Despite high voter concern about democracy and trust, all parties fail to promise many needed changes to have effective democracy, government ethics and accountability in British Columbia

Friday, May 10, 2013

OTTAWA – Today, Democracy Watch released its Report Card on the 2013 Democratic Good Government Election Platforms of the five main British Columbia political parties, the only election report card on these issues.

The Green Party receives a C- the best grade of bad overall grades in Report Card on British Columbia Parties’ Democratic Good Government Platforms — Conservatives receive a D-, NDP a D- and Liberals an F.  A Dishonesty Downgrade of one full grade is also shown in the Report Card results — usually only half of all promises are kept because of the lack of an honesty-in-politics law which is needed to effectively penalize promise-breakers and misleaders.

“All the B.C. parties have failed to respond to high voter concern about democracy and trust issues so the party leaders should not be surprised by the lack of support they will receive from voters on election day and no one should be surprised by likely low voter turnout,” said Tyler Sommers, Coordinator of Democracy Watch and its four nation-wide coalitions. “One can only hope that the parties will actually address these concerns when the legislature opens again so that everyone in B.C. politics will finally be effectively required to act honestly, ethically, openly, representatively and to prevent waste.”

“Given the lack of a provincial honesty-in-politics law voters should be wary of trusting any political promises, but one good sign was that the B.C. Greens promised to enact such a measure, the first party to make such a promise in Canada,” said Duff Conacher, Founding Director of Democracy Watch.

The Report Card grades the four main parties’ platform pledges based upon 16 sets of key changes in five areas that Democracy Watch and its coalitions believe are the changes that will most effectively require everyone in the federal government to act honestly, ethically, openly, efficiently, representatively and, if they don’t act in these democratic ways, easily and thoroughly held accountable.  In total, the 16 sets of changes add up to 100 key changes needed to the British Columbia government’s democracy, ethics and accountability system.

The measures are a compilation of the proposals of the five nation-wide coalitions Democracy Watch coordinates (Government Ethics Coalition, Money in Politics Coalition, Open Government Coalition, Corporate Responsibility Coalition, Canadian Community Reinvestment Coalition).  A combined total of more than 140 citizen groups with a total membership of more than 3 million Canadians belong to the coalitions, groups that work on anti-poverty, bank accountability, community economic development, consumer, corporate responsibility, environment, labour, social justice, women and youth issues.

Many national surveys over the past several years have shown that a large majority of Canadians support the 100 democracy, ethics and government accountability reforms set out in the Report Card, as do many commentators on democratic reform.  The federal government, and every province and territory and municipality across Canada, all have a similar list of 100 loopholes and flaws in their government systems (each with a slightly different set of loopholes flaws, depending on which have been closed or corrected in the past).

The 16 sets of changes, divided into five areas, all reflect the following five key elements for ensuring that large, powerful government institutions act responsibly and follow rules: 1. strong laws with no loopholes; 2. requirement to disclose details of operations and violations; 3. fully independent, fully empowered watchdog agencies to enforce laws; 4. penalties that are high enough to encourage compliance; and 5. empowerment of citizens to hold governments and watchdog agencies accountable.

The parties were given a grade ranging from A (Platform makes clear promise to implement proposal) to I (Platform does not mention proposal), with grades B for a vague or partial promise to implement the proposal, C and D for clear to vague promises to explore the proposal, E for mentioning proposal and F for mentioning the theme of the proposal.  Grades were averaged for each of the five sections, and the averages of section grades were used to calculate the overall grade for each party.

Democracy Watch graded the parties’ election platforms by reviewing the platforms.  Statements by party leaders or representatives were not taken into account as they are not fully accessible to all voters, nor are they binding in any way on the party (as admitted by many party leaders) and as a result are even less reliable than promises made in the parties’ platforms.

– 30 –

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Tyler Sommers, Coordinator of Democracy Watch
Duff Conacher, Board Member of Democracy Watch
Tel: (613) 241-5179
[email protected]

British Columbia Conservative Party platform webpage – Party Policy document
Green Party of British Columbia platform webpage – Party Policy document
British Columbia Liberal Party platform webpage
British Columbia NDP platform webpage

---

Report Card on the 2013 Democratic Good Government
Election Platforms of the British Columbia Political Parties
(Set out below are quotations from the British Columbia parties’ platform documents upon which the Report Card grades were based for each of the 16 sub-categories graded in the five issue areas categories)

GRADING SYSTEM
A – Platform makes clear promise to implement proposal
B – Platform makes vague or partial promise to implement proposal
C – Platform makes clear promise to explore proposal
D – Platform makes vague or partial promise to explore proposal
E – Platform mentions proposal
F – Platform mentions theme of proposal
I – Platform does not mention proposal

British Columbia Conservative Party platform webpage – Party Policy document
Green Party of British Columbia platform webpage – Party Policy document
British Columbia Liberal Party platform webpage
British Columbia NDP platform webpage

---

OVERALL REPORT CARD GRADES
best to worst

* Dishonesty Downgrade applied because past performance of all parties shows that they usually break half their promises, and the lack of an honesty-in-politics law means they can’t be held accountable.

