Who Pays the Piper?
Ron Bolin: Jan. 21, 2012
The election that will see our current Council in office until November 2014 was held on November 19, 2011. All candidates, especially those who were elected, have until March 15, 2012, to file the obligatory campaign finance documents which state the amount of money spent in a campaign and the sources from which that money was obtained. To date, only four of the nine elected candidates have filed their papers. See:
It is hard to imagine why filing should not be completed quickly , although 120 days from the election is set in the legislation, particularly as this information is to be used in accordance with Section 93 of the Local Government Act:
“Section 93(8) states that “a person who inspects or otherwise accesses a document referred to in subsection (1) under this section must not use the information included in them except for the purposes of the following:
(a) this Part;
(b) Division 6 [Conflict of Interest] or Division 7 [Disqualification] of Part 4 of the Community Charter;
(c) Section 141, 142.1 to 142.3 and 145.92 of the Vancouver Charter.”
The start of a new budget year following an election can be of particular interest in noting any perceived conflicts of interest which might arise linking campaign donations and City budget items or contracts. This information is vital to ensure that doubts concerning the independence of City financial decisions are minimized. The problem can be particularly acute in an election environment like that in Nanaimo which is basically devoid of individual grass roots campaign contributions and is dominated by corporate and union monies.
Nanaimo has had an unfortunate history of problems with Divisions 6 and 7 which we should try to avoid in future. The problem can be complicated by votes taken in-camera which may add to the concern that all is not handled in a transparent manner. Such matters should be avoided by Council and the votes on contracts or budget items should, if not done in public, at least quickly be made public.
As an additional point of darkness, I have been informed that Council’s decision to approve the recent CUPE contract was made in-camera and that the vote is thus secret. I have enquired how such a money matter can be decided beyond public examination but have yet to get a response.
More on these issues later.
Posts and Comments on Nanaimo Governance 
Thank you for this! very interesting reading. Our newspapers have a lot to do with who gets elected as well as some other interesting groups. i look forward to the other candidates revelations
Ron: On January 20th, the City’s Manager of Legislative Services, Joan Harrison, advised me as follows:
“The deadline for receiving Campaign Financing Disclosure documents is March 19, 2012. They are added to the City’s website as they are received by this office.”
Prior to the election, I understood that the following organizations had registered with the City as Campaign Organizers:
• Canadian Labour Congress
• CUPE B.C.
• Nanaimo Fire Fighters’ Association
Regarding the “Concerned Citizens of Nanaimo” group, the City’s records indicate that the group’s Financial Agent filed the required Campaign Disclosure documents on December 7, 2011.
This brings to mind, the following report that I read last August, by Keith Baldrey, chief political correspondent for Global BC.
“BC to drag municipal books into the light”, August 12, 2011 – Here are some excerpts:
“Voter turnout in municipal and school board elections is even lower than those for provincial and federal elections.
As well, municipal governments garner nowhere near the media scrutiny aimed at other levels of government. A typical municipality may have a reporter from the local paper covering the council meetings, but small papers don’t have the resources to offer much more than that.
By comparison, three television stations, several radio stations, four daily newspapers and a host of other news outlets cover the B.C. government with dozens of reporters every day.”
Read more: http://www.nsnews.com/news/drag+municipal+books+into+light/5245079/story.html#ixzz1k8GFwUPq
Janet: For what it may be worth, I have requested that our Ministry in Charge respond concerning whether a contract can be awarded on the basis of an in-camera vote as was our CUPE contract. No response yet, but was only requested recently. I will report on what I learn, if anything.
Our print media is so reliant upon real estate / developer revenue it would be difficult for them to take anyone to task.
It will be interesting to see the final figures for the donations to the candidates, particularly the ones that failed to attract enough votes to win.
The whole ‘business’ of the media went sideways when the advertiser became more important than the reader.
The print media dances to the tune played by those who pay the bills, and city hall pays both local ‘papers’ handsomely.
It is readily apparent which candidates the local unions favour, consider the amounts donated to several elected candidates…….what do the unions expect in return for their support??
The question should be what does anyone contributing to a campaign expect? In the past I recieved contributions from theCUPE but this year I did not, I was however on the list they put out to members. This last election all my monetary contributions were from individuals which was nice.
