Reform delay will cause long-term damage

Delaying municipal campaign-finance reform will fundamentally damage the political landscape of our districts, towns and cities for elections to come.

At the Union of B.C. Municipalities conference, local governments voted overwhelmingly to have the province fix campaign-finance rules for civic government, specifically before the 2018 municipal elections.

Despite the clear request by those most affected, Premier John Horgan pointedly avoided the issue in his closing speech at UBCM, and there is no indication from the NDP it intends to implement campaign finance reform for the next election, being held Oct. 20, 2018.

The delay will cause significant harm to civic governance.

The strength of incumbency is such that unions and corporations are going to do everything in their power to stuff councils with sympathetic candidates in 2018. By delaying campaign-finance reforms until after the next election, 2018 becomes a “do-or-die” election with no constraints on spending. Expect 2018 to smash all election-spending records, the opposite of what was requested by mayors and councillors.

This is the worst possible scenario: Announcing a change of policy, but then allowing one last unconstrained election under the old system.

This was a simple but critical request of the NDP and Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson: Do the right thing and pass the necessary legislative changes in time for the next election. It’s time to listen and to act. Kevin Murdoch Councillor, District of Oak Bay