---

---

I. Honest, Ethical Government Measures

SECTION I OVERALL GRADES
Conservative Party – E
Green Party – D
Liberal Party – I
New Democrat Party – E-

1. Requiring honesty-in-politics – Pass a law that requires all Cabinet ministers, MLAs, political staff, Cabinet appointees and government employees (including at Crown corporations, agencies, boards, commissions, courts and tribunals) nomination race and election candidates to tell the truth, with an easily accessible complaint process to a fully independent watchdog agency that is fully empowered to investigate and penalize anyone who lies. (Go to Honesty in Politics Campaign for details about Democracy Watch’s proposals)

Conservative Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

Green Party – B
– Pledge to “. . . introduce voters’ rights legislation that requires political parties to live up to their election platforms. Platforms would be submitted to Elections BC and posted publicly. An audit conducted between elections would report on how well the political parties meet their commitments” (Governance platform backgrounder)” and to “Require that all political parties participating in an election declare their election platforms to Elections BC three weeks before the election date; Establish an Independent Platform Commissioner to perform an audit between elections and issue a report to the public; Have Elections BC post the declared platforms online, with one hard copy available at each public library and each Service BC location, no less than two weeks before the election date” (p.38 of policy document)

Liberal Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

New Democrat Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

2. Strengthening ethics standards for politicians, political staff, Cabinet appointees and government employees, and ethics enforcement – Close the loopholes in the existing ethics rules (including closing the loophole that allows Cabinet ministers, MLAs, their staff and Cabinet appointees to be involved in decisions in which they have a financial interest, and including requiring resignation and a by-election if an MLA switches parties between elections) and apply them to all government institutions (including all Crown corporations), and as proposed by the federal Department of Finance place anyone with decision-making power on the anti-corruption watch list of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (Fintrac) so deposits to their bank accounts can be tracked, and; strengthen the independence and effectiveness of all the newly created politician and government employee ethics watchdog positions (the Integrity Commissioner for Cabinet and MLAs and lobbyists, the Conflict of Interest Commissioner for government employees) by giving opposition party leaders a veto over appointees, having the legislature (as opposed to Cabinet) approve their annual budgets, prohibiting the watchdogs from giving secret advice, requiring them to investigate and rule publicly on all complaints (including anonymous complaints), fully empowering and requiring them to penalize rule-breakers, changing all the codes they enforce into laws, and ensuring that all their decisions can be reviewed by the courts.  (Go to Government Ethics Campaign for details about Democracy Watch’s proposals)

Conservative Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

Green Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

Liberal Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

New Democrat Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

3. Making the political donations system democratic – Prohibit secret, unlimited donations of money, property or services by anyone for any reason to nomination and party leadership candidates (only such donations are now only prohibited if given to election candidates); limit loans, including from financial institutions, to parties and all types of candidates to the same level as donations are limited; require disclosure of all donations (including the identity of the donor’s employer (as in the U.S.) and/or major affiliations) and loans quarterly and before any election day; limit spending on campaigns for the leadership of political parties; maintain limits on third-party (non-political party) advertising during elections; lower the public funding of political parties from $2 per vote received to $1 per vote received for parties that elect more MLAs than they deserve based on the percentage of voter support they receive (to ensure that in order to prosper these parties need to have active, ongoing support of a broad base of individuals) and; ensure riding associations receive a fair share of this per-vote funding (so that party headquarters don’t have undue control over riding associations).  (Go to Money in Politics Campaign for details about Democracy Watch’s proposals)

Conservative Party – B+
– Party policy is to “2.1.12. Enact legislation relating to political donations to registered British Columbia political parties, limiting such donations to those received only from individuals and banning donations from corporations, unions and all other similar entities” (p.5 of policy document)

Green Party – B+
– Pledge to “. . . implement electoral finance reform to cap the amount of money that can be donated, to restrict donations to British Columbians and to get rid of corporate and union donations” (Governance platform backgrounder) and to “Implement campaign finance reform that limits political donations from any one organization or individual to $2,000 per political party per year; Institute an annual subsidy of $2 per vote per year until the next election for any political party receiving at least 10% of the total votes cast in an election. This public subsidy is to compensate parties for the loss of union and corporate donations” (p.39 of policy document)

Liberal Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

New Democrat Party – B-
– Pledge to “End corporate and union donations to political parties, and refer related issues to an all-party committee, including parties which are not represented in the Legislature” (p.47 of platform)