PS; I was the first to file my disclosure statement and did so on the Tuesday following the election:)
I look forward with baited breath to see how much Hadi Abassi contributed to McKinnon & Manhas.
Could we add Glen Brower to that list!!
What did they expect?
Lots..
Am I correct in saying that developer/real estate backed Council candidates always seem to be the last to disclose their campaign contribution list?
If so, then to what purpose?
An inquiry to the Province regarding citizens’ options in dealing with conflict of interest elicited the following prompt response. Please note that I was recently informed that the minimum cost to raise a question with the BC Supreme Court is approximately $19,000. How many of us have that kind of money? Thus what protection does it provide?
—————————————————-
Good morning Ron,
The only document that the Ministry has produced about conflict of interest is on our website at: http://www.cscd.gov.bc.ca/lgd/gov_structure/community_charter/governance/ethical_conduct.htm
Near the end of the page is a paragraph that states the following:
“Section 111 (application to court for declaration of disqualification) sets out the procedure for making application to the Supreme Court to have a member declared disqualified. A municipality, by a 2/3 vote of council, or 10 or more electors of the municipality may make the application to the Supreme Court to have a person disqualified.”
If you need information about the process for filing an application, the Supreme Court has a website that you might find useful at: http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/supreme_court/self-represented_litigants/
The CivicInfo BC website is also be a very good source of information about local governments in BC. If you choose the “Documents” tab near the top of their website, you can search for information using key words such as “conflict.” The CivicInfo BC search engine goes to all local government websites to search for documents with the key word. CivicInfo BC’s website is located at: http://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/index.asp
Don Sutherland
Director
Advisory Services Branch
Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development
Phone: 250 387-4025 Fax: 250 387-7972
Website: http://www.cd.gov.bc.ca/lgd/
Appears that the City of Toronto may have actually voted at an OPEN council meeting on its recent deal with the Union for its outdoor workers – CUPE Local 416.
Toronto Sun report of Feb. 15 – Left’s silence on union deal says a lot – advises that 10 councillors were conspicuously absent from the vote — eight after two of them actually declared conflicts and did not vote. There’s reference also, to the jobs for life clause. (Hope link works!)
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/02/15/lefts-silence-on-union-deal-says-a-lot?utm_source=addThis&utm_medium=addthis_button_email&utm_campaign=Left%27s+silence+on+union+deal+says+a+lot+%7C+Toronto+%26+GTA+%7C+News+%7C+Toronto+Sun#.TzxknZJaAlA.email
Those interested in this topic may wish to review the following exchange which I have had with Mr. Sutherland, Director, Advisory Services Branch, Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development on this subject. As do such email exchanges, the sequence starts at the bottom and rises to the top.
_______________________________________________________
—– Original Message —–
From: Sutherland, Don CSCD:EX
To: ‘Ron Bolin’
Sent: Friday, February 24, 2012 1:30 PM
Subject: RE: Municipal Conflict of Interest
The release of information discussed in a closed meeting of council is at the discretion of council – unless it is information that must not be released under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act or another Act. Sections 95 and 97 of the Community Charter deal with public access to municipal records.
__________________________________
From: Ron Bolin [mailto:rlbolin@telus.net]
Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 2:06 PM
To: Sutherland, Don CSCD:EX
Subject: Re: Municipal Conflict of Interest
Hi Don:
Thanks for the comments, but they haven’t helped me to understand the conflict between the secrecy of the in-camera procedure and the requirement for public disclosure on expenditures.
The in-camera method of Section 90 must surely be recognized as one the greatest examples of Catch 22 in the world. By naming a clause under Section 90, the opportunity to determine whether it is legitimate is precluded. I guess this is a matter for our MLAs.
I am happy to report that the City of Nanaimo does use recorded votes, at least when in public. What they do in-camera is of course unknown. I have also been told that there is some work proceeding on a bylaw which would make in-camera decisions public when the need for secrecy no longer exists. This, of course, raises up another Catch 22. I hope they will find the intestinal fortitude to overcome it, as it cannot come too soon. This entire in-camera situation has given rise to a great deal more suspicion than a healthy democracy can withstand. Only about 26% of our eligible voters participated in November’s municipal election.
