Corporate and union donations could be banned during the 2017 municipal elections.
Alberta Municipal Affairs is planning a review of the Local Authorities Election Act, the act which governs how municipal elections are conducted.
“Absolutely it will be carried out before the 2017 municipal election,” said Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee in an interview. However, the extent of the review and the timing is still not clear.
What, if any, consultation will be done as part of the review has also not been established yet. Larivee pointed out the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) has pushed for a review and provided several recommendations, and the provincial government has heard from the leaders of many Alberta municipalities about needed changes.
“Certainly we’re considering a ban on union and corporate donations in municipal elections,” Larivee said. She noted that the legislature unanimously passed a bill doing the same provincially, in June.
The president of the AUMA, Morinville Mayor Lisa Holmes, said in a letter from October, written to the municipal affairs minister, that a ban on corporate and union donations to municipal campaigns could be considered, especially if tax credits for donations to municipal campaigns are allowed.
Currently there are no tax credits for donating to municipal candidates’ efforts, whereas there are such credits in place for federal and provincial political support.
The AUMA submitted a list of other recommended amendments to the Local Authorities Election Act, like increasing the time between nomination day and the election date, prohibiting campaign activities and signs around voting stations, establishing disclosure provisions for third party lobby groups and more.
St. Albert initiated the resolution that the AUMA lobby for changes to third party election participation disclosures.
Mayor Nolan Crouse said he’s indifferent to the idea of banning corporate and union donations, though he understands that some might see it as trying to buy influence.
“I do believe that corporate donations, it would be wise to have them minimal if at all,” he said. Crouse did get some corporate donations and union support during the last municipal election.
“I don’t remember who donated, which companies donated, and I don’t sit in council chambers with a checklist on who donated and how I vote, that being said … you kind of have a little bit of sense, maybe, that there’s an influence,” Crouse said.
Donations from developers can be seen on many candidate financial disclosures from the 2013 election. Crouse said developers get politically involved because they want to do whatever they can to have an influence to help their work prosper.
Crouse likes the idea of tax credits for donations, he said, noting it can cost a lot of money to run for council.
“I think that would encourage some level of support. Let’s face it, most people, and most is a pretty good word, most people don’t have a lot of money to put $10,000 or $15,000 into a campaign, you really need $10,000 after-tax money to run as a councillor, you need $40,000 after tax money to run as a mayor in St. Albert,” he said, though he added some might argue you can run on nearly nothing as well.