4. Closing down the revolving door – Prohibit lobbyists from working for government departments or serving in senior positions for political parties or candidates for public office (as in New Mexico and Maryland), and from having business connections with anyone who does, and close the loopholes so that the actual cooling-off period for former Cabinet ministers, ministerial staff and senior public officials is five years (and three years for MLAs, senators, their staff, and government employees) during which they are prohibited from becoming a lobbyist or working with people, corporations or organizations with which they had direct dealings while in government.  Make the Integrity Commissioner and Conflict of Interest Commissioner more independent and effective by by giving opposition party leaders a veto over their appointment, by having the legislature (as opposed to Cabinet) approve their annual budget, by prohibiting the Commissioners from giving secret advice, by requiring the Commissioners to investigate and rule publicly on all complaints (including anonymous complaints), and by fully empowering and requiring the Commissioners to penalize rule-breakers, by ensuring all decisions of the Commissioners can be reviewed by the courts. (Go to Government Ethics Campaign for details about Democracy Watch’s proposals)

Conservative Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

Green Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

Liberal Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

New Democrat Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

Top

Top of Report Card

Top of Report Card Background Details

---

II. Open Government Measures

SECTION II OVERALL GRADES
Conservative Party – E
Green Party – C-
Liberal Party – I
New Democrat Party – E-

5. Strengthening access-to-information system – Strengthen the federal access-to-information law and government information management system by applying the law to all government/publicly funded institutions, requiring all institutions and officials to create records of all decisions and actions and disclose them proactively and regularly, creating a public interest override of all access exemptions, giving opposition party leaders a veto over the appointment of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, having the legislature (as opposed to Cabinet) approve the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s annual budgets, and giving the Information and Privacy Commissioner the power and mandate to order changes to government institutions’ information systems, and to penalize violators of access laws, regulations, policies and rules.  (Go to Open Government Campaign and Stop Muzzling Scientists Campaign for details about Democracy Watch’s proposals)

Conservative Party – B
– Party policy is to “2.1.8. Establish a truly open and comprehensive Freedom of Information Act which would be reflective of costs of delivery of such services.” (p.3 of party policy document) and to “2.1.9. Ensure that salaries and expenses of MLAs, Cabinet ministers and all senior officials of the government are made public annually and are easily accessible to all British Columbians” (p.4)

Green Party – A-
– Pledge in party policy document to “Make government information easier and less costly to access” (p.38 of policy document) and to “Make Freedom of Information (FOI) requests more affordable and responses more timely” and to “Establish the administrative legal requirement for detailed documentation in key decisions of government” and to “Establish appropriate penalties of noncompliance in the duty to document” and to “Amend FIPPA to empower the Commissioner to investigate the inappropriate destruction of government documents” (p.38)

Liberal Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

New Democrat Party – C+
– Pledge to “Restore openness and accountability — Strengthen Freedom of Information laws . . .” (p.47 of platform)

6. Exposing behind-closed-door communications – Require in a new law that Ministers and public officials and MLAs and their staff disclose their contacts with all lobbyists, whether paid or volunteer lobbyists.  (Go to Government Ethics Campaign for details about Democracy Watch’s proposals)

Conservative Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

Green Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

Liberal Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

New Democrat Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

7. Strengthening lobbying disclosure and ethics, and the enforcement system – Strengthen the Lobbying Registration Act by including in it a Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct, by closing the loophole that currently allows corporations to hide the number of people involved in lobbying activities, and by requiring lobbyists to disclose their past work with any Canadian or foreign government, political party or candidate, to disclose all their government relations activities (whether paid or volunteer) involving gathering inside information or trying to influence policy-makers (as in the U.S.) and to disclose the amount they spend on lobbying campaigns (as in 33 U.S. states), and; strengthen the ethics and enforcement system by extending the limitation period for prosecutions of violations of the Act to 10 years, and; by giving opposition party leaders a veto over the appointment of the Integrity Commissioner for lobbyists, by having the legislature (as opposed to Cabinet) approve the Commissioner’s annual budget, by prohibiting the Commissioner from giving secret advice, by requiring the Commissioner to investigate and rule publicly on all complaints (including anonymous complaints), by fully empowering and requiring the Commissioner to penalize rule-breakers, by ensuring all Commissioner decisions can be reviewed by the courts.  (Go to Government Ethics Campaign for details about Democracy Watch’s proposals)

Conservative Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

Green Party – C-
– Pledge to “Require that all lobbyists declare their lobby status when providing information and recommendations to public agents” (p.38 of policy document)

Liberal Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

New Democrat Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

Top

Top of Report Card

Top of Report Card Background Details

---

III. Efficient Government Measures

SECTION III OVERALL GRADES
Conservative Party – B+
Green Party – E
Liberal Party – E
New Democrat Party – C-

8. Increasing powers of Auditor General – Increase the independence of the Auditor General by requiring approval of appointment from opposition party leaders; increase auditing resources of the Auditor General by having the legislature (as opposed to Cabinet) approve the Auditor General’s annual budget, and; empower the Auditor General to audit all government institutions and also audit projected spending (like the federal Parliamentary Budget Officer does), to make orders for changes to government institutions’ spending systems, and empower the Auditor General to penalize violators of Treasury Board spending rules or Auditor General orders or requests for information.  (Go to Stop Fraud Politician Spending Campaign for details about Democracy Watch’s proposals)

