Municipal election campaign disclosure law in the works
Rules requiring candidates to make public any donations to campaigns will come by 2018, minister says
The Gallant government now says it will introduce rules to require the disclosure of municipal campaign donations before the fall of 2018.
"We are intending to do this during this mandate as promised," Environment and Local Government Minister Serge Rousselle told reporters Thursday.
He couldn't say exactly when the legislation will come because it won't come under his department, he said.
Promised in 2014 campaign
The 2014 Liberal platform promised that the government would explore such a law.
On Wednesday, Rousselle introduced two bills that will give municipalities broad new powers, including the ability to hand out job-creation grants to private companies.
That raised the possibility of mayors and municipal councillors handing out money to companies without the public knowing whether those companies donated to their campaigns.
Provincial election laws require provincial parties and leadership candidates to disclose who writes cheques to fund their campaigns, but no such requirement exists at the municipal level.
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On Wednesday Rousselle said such legislation "is not on the plate today. It will be in the future."
Thursday he was more precise.
"It was one of our promises in the last election in 2014," he said. "I can certainly tell you that it will be during this mandate."
The law that will allow municipal job-creation grants will take effect next January.
The next municipal elections take place in May 2020, though byelections for vacant mayor and councillor positions are held every spring and fall.