Province urged to extend rule change to municipal politics
Councillors for the district of Oak Bay are asking the province to extend its proposed curbs on big money political donations to municipalities across B.C.
On Monday, Premier John Horgan unveiled a bill that would ban union and corporate donations to campaigns and limit individual contributions to $1,200 a year. But such changes would not apply to local elections.
For Coun. Kevin Murdoch, they should. He suggested a resolution be sent to this year’s Union of B.C. Municipalities convention calling on the province to include campaign finance regulations for local governments.
“A lot of this is just trying to strike while the iron is hot,” Murdoch said in an interview, adding that he was worried reform at the local level could be lost or overlooked as the province reworks its own rules. “If we’re ever going to get this on the provincial agenda, this is going to have to be the time to do it.”
In 2015, UBCM members endorsed a similar resolution that sought a ban on contributions from corporate and union sources and limits on other campaign contributions. But as Murdoch put it, the government of the day “politely said no.”
Local financing rules may matter most at the local level, where large employers or unions could sway election outcomes or even run full slates of candidates in small towns, Murdoch said. But they could also have a big impact in larger cities, where candidates regularly depend on large donors to support expensive campaigns. Murdoch said he hopes there will be unanimous support for the resolution at the UBCM. And he hopes the government will act quickly with clear language and no transition periods.
Staff at the Ministry of Attorney General said campaign finance reform for municipal elections could be considered in time for local elections in the fall of 2018.
Nils Jensen, the mayor of Oak Bay and head of the B.C. mayors’ caucus, said a lot of thought and consultation would be needed before changes should made at the local level.
“It’s not just an easy fix,” he said. When asked if he expected changes would be made in time for the 2018 election, Jensen was doubtful.
“I would think that would be very difficult. I think you’d want to see the contours of the provincial legislation, then it requires a significant amount of consultation between the province and the UBCM, and the province and local governments.”
Jensen said it may make sense for local financing rules to vary by municipality. “There’s a world of difference between running as mayor in Vancouver and running as mayor in Stewart, B.C.,” he said. And he suggested mayoral candidates may need larger limits than candidates seeking council seats.
But details aside, Jensen said he believes it is time for a rule change.
“I think it’s quite clear that the provincial government, in my mind, will have no choice but to bring in similar legislation that’s applicable to local governments.”