Conservative Party – B+
– Pledge to create a new Legislative Budget Office with the same powers as the federal Parliamentary Budget Officer, but more independent, to provide MLAs with assessments of proposed government spending (p. 22 of platform), and also pledge to increase scrutiny of the government budget by MLAs through committee hearings in the fall (p.23 of platform), and also party policy pledges to increase spending accountability in various ways (p.3 and p.5-6 of policy document)

Green Party – D
– Pledge to “. . . cap the compensation level of senior executives in ministries, Crown corporations and other public bodies established by acts of the legislature (universities, health authorities, etc.) to reflect a reasonable salary for public service. We do not subscribe to comparisons with the private sector or with private sector compensation strategies like bonuses. The income of the highest paid employee in a ministry or Crown corporation will be tied to the lowest paid employee on a ten to one ratio” and that “We believe in lean government and guarantee that there will be no more executives than needed by reviewing the number of executive positions of all public bodies” (Governance platform backgrounder)

Liberal Party – D
– Pledge to work with the Assembly to have an independent annual audit of spending by the Assembly (p. 73 of platform) and to protect with legal measures a proposed B.C. Prosperity Fund from being used to pay for wasteful government initiatives (p. 78 of platform)

New Democrat Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

9. Restricting government and campaign advertising – Empower a government watchdog agency to preview and prohibit government advertising contracting out if there is no reason to have the advertising developed by a contractor, and to restrict all advertising by the government and opposition parties and third parties in the six-month period leading up to an election.  (Go to Stop Fraud Politician Spending Campaign for details about Democracy Watch’s proposals)

Conservative Party – B+
– Party policy is to “4.2.2. Advertising programs for government departments, Crown corporations, and all other organizations owned, controlled or supported by the Government of British Columbia, should be limited to nationally-competitive areas such as tourism promotion, and to those instances where there is a clear requirement to inform the public” (p.6 of the policy document)

Green Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

Liberal Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

New Democrat Party – B+
– Pledege to “Ban taxpayer-funded partisan advertising, and pass legislation to ensure all government advertising is reviewed and approved by the Auditor General. (p.47 of the platform)

Top

Top of Report Card

Top of Report Card Background Details

---

IV. Representative, Citizen-Driven Government Measures

SECTION IV OVERALL GRADES
Conservative Party – E
Green Party – B+
Liberal Party – E
New Democrat Party – D

10. Increasing meaningful public consultation – Pass a law requiring all government departments and institutions to use consultation processes that provide meaningful opportunities for citizen participation, especially concerning decisions that affect the lives of all British Columbians.  (Go to Voter Rights Campaign for details about Democracy Watch’s proposals)

Conservative Party – B-
– Pledge to consult with a variety of stakeholders about a variety of policies throughout the platform and party policy document, and party policy is to “2.2.3. Amending current legislation so that municipalities are required to hold referenda for borrowing for capital projects and to ensure the “alternative approval process”, also known as the “counter-petition” process, is prohibited. (p. 4 of policy document)

Green Party – B+
– Pledge to consult in a variety of policy areas and sectors in their platform backgrounders, and specifically to “. . . decentralizing decision-making and to expanding the authority of local governments. We will propose new funding formulas for municipal and regional governments. By transferring power and resources, the Green Party of British Columbia would strengthen the role of local government. We would implement elected Regional Resource Management Boards, Regional Health Trusts, and Local Social Trusts that would have local government representation” (Governance platform backgrounder)” and to “Require that all-party parliamentary committees hold public hearings on draft legislation” (p.38 of policy document) and to “Amend the Initiative and Recall Act to add clarity related to conduct, decision-making, and criteria for both Initiative and Recall and to make this an effective tool for both citizens and legislators” (p.38)

Liberal Party – C-
– Pledge to consult with a variety of stakeholders about a variety of policies throughout the platform.

New Democrat Party – B-
– Pledge to consult with a variety of stakeholders about a variety of policies throughout the platform, and to “. . . empower legislative committees to undertake meaningful consultation with British Columbians (p. 47 of platform) and to “3. Improve local autonomy: – Recognize local governments as an independent, responsible and accountable order of government, and empower them to enact municipal finance reform. Repeal the Significant Project Streamlining Act, end the P3 requirement for projects over $50 million, and reinstate local decision making on the creation of resort municipalities. Reform TransLink to allow elected municipal representation on the decision-making board (p. 47)

11. Restricting power of Cabinet to make appointments – Require approval by opposition party leaders for the approximately 2,000 judicial, agency, board, commission and tribunal appointments currently made by the Premier, especially for appointees to senior and law enforcement positions, after a merit-based nomination and screening process.   (Go to Democratic Voting Systems Campaign for details about Democracy Watch’s proposals)

