City clerks investigate 2 possible breaches of 3rd-party advertising rules

City clerks are investigating after citizens complained of two separate breaches of the section of the Municipal Elections Act on third party advertising; both involving the trustee race for the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB).

The possible breaches are being investigated by clerks in the cities of Kitchener, Ont., Waterloo and Cambridge.

One complainant, Kitchener parent Mike Boos, said he had concerns that a website called Know Your Waterloo Region District School Board Trustees appeared to use different fonts and layouts to promote certain candidates.

"This website had no information on who they were and there was no evidence that they had registered with any of the seven municipalities in which the Waterloo Region District School Board is having trustee elections," Boos told CBC News.

"We have people spending money to set up these websites that can potentially influence our elections and we don't know who they are and we don't know where that money comes from."

Complaint over flyers in Cambridge

The City of Cambridge also received complaints from citizens regarding flyers that were hand-delivered to certain homes. 

The flyers said the "WRDSB has emphasized activism over academics" and said it prioritized "critical race theory and radical gender ideology over fact base learning and merit."

The flyers also name three trustee candidates who it says "stand for academic excellence." It does not say who produced the flyers.

The school board has said critical race theory is not explicitly taught in the classroom. It has said the theory is discussed, among others, as part of two high school-level courses, where curriculum has been set by the province.

The city clerk's office confirmed it is investigating if those behind the pamphlet registered as a third party advertiser.

Third party advertising

According to Ontario's Municipal Elections Act, third party advertising includes any material appearing in broadcast, print, electronic or other medium that "has the purpose of promoting, supporting or opposing a candidate or municipal question on the ballot."

Any organization that wants to advertise on behalf of a particular candidate must register with the appropriate municipality.  

Julie Scott, clerk for the City of Waterloo, told CBC K-W in an emailed statement that when it comes to anonymous websites — their powers are limited.

"Municipal clerks do not have the ability to take down websites and can only advise site organizers of the rules regarding third party advertising. Websites that do not clearly list a contact and a contact cannot be found through a search, make it impossible for the city clerk to advise of the rules."

Changes to the website

Boos contacted the office of the Municipal Affairs and Housing and said he was told they don't do any enforcement and that it's up to the clerks and the court.

But since the story was first reported in Waterloo region media, Boos says the look of the website has changed.

"They've changed it so that every group has about the same font size," said Boos. "Originally their preferred slate of candidates actually had voting instructions next to their preferred slates and no instructions next to the other candidates listed."

The website states that it "is a starting point for research," and predominantly focuses on people running for public school board trustee. It contains less detail on trustee candidates for the Waterloo Catholic District School Board.