When you say: “Once a matter that was discussed in a closed meeting becomes public, information about the decision can be released.” am I to interpret this as meaning that the situation is the same, or different, from the ordinary in-camera situation which leaves the entire matter to the discretion of Council?
Ron
—– Original Message —–
From: Sutherland, Don CSCD:EX
To: ‘Ron Bolin’
Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 8:31 AM
Subject: RE: Municipal Conflict of Interest
Hello Ron,
Council can vote on any matter in a closed meeting as long as they cite the reason(s) listed in Section 90 of the Community Charter for closing the meeting. There is a restriction in the Charter that council cannot pass a bylaw in a closed meeting, but a bylaw is not required to authorize a contract – only a council resolution. Once a matter that was discussed in a closed meeting becomes public, information about the decision can be released. However, not all municipalities record how individual council members voted. Many of them only record whether motions passed or failed and the votes of individual council members are not recorded unless a council member specifically requests it. Also, municipalities will often refuse to release meeting minutes until the council has ratified them at a subsequent meeting as being correct.
As an aside, I see that the issue of how to record votes was recently debated by the Greater Victoria School Board. Here is a link to the story: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Greater+Victoria+school+board+record+votes+after/6182248/story.html
Don Sutherland
________________________________________
From: Ron Bolin [mailto:rlbolin@telus.net]
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 10:02 AM
To: Sutherland, Don CSCD:EX
Subject: Re: Municipal Conflict of Interest
Good morning Don:
Thanks for the prompt response. For your sin I would like ask you a related question.
A recent union contract was approved by our new Council at an in-camera meeting. There is a question about a possible perceived conflict of interest on the part of one or more candidates who were elected and received almost all their campaign contributions from unions and the bulk of it from the union whose contract was recently approved.
My question is this. I was advised that the vote could not be released as it was done in-camera. Can the vote on this money matter remain buried in an in-camera session? It strikes me that as no negotiations were concerned, only a vote, that this matter should have been done in open Council and not in-camera is the first place and that, in any event, it should immediately be made public for the reason outlined above.
Can you advise whether such an impasse is permitted?
Thanks,
Ron Bolin
Nanaimo
—– Original Message —–
From: Sutherland, Don CSCD:EX
To: ‘Ron Bolin’
Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 9:17 AM
Subject: RE: Municipal Conflict of Interest
Good morning Ron,
The only document that the Ministry has produced about conflict of interest is on our website at: http://www.cscd.gov.bc.ca/lgd/gov_structure/community_charter/governance/ethical_conduct.htm
Near the end of the page is a paragraph that states the following:
“Section 111 (application to court for declaration of disqualification) sets out the procedure for making application to the Supreme Court to have a member declared disqualified. A municipality, by a 2/3 vote of council, or 10 or more electors of the municipality may make the application to the Supreme Court to have a person disqualified.”
If you need information about the process for filing an application, the Supreme Court has a website that you might find useful at: http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/supreme_court/self-represented_litigants/
The CivicInfo BC website is also be a very good source of information about local governments in BC. If you choose the “Documents” tab near the top of their website, you can search for information using key words such as “conflict.” The CivicInfo BC search engine goes to all local government websites to search for documents with the key word. CivicInfo BC’s website is located at: http://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/index.asp
Don Sutherland
Director
Advisory Services Branch
Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development
Phone: 250 387-4025 Fax: 250 387-7972
Website: http://www.cd.gov.bc.ca/lgd/
______________________________________
From: Ron Bolin [mailto:rlbolin@telus.net]
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 3:45 PM
To: Sutherland, Don CSCD:EX
Subject: Municipal Conflict of Interest
Mr. Sutherland:
Excuse me if I am in the wrong place for this question and if so, please direct me to the correct one.
I would like to find a document which outlines at a citizens’ level, the manner in which to deal with either documented or perceived conflict of interest in a municipal environment. There is a document on the subject for candidates and there is the legislation itself, but I have found nothing which informs citizens about how they should proceed if they have a complaint.
Can you direct me to such a document?
Thanks,
Ron Bolin
Nanaimo