Conservative Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

Green Party – A
– Pledge to “. . . create an independent office to appoint board members to public bodies and crown corporations” (Governance platform backgrounder)

Liberal Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

New Democrat Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

12. Making the legislature more democratic – Change the law to restrict the Premier’s power to shut down (prorogue) the legislature to only for a very short time, and only for an election (dissolution) or if the national situation has changed significantly or if the Premier can show that the government has completed all their pledged actions from the last Speech from the Throne (or attempted to do so, as the opposition parties may stop or delay completion of some actions).  Give all party caucuses the power to choose which MLAs and senators in their party sits on legislature committees, and allow any MLA to introduce a private member bill at any time, and define what a “vote of confidence” is in the law in a restrictive way so most votes in the legislature are free votes. (Go to Democratic Voting Systems Campaign and Stop Muzzling MPs Campaign for details about Democracy Watch’s proposals)

Conservative Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

Green Party – B+
– Pledge to “. . . strengthen the role of the individual Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) including the use free votes and strengthening the importance of committees. We will reduce the concentration of power in the Premier’s office” (Governance platform backgrounder) and to “Institute a system of free votes in the Legislature for all matters, including the budget. The BC Greens will not “whip” party members” (p.38 of policy document) and to “Delegate to committees the power to modify the legislation and to have the modified version considered in the Legislature” (p.38) and to “Establish fixed dates for sittings of the Legislature (p.38)

Liberal Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

New Democrat Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

13. Ensuring free, fair and representative elections – Change the current voting law and system (the Elections Act) to specifically restrict the Premier’s power to call an unfair snap election, so that election dates are fixed as much as possible under the parliamentary system.  Change the Act also so that nomination and party leadership races are regulated by Elections British Columbia (including limiting spending on campaigns for party leadership), so that Elections British Columbia determines which parties can participate in election debates based upon merit criteria, so that party leaders cannot appoint candidates except when a riding does not have a riding association, so that voters can give a reason if they decline their ballot (ie. vote for “none of the above”) and so Elections British Columbia is required to educate voters about their legal right to decline their ballot, and to provide a more equal number of voters in every riding, and a more accurate representation in the legislature of the actual voter support for each political party (with a safeguard to ensure that a party with low-level, narrow-base support does not have a disproportionately high level of power in the legislature).  (Go to Democratic Voting Systems Campaign and Stop Fraud Robocalls Campaign for details about Democracy Watch’s proposals)

Conservative Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

Green Party – B+
– Pledge to “change the voting system from First Past the Post” (Governance platform backgrounder) and to “Require by law that political parties use democratic means to nominate candidates and that these democratic processes are made public” (p.38 in policy document) and to “Appoint an Independent Debates Commission to ensure fair rules for the televised Leaders’ debates

Liberal Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

New Democrat Party – C
– Pledge to “Increase youth voter turnout by lowering the voter registration age to 16″ (p. 47 of platform)” and to “Move the next provincial election to the fall of 2017 so voters will have complete and accurate information about provincial finances.

Top

Top of Report Card

Top of Report Card Background Details

---

V. General Government Accountability Measures

SECTION V OVERALL GRADES
Conservative Party – D
Green Party – C-
Liberal Party – D-
New Democrat Party – C-

14. Facilitating citizen watchdog groups over government – Require provincial government institutions to enclose one-page pamphlets periodically in their mailings to citizens inviting citizens to join citizen-funded and directed groups to represent citizen interests in policy-making and enforcement processes of key government departments (for example, on ethics, spending, and health care) as has been proposed in the U.S. and recommended for Canadian banks and other financial institutions in 1998 by a federal task force, a legislature of Commons Committee, and a Senate Committee.  (Go to Citizen Association Campaign for details about Democracy Watch’s proposals)

Conservative Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

Green Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

Liberal Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

New Democrat Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

15. Ensuring effective whistleblower protection – Require everyone to report any violation of any law, regulation, policy, code, guideline or rule, and require all watchdog agencies over government (for example: Auditor General, Information and Privacy Commissioner, Integrity Commissioner, and Conflict of Interest Commissioner) to investigate and rule publicly on allegations of violations, to penalize violators, to protect anyone (not just employees) who reports a violation (so-called “whistleblowers”) from retaliation, to reward whistleblowers whose allegations are proven to be true, and to ensure a right to appeal to the courts.  (Go to Open Government Campaign for details about Democracy Watch’s proposals)

Conservative Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

Green Party – B-
– Pledge to “Introduce effective “whistle-blower” legislation” (p.38 of policy document)

Liberal Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

New Democrat Party – I
– Nothing related to proposal in platform

16. Ensuring loophole free laws and strong penalties for wrongdoers – Close any technical and other loopholes that have been identified in laws, regulations, policies, codes, guidelines and rules (especially those regulating government institutions and large corporations) to help ensure strong enforcement, and increase financial penalties for violations to a level that significantly effects the annual revenues/budget of the institution or corporation. (Go to Democracy Watch’s Campaigns for details about Democracy Watch’s proposals)

