians vote on something,’’ MacLean said.
“As I teach my students in the politics in the media class, politics is about the spending of public money. (The rest) is largely theatre, but the spending of public money is where the rubber hits the road. Voters have a right to know where their money is being spent.’’
As for the mayoral candidates in Charlottetown, four of the five people The Guardian spoke to Wednesday were all for making the information public.
“I am committed to an open and transparent government and, if elected mayor, it is a value I will bring to all discussions, including this one,’’ said Kim Devine.
“I am prepared to bring this topic to the newly elected council in anticipation that they will support publicizing financial disclosures.’’
“If I’m elected mayor, I’m saying ‘put (it) in’, everything should be on the table,’’ said Philip Brown.
Cecil Villard pointed out that provincial MLAs are required to publicly disclose the information.
Jamie Larkin also concurred.
“I think all that stuff should be open and transparent,’’ Larkin said. “If people want to see it, it’s right there.’’
William McFadden didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.