Welcome
On October 9, 2014, the Legislative Assembly appointed an all-party Special Committee on Local Elections Expense Limits with a two-part mandate: first, to examine and make recommendations on principles for local election expense limits; and, second, to examine and make recommendations by June 12, 2015 on expense limit amounts for candidates and third party advertisers.
During the first phase of its work from October to December, 2014, the Committee heard 24 presentations at four public hearings, received 620 written submissions and 272 responses to an online survey. The Committee made recommendations on principles for local elections expense limits and issued its unanimous report on December 15, 2014.
Terms of Reference
On October 9, 2014, the Legislative Assembly agreed that a Special Committee on Local Elections Expense Limits be appointed to:
- In Phase 1 - Examine, inquire into and make recommendations to the Legislative Assembly by December 15, 2014* on:
- Principles for the relationship between elector organizations and their endorsed candidates with respect to expense limits, including how elector organizations and endorsed candidates share accountability for expense limits, with consideration for fairness between independent candidates and candidates endorsed by elector organizations.
- Principles for establishing expense limits for third party advertisers, including whether there should be an overarching, cumulative limit on third party spending such as exists in provincial general elections.
The above recommendations to the Legislative Assembly shall inform the preparation of legislation to implement an expense limits system in local elections.
- In Phase 2 - Examine, inquire into and make recommendations to the Legislative Assembly by June 12, 2015 on expense limit amounts for candidates, including, but not limited to, the general relationship between limits for the various offices, and for third party advertisers in local elections.
For Phase 2, the Special Committee shall specifically consider spending data from the 2014 local elections and other comparative information in making the above recommendations.
For both phases, the Special Committee shall undertake the above examinations with due regard for the following:
- The Report of the Local Government Elections Task Force, including principles (May 2010);
- The Expense Limits in Local Elections - Summary Report on Expense Limits Engagement (May 2014);
- The Local Elections Campaign Financing Act, 2014, including its application to elections for mayors, councillors, electoral area directors, Islands Trust trustees, parks board commissioners and boards of education trustees;
- The expense limits model approved by Government in July 2014, which is to have provincially-set limits for candidates and third party advertisers in local elections, with limits to be set using a flat-rate amount for jurisdictions under 10,000 people and a per capita formula for those over 10,000 and third party limits as a percentage of a candidate’s limit in the jurisdiction where the third party is advertising; and
- The nature of local elections and the differences between local and provincial election systems.
The Special Committee shall limit its consideration of campaign finance topics to forming recommendations on expense limits for local elections.
The Special Committee shall have all the powers of a Select Standing Committee and in addition is empowered to:
- Appoint of their number, one or more subcommittees and to refer to such subcommittees any of the matters referred to the Committee;
- Sit during a period in which the House is adjourned, during the recess after prorogation until the next following Session and during any sitting of the House;
- Conduct consultations by any means the Committee considers appropriate;
- Adjourn from place to place as may be convenient; and
- Retain personnel as required to assist the Committee.
The Special Committee shall report to the House on the above dates, or as soon as possible, and shall deposit the original of its reports with the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly during a period of adjournment and upon resumption of the sittings of the House, the Chair shall present all reports to the Legislative Assembly.
* As agreed on November 18, 2014
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