Conservative Party – B
– Pledge to strengthen funding for provincial justice system (p.10 of platform), and to increase accountability in the education system (p.15) and state that they believe social responsibility for businesses, and “in equality of opportunity in the workplace, in political institutions, and in society” (p.18 of platform, and p.20 of the policy document); and also pledge in the party policy document to increase accountability in the health care system (pp.7-8 of policy document), the education system (pp.8-9), in some areas of environmental protection (p.10) and natural resources (pp.12-15), in the justice system (p.10)

Green Party – B-
– Pledge to strengthen accountability in a variety of areas of society in their platform — http://www.greenparty.bc.ca/backgrounders — and in their policy document — http://www.greenparty.bc.ca/greenbook — including health care system, environmental protection system, energy, mining, transportation, agriculture and forestry sectors

Liberal Party – C-
– Pledge to strengthen access to justice in a variety of areas (pages. 56-60 of platform) and to strengthen environmental protections in some areas

New Democrat Party – B-
– Pledge to strengthen worker rights laws (pp. 31-33 of the platform) as well as environmental laws (pp. 39-42 of the platform) and to “Conduct a judicial inquiry into the sale of BC Rail” (p. 47).

---

Top

Top of Report Card

Democracy Watch’s Campaigns

Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson has let dozens of Conservatives off the hook for clear ethics violations, and made more than 80 secret rulings, since 2007 — letter-writing campaign has thousands calling for key changes to ensure effective ethics enforcement

---

This release was covered by the Globe and Mail, CTV News, the Huffington Post, The Tyee, and 10 other media outlets all publishing the Canadian Press article.

---

Friday, May 10, 2013

OTTAWA – Today, Democracy Watch released federal Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson’s refusal to investigate yet another clear case – Prime Minister Harper helping Peter Penashue with a funding announcement and a by-election call while Elections Canada is investigating Mr. Penashue’s last election campaign — and called for key changes to ensure effective ethics enforcement in Canada.

More than 61,000 messages have been sent through Democracy Watch’s letter-writing campaign to MPs on the House of Commons Ethics Committee that is reviewing the federal Conflict of Interest Act, and to other key politicians across Canada.

Democracy Watch submitted a complaint to the Ethics Commissioner after Prime Minister Stephen Harper allowed Mr. Penashue to make a $1.35 million spending announcement in his riding on March 11, 2013, just days before he resigned his seat and after Prime Minister Harper called the by-election before prosecutors had decided whether to charge Mr. Penashue or others involved in his 2011 election campaign for violations of the Canada Elections Act.

“This is yet another clear case where the lapdog federal Ethics Commissioner is ignoring clear ethics rules, and instead using a dangerously narrow and legally incorrect enforcement approach to protect a politician who has improperly furthered the private interest of a friend and colleague,” said Tyler Sommers Coordinator of Democracy Watch.  “The Ethics Commissioner actually makes the absurd claim in her ruling that the ethics law never covers any political decisions Cabinet ministers make, no matter what the situation.”

“Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson is so ineffective that the media, not her, have revealed all of the ethics violations in federal politics in the past five years, while she has let dozens of Conservatives off the hook for clear violations and made more than 80 secret rulings, and so clearly the ethics law needs to be strengthened to ensure proper and effective enforcement and thousands of Canadians are calling on the House Committee to strongly recommend these and other key changes to stop unethical politicians and lobbyists,” said Duff Conacher, Board member of Democracy Watch.

In a recent ruling involving a situation with Jim Flaherty, the Ethics Commissioner made it clear that the definition of “improperly” includes the standards set out in Prime Minister Harper’s Accountable Government guide for ministers.  That guide requires ministers to “uphold the highest ethical standards so that public confidence and trust in the integrity and impartiality of government are maintained and enhanced” and to “make decisions in the public interest” and to “perform their official duties and arrange their private affairs in a manner that will bear the closest public scrutiny.  This obligation is not fully discharged merely by acting within the law” (Annex A, Part I: Ethical Guidelines and Statutory Standards of Conduct).

It seems very clear that Prime Minister Harper’s recent decisions concerning Mr. Penashue do not uphold the highest ethical standards and are not impartial in a way that enhances public confidence and trust as they are favours that help Mr. Penashue; are not in the public interest because they deny voters key information they have a right to know before they vote in the by-election, and; as a result do not bear the closest public scrutiny, given how clearly they help Mr. Penashue’s private career interest in keeping his job, and pay, as a Member of Parliament.

