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Significant changes to local government election rules will be put in place for the 2014 elections, announced Ida Chong, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development April 21.
July 2010 saw the province give the green light to commence with recommendations from the local government elections task force, a joint endeavor of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) and the province.
Originally planned to take effect this fall, government decided to proceed for implementation in 2014 due to tight timelines for spring legislation and complexity of the planned changes,
The recommendations constitute the most substantial changes seen in local elections legislation in nearly two decades. They include disclosure on third party advertisers, required sponsorship information on all election advertising, an election date change from November to October, making campaign and finance disclosure statements available earlier and in an electronically searchable form, establishing a separate act for campaign finance rules and a key role for Elections BC in its enforcement, and imposing expense limits on candidates, elector organizations and third party advertisers.
Additionally, education will be given to thousands of election participants province wide before changes are taken into effect.
"We understand the UBCM and some local governments may be disappointed that these changes won't be in place for this year's elections," said Chong in a news release. "However, our highest priority must be to help ensure local elections run smoothly, without confusion, and that all participants have an opportunity to understand and follow the rules. We also heard concerns that it was too late to proceed with changes of this magnitude during an election year as campaign activities were already underway. This decision gives all those involved in local elections the time required for this changes to be implemented successfully."
