New ad rules start with election period
Billboard paid for by anonymous third party praising mayoral candidate is taken down
Large billboard advertisements rented in support of Vancouver mayoral candidate Hector Bremner by a previously-anonymous third party came down with this weekend’s start of the municipal election period.
New rules on third party advertising kicked in Saturday with four weeks to go before voters hit the polls on Oct. 20.
Those rules require advertisers to disclose their name and contact information — something the party behind the Bremner ads was able to avoid doing outside the election period.
The mysterious ads that popped up around the city caused a fracas and even led one group to launch a cash reward for information that led to the advertiser’s identity. Late last week, a lawyer for major Vancouver developer Peter Wall told the Globe and Mail that $85,000 of Wall’s money was used to fund the billboards.
David Gruber, a partner at Bennett Jones — the law firm that hired former B.C. Premier Christy Clark as a senior adviser earlier this year — told Postmedia his instructions were that reporters were to contact Wall directly on the matter.
Wall did not respond to a request for comment.
Bremner and members of his party, YES Vancouver, had repeatedly stated they did not know who had taken out the advertisements.
Tim Crowhurst, the party secretary, said Sunday the news that connected Wall to the billboards spurred 20 new memberships overnight and a pair of anonymous emails from people who said they wouldn’t support the party’s campaign.
“People are concerned about the housing crisis — and our comprehensive plan to fix it — not who bought a few billboards. It is important to put all this in the context of the Vancouver (and) District Labour Council (VDLC) spending untold amounts promoting Kennedy Stewart and the Greens.”
The VDLC, which has endorsed Stewart for mayor along with a pair of Green Party of Vancouver, OneCity, Coalition of Progressive Electors and several Vision candidates for council, also communicated to voters, including via a mailout of 100,000 flyers, ahead of Elections B.C.’s Sept. 22 cutoff.
Stephen Von Sychowski, president of the VDLC, said Sunday there is a big difference between the billboards and the council’s efforts.
“There’s a big difference in the fact that everything we’ve done has been very open and transparent and we’ve been prepared to talk to the public and media about every aspect of it,” Von Sychowski said.
The council’s flyers were clearly marked with the VDLC logo.
Von Sychowski said the VDLC had not planned on advertising during the election period, but he has sent in a registration form in case the council changes its mind.
Crowhurst said as far as media reach is concerned, his party finds it “far more effective to engage with people on social media.”
Andrew Watson, an Elections B.C. spokesman, said any individuals or organizations that sponsor election advertising now need to be registered with his office. They need to do so before conducting advertising and must keep their spending under $150,000, among other things.
The advertising rules do not apply to “free communication” on social media, but they do apply to social media ads and promoted posts, Watson said. Elections B.C. monitors social media, and responds to complaints regarding potential violations, he said. The first step in cases of non-compliance is education.
“If compliance couldn’t be achieved through this strategy, there are other tools available to us to ensure compliance with the Act,” Watson said. “The Chief Electoral Officer has the power to conduct investigations and audits, and (the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act) outlines a number of offences that carry significant penalties upon conviction.”
We’ve been prepared to talk to the public and media about every aspect of it.”
Stephen Von Sychowski, Vancouver labour council head