NDP urges Liberals to be non-partisan in selecting civic election committee
Darah Hansen, Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, November 28, 2009
B.C.'s New Democrats appealed to the government Friday to put aside partisan interests and include opposition members in a yet-to-be-announced committee examining gaping holes in municipal-election legislation.
Any such committee "should be squeaky clean ... Even the appearance of [possible] political motives should not be there," said Scott Fraser, NDP MLA for Port Alberni and community development critic.
Fraser's comments came after hints leaked earlier this week that the Liberals were set to appoint members of the committee. They will investigate possible changes to the Local Government Act after municipalities across the province raised concerns at the Union of B.C. Municipalities this fall about serious flaws in the legislation.
"It is a bit of the Wild West out there compared to provincial and federal elections," Community Development Minister Bill Bennett said at the time.
A Vancouver Sun article published Friday highlighted one particularly murky situation brewing in the grape-growing paradise of Summerland following last year's municipal election.
All six town councillors and Mayor Janice Perino admitted in their campaign-financing disclosure statements that they took donations from unnamed individuals, groups or corporations that exceeded the legal threshold set out under the Local Government Act.
According to the act, it's illegal to take anonymous donations of more than $50, and the penalty for doing so is disqualification from holding office and from running again until after the next general election.
It's also illegal to give anonymous donations of more than $50.
To date, no one on council has been fired. Summerland's acting Mayor Gordon Clark said that's because no one has done anything wrong.
"I try to behave in complete compliance with the spirit and the letter of the legislation," the retired lawyer said in an interview.
But others, including Kennedy Stewart, a Simon Fraser University political scientist whose specialty is civic politics, believe the lack of action has more to with the toothless nature of the act, which fails to set out clear powers of enforcement.
In a speech to municipal leaders in the fall, Premier Gordon Campbell said he would put a committee in place to look into the problems. The committee is to be headed by Union of B.C. Municipalities president Harry Nyce and Bennett, with recommendations expected by May 31.
Fraser said he was still hopeful Friday the committee would also include members of the NDP, as well as B.C.'s lone independent MLA Vicki Huntington.
dahansen@vancouversun.com
© Vancouver Sun 2009
http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=65171acd-240a-4306-8db2-03f34dc88915
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