"Civic election taskforce recommends spending limits"
By DAPHNE BRAMHAM 31 MAY 2010 posted on her blog Think Tank
Candidates for the 2011 civic elections in B.C. will for the first time face spending limits. What those limits are, what period of time they will cover and many other details still need to be worked out if the provincial government agrees to the changes.
The spending limits were one of a package of recommendations released by a government-appointed task force Monday. The taskforce was appointed in December by Premier Gordon Campbell following a number of high-profile cases involving 2008 election discrepancies that resulted in citizens filing complaints with police or going directly to the courts.
However, the taskforce did NOT recommend limits on how much individuals, corporations or other groups can contribute to campaigns nor did it recommend that donors be limited to
Canadian citizens or even residents.
Key recommendations included:
Extending the spending limits to referendum votes;
Banning anonymous contributions;
Doubling the investigation period to one years after an alleged offence has occurred;
Extending council terms to four years from three
Continuing the ban on businesses having a vote;
Reducing the time for post-election financial disclosures to 90 days from 120
Requiring all election ads to say who paid for them
Giving Elections BC responsibility for oversight
Extending the financial disclosure provisions to referendum votes
Requiring all financial disclosures to be posted online
The task force was made up of representatives from the Union of B.C. Municipalities and Liberal members of the legislature. There were no public hearings. However, the task force received 10,374 submissions from individuals and groups.
To see all of the recommendations and the rationale, click here for the task force's full report.
http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/thinktank/default.aspx
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