Despite the Flaherty ruling and the clear and serious ethical issues the Prime Minister’s decisions raise, the Ethics Commissioner dismissed Democracy Watch’s complaint.  In her ruling, the Ethics Commissioner claimed, without providing any convincing evidence or reasons:

• that Prime Minister Harper and Peter Penashue are not friends (despite all the very friendly things the Prime Minister has done for Mr. Penashue recently);
• that the Accountable Government guide’s rules apply only if the exact, specific situation complained about is referenced in the guide;
• that the spending announcement was acceptable because it was focused on enhancing the image of the party (even though clearly in the context it also furthered Mr. Penashue’s private interests), and;
• that such spending announcements and by-election calls are “political advantages” that are a “government prerogative” and that ethics rules can’t touch them, no matter how unethical and abusive the exercise of the advantage or prerogative is.

There are more than 200 similar cases across Canada of people being let off the hook with no penalty, especially at the federal level, including the following, along with many others who escaped accountability for very questionable actions in past decades, — Prime Minister Harper (who decided in 2007 not to have a full public inquiry into his then-friend Brian Mulroney’s affair with Karlheinz Schreiber),  Nigel Wright, Tony Clement, Christian Paradis, Lisa Raitt, Rick Dykstra, Jim Flaherty, and 25 Conservative Cabinet ministers, ministers of state and parliamentary secretaries in total who along with 35 Conservative MPs handed out government cheques with Conservative Party logos on them, and all MPs who accept sponsored travel from lobbyists.

The Ethics Commissioner is a major part of the problem with ethics enforcement – since 2007 she has rejected at least 80 complaints filed with her without issuing a public ruling (it could be more as she did not disclose the total number of complaints she received in 2008-2009 nor in 2010-2011).  She has received complaints about, or become aware of, at total of at least 100 situations, but has only issued 17 public rulings.  In other words, the Ethics Commissioner may be covering up more than 80 dangerously undemocratic ethics violations.

To finally make corruption in federal politics effectively illegal, the House of Commons Ethics Committee, which is currently reviewing federal ethics rules, must recommend the following key changes:

• Ensure everyone is covered by ethics rules (currently some ministerial staff and advisers, Cabinet appointees, and staff and advisers of MPs and senators are not covered by any rules);
• Add a general ethics/integrity rule to the Act and codes to ensure that no one can escape accountability by exploiting technical loopholes (as already applies to public servants, and as is set out in the Prime Minister’s Accountable Government guide for ministers);
• Add an honesty-in-politics rule to the Act and codes that everyone is required to comply with at all times, even in statements made in Parliament (as already applies to public servants, and as is set out in the Prime Minister’s Accountable Government guide for ministers);
• Add a rule to the Act and codes prohibiting everyone from being in an apparent or foreseeable potential conflict of interest (as already applies to public servants, and as applies to B.C. politicians, and as the Oliphant Commission report recommended) with anyone or any entity, including for their political interests like fundraising or campaigning for re-election;
• Delete the loopholes in the Act’s and codes’ definition of “private interest” that allow everyone to take part in general application decisions even if they have a conflict of interest;
• Require disclosure of all assets worth more than $1,000 (the current threshold of $10,000 is much too high) and require divestment of more assets;
• Strengthen gift rules to make it clear gifts from anyone, including family and friends, that create even the appearance of a conflict of interest must be refused, and delete the loopholes that allow MPs to accept sponsored travel and volunteer service from lobbyists;
• Add a rule to the codes prohibiting acceptance of any benefit in return for switching parties, or giving up one’s seat or nomination as a candidate in an election;
• Add a rule to the Act and codes prohibiting the personal use of government property, especially for political activities;
• Change to a sliding scale for everyone prohibiting lobbying after leaving office for one year to five years (increasing in length as the decision-making power and potential conflicts of the person increase) to ensure everyone must take a cooling-off period;
• Require everyone to report to the Ethics Commissioner their post-employment activities to ensure they are complying with their cooling-off period (as the Oliphant Commission recommended);
• Require the Ethics Commissioner to issue a public ruling for every complaint received, and every time advice is given to anyone;
• Require the Ethics Commissioner to do regular, random audits;
• Ban the use of the illegal “conflict of interest screens” the Ethics Commissioner is currently using, and require disclosure of all recusals from decision-making;
• Require the Ethics Commissioner to impose mandatory minimum penalties for ethics violations that match the penalties for lobbying violations (ie. $50,000 to $200,000 fines and jail terms);
• Allow anyone to challenge any decision or ruling by the Ethics Commissioner in court for any error of fact or law;
• Establish the Public Appointments Commission, and close the loopholes in the Lobbying Act to prohibit secret, unethical lobbying, and in Canada Elections Act to prohibit secret donations and loans, and in the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act to strengthen whistleblower protection and extend it to everyone (including political staff), and strengthen enforcement of all of these laws to prevent related unethical actions.

Democracy Watch and the Government Ethics Coalition will continue pushing all governments across Canada and will encourage Canadians to send a message to politicians until all of these needed changes, and more, are made to ensure honest, ethical politics.

