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Are You a Lobbyist in British Columbia? Take the Online Test

2 September 2010 | Lobbying

The Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists for British Columbia has an online test that can help you determine whether you are lobbying in British Columbia and are required to register.

If communicating with public officers is part of your job, you can check out the online test here to determine whether you are required to register or not.

Mayoral Candidate Proposes Recall Legislation for the City of Toronto

30 August 2010 | Recall and Initiative

According to a Toronto Star article, mayoral candidate Rocco Rossi has promised that if elected, he will request the Ontario provincial government to introduce legislation that will allow voters to recall councillors and the mayor in the middle of their terms. The details of how the recall legislation would work, including what the thresholds are, would be determined through consultations with the public.

Toronto cannot pass recall legislation on its own as municipal elections in Ontario fall under the jurisdiction of the province and are regulated by the Municipal Elections Act (Ontario).

British Columbia is currently the only Canadian jurisdiction with recall legislation.

New Brunswick Provincial Election Campaign Underway

26 August 2010 | Voting

The 2010 New Brunswick Provincial Election began today as the the writs of election were issued under section 13 of the Elections Act (New Brunswick) (the "Act"). As required by section 13(2)(b)(i) of the Act and consistent with section 2(4) of the Legislative Assembly Act (New Brunswick), the election will be held on 27 September 2010, which is the 32nd day after the issuance of the writs of election.

Pursuant to section 13(2)(c)(i) of the Act, candidates may be nominated up until 2pm local time on the twentieth day before the election, which falls on 7 September 2010.

Pursuant to section 13(2)(e) of the Act, advance voting is required to be held on the 9th and 7th day before voting day, which fall on the 18th and 20th of September.

For more information on the New Brunswick Provincial Election, including how to vote, what electoral district you reside in and the registered political parties, go to the Elections New Brunswick website here.

Elections BC to Investigate HST Petition as over 20% of Signatures Found to be Invalid

23 August 2010 | Recall and Initiative

The Globe and Mail reports today that Elections BC will probe the results of the HST initiative petition after of the over 700,000 signatures submitted only 557,383 were found to be valid.

The outcome of this investigation will not affect the result of the HST petition as even with over 20% of the signatures being invalid there were still enough valid signatures in each electoral district for the petition to be successful.

Federal Commissioner of Lobbying Clarifies Rule Regarding Political Activities by Lobbyists

23 August 2010 | Lobbying

The Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada (the “Commissioner”) has clarified how Rule 8 of the Lobbyist Code of Conduct (Canada) (the “Code”) will be applied to the political activities of lobbyists. The clarification is available on the Commissioner's website here.

According to Rule 8 of the Code, “Lobbyists shall not place public office holders in a conflict of interest by proposing or undertaking any action that would constitute an improper influence on a public office holder.”

Elections BC to Send HST Petition to Committee on 23 August 2010

21 August 2010 | Recall and Initiative

Following the ruling of the B.C. Supreme Court that the HST petition complies with the spirit and letter of the requirements of the Recall and Initiative Act (British Columbia) (the "Act"), the acting Chief Electoral Officer confirmed today that his office will send the petition to the Select Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly on 23 August 2010.

Elections BC has posted the results of the initiative petition by electoral district here.

Elections BC also announced that it will publish a report on the HST initiative in the fall. The report will describe the activities Elections BC undertook to administer the petition, and will also contain statements of Elections BC’s expenses, a summary of the initiative proponent financing report and summaries of advertising disclosure reports submitted by initiative advertising sponsors.

Court Rules that HST Petition Complies with the Recall and Initiative Act, Requests that Elections BC Send the Petition to Committee

20 August 2010 | Recall and Initiative

The B.C. Supreme Court issued a ruling today that the HST initiative petition complies with the spirit and letter of the requirements of the Recall and Initiative Act (British Columbia) (the "Act"). The Court requested that the Chief Electoral Officer send the petition "forthwith" to the Select Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly.

The main issue dealt with by the Court is whether the draft bill is a legislative proposal "with respect to any matter within the jurisdiction of the Legislature" as required by section 2 of the Act.

Why Elections BC has Delayed the Sending of the Successful HST Initiative Petition to Committee

18 August 2010 | Recall and Initiative

An exchange of letters between Nanaimo MLA Leonard Krog and acting Chief Electoral Officer Craig James (the "CEO") provides some insight into the reasoning behind the CEO's decision not to immediately send the successful HST initiative petition and draft bill to a government committee.

On 13 August 2010, Mr. Krog sent a letter to the CEO, requesting that the CEO explain the reason for the delay.

Quebec to hold By-election in Saint-Laurent on 13 September 2010

13 August 2010 | By-elections

The Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec has announced that there will be a by-election in the electoral district of Vachon on 13 September 2010. Advance voting will also be available every day from the 3rd of September through the 9th of September.

Further information about the by-election and how to vote is available on the Elections Quebec website.

HST Initiative Petition Succeeds; Elections BC Delays Submission to Committee until Constitutional Questions are Resolved by Courts

12 August 2010 | Recall and Initiative

Yesterday, Elections BC confirmed in a letter to the Initiative Proponent that the HST Initiative Petition was successful in getting the required number of signatures set out in section 7 of the Recall and Initiative Act (British Columbia) (the "Act"). The HST Initiative Petition was signed by at least 10% of the registered voters in each of the 85 electoral districts in British Columbia.

According to section 10 of the Act, if the Chief Electoral Officer (the "CEO") determines that the initiative petition meets the requirements of section 7 of the Act, and the proponent has complied with the financing provisions of the Act, the chief electoral officer must send a copy of the petition and draft Bill to a select standing committee of the legislature.

Federal Government to Expand Lobbying Act Reporting Requirements for all MPs, Senators and Senior Staff of the Leader of the Opposition

6 August 2010 | Lobbying

The President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway announced yesterday that the federal government is proposing to increase the detailed reporting requirements under the Lobbying Act (Canada) (the "Act") to apply to all MPs, Senators and senior staff of the Leader of the Opposition.

This change will be made by adding these parliamentarians and staffers to the list of designated public official holders contained in the Designated Public Office Holder Regulations. As this change involves a regulation and not an act, it can be implemented by cabinet and will not require approval of the House of Commons.

Quebec Construction Firms Plead Guilty to 40 Provincial Election Act Violations

5 August 2010 | Election Finance

The Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec announced today (french only) that Axor Experts-Conseils inc., Groupe Axor inc. and Axor Construction Canada inc. have plead guilty to 40 violations of the Election Act (Quebec). The firms made political donations with company money, but used the names of some of their employees and associates to make the donations. In Quebec, only electors may make political contributions.

In total, the firms made $152,500 in illegal contributions, which must be returned by the political parties. In addition, the firms agreed to pay a fine of $87,907.

Federal Registered Political Party Q2 2010 Financial Reports Now Available

3 August 2010 | Election Finance

The federal registered parties' second quarter financial returns for 2010 are now available on the Elections Canada website.

According to section 424.1 of the Elections Act (Canada), registered parties that are entitled to receive quarterly allowances must file quarterly financial returns with the Chief Electoral Officer.

Here is a summary of the contributions received by the registered political parties in the months of April through June of 2010:

Elections BC Publishes HST Initiative Petition Financial Reports

31 July 2010 | Recall and Initiative

The proponent financing report and the advertising disclosure reports for the HST initiative are now available through Elections BC's Financial Reporting and Political Contributions system. To access the HST initiative reports select "2010 Initiative to End the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST)" from the Events field.

The reports include expenses of each filer and information regarding contributions they received.

The report for the HST initiative proponent is available here. According to the proponent financing report, the proponent had an income of $117,737.87 and expenses of $108,912.07.

Ethics Commissioner Declines to Investigate Tony Clement Video Appearance, leaving important questions unanswered

29 July 2010 | Conflict of Interest and Ethics

As previously reported, Liberal MP Marlene Jennings requested an investigation under the Conflict of Interest Act (Canada) (the "Act") and the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons (Canada) (the "Code") into Conservative Party MP Tony Clement in connection with an appearance he made in an infomercial produced for a Canadian chemical company marketing itself in China.

Elections Saskatchewan Tables Annual Report of the Chief Electoral Officer

29 July 2010

Pursuant to Section 286.1 of the Election Act (Saskatchewan), Elections Saskatchewan has posted the Annual Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on its website.

Elections Saskatchewan Publishes 2009 Registered Political Party Annual Returns

27 July 2010 | Election Finance

Elections Saskatchewan has posted the annual returns for the seven registered political parties in Saskatchewan. The annual returns include a summary of the contributions received during 2009, with a list of those who contributed $250 or more.