– 30 –

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Tyler Sommers, Coordinator of Democracy Watch
Tel: (613) 241-5179
[email protected]

---

Democracy Watch’s Government Ethics Campaign

As far as the government scientist was concerned, it was a bit of fluff: an early morning interview about great white sharks last summer with Canada AM, the kind of innocuous and totally apolitical media commentary the man used to deliver 30 times or more each year as the resident shark expert in the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). So he sent an email off to Ottawa notifying department flaks about the request, and when no response had been received by the next morning, just went ahead and did it.

EDMONTON — Despite controversy over a $430,000 “bulk donation” to her party by a billionaire NHL team owner and his associates, Premier Alison Redford says there’s no need to amend Alberta’s election laws to ban corporate donations or to reduce the amount that can be contributed.

OTTAWA — Canada’s public sector integrity commissioner said he suspects “thousands” of wrongdoings are going unreported among the 375,000 federal workers covered by the whistleblower legislation he enforces.

Changes to law needed before next election to require Elections Canada to enhance pre-election voter registration, have clear rules and better training for election workers, to conduct full public audits after every election, and to disclose all rulings

Thursday, May 2, 2013

OTTAWA – Today, Democracy Watch renewed its call for a public inquiry into Elections Canada following a recent report highlighting major systemic issues with the 2011 federal election.  The report adds to the many reasons for a full investigation, and Democracy Watch has already filed a complaint with the federal Information Commissioner because the Commissioner of Canada Elections is hiding its rulings on more than 3,000 complaints it has received since 1997 about violations of the Canada Elections Act.

“The problems revealed by the federal election audit are likely only the tip of the iceberg of problems with past elections and by-elections given that Elections Canada is hiding its rulings on 3,000 complaints it has received since 1997, and so a full public inquiry is clearly needed,” said Tyler Sommers Coordinator of Democracy Watch.  “The law can, and must, be changed as soon as possible to prevent problems in the next election by requiring Elections Canada to correct the problems, conduct public audits after each election, and disclose all its past and future rulings on complaints.”

Last March, Democracy Watch requested under the federal Access to Information Act the ruling letters sent to complainants by the Commissioner of Canada Elections for a total of 2,982 complaints people have filed during elections since 1997.  Democracy Watch also requested the ruling letters Elections Canada has sent to an unknown number of people who filed complaints in-between elections (the total is unknown because Elections Canada does not disclose any information about complaints it receives in-between elections).

Almost all the other Officers of Parliament — the Auditor General of Canada, the Commissioner of Official Languages for Canada, the Information Commissioner, the Privacy Commissioner, and the Commissioner of Lobbying, are required to disclose final decisions/rulings (under 16.1 or 16.2 of the Access to Information Act).  Elections Canada has only had the discretionary right to refuse to disclose rulings since 2007 after the Conservatives weakened the Act by adding section 16.3 (the Ethics Commissioner is the other officer allowed, unfortunately, to make secret rulings).

“The public must see all of Elections Canada’s rulings to know whether it is an effective democracy watchdog or an ineffective lapdog,” said Sommers. “It is also completely contradictory and hypocritical for Elections Canada to commit to disclosing its rulings on every robocall complaint but refuse to disclose its rulings on other complaints.”

In addition to a full public inquiry, Democracy Watch is calling for the following key changes to ensure election laws across Canada are enforced properly and effectively:

• All election agencies must be required to regularly audit donations, spending by parties and candidates, and voting, and to conduct post-election audits after each general and by-election;
• The results of all audits and investigations into complaints or situations must be made public;
• Penalties for violating election laws must be increased to high amounts to discourage violators;
• A greater effort and better system for registering voters prior to the election must be established; and
• Rules around who can vote and how to handle potential voters who do not have proper identification must be clarified and the training process for election officials must be greatly improved.

More than 72,000 messages have been sent by Canadians to key politicians through Democracy Watch’s national letter-writing drive calling for clear requirements to disclose election complaint rulings, and for passage of other key measures for fair elections and strong enforcement.

Democracy Watch has also invited Canadians to send in the rulings they have received from Elections Canada, and will continue to push Elections Canada to disclose all its rulings as the public has a clear right to see the rulings that any law enforcement agency makes on any complaint.  If this information is kept secret, it is a recipe for abuse and corruption as it can allow any agency to hide a biased, unfair, discriminatory, ineffective or otherwise improper enforcement record.

– 30 –

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Tyler Sommers, Coordinator of Democracy Watch
Tel: (613) 241-5179
[email protected]

---

Democracy Watch’s Enforce Fair Election Laws Campaign

Bribery provisions in Criminal Code cover offers of benefits in respect of future government actions, even if the government never does anything

Friday, April 26, 2013

OTTAWA – Today, Democracy Watch called on the Alberta government to have an independent special prosecutor determine whether charges should be laid in the case of political donations and communications from construction companies to Premier Alison Redford and former Premier Ed Stelmach.

“The Criminal Code anti-bribery provisions make it illegal to even offer any money directly or indirectly to any politician for their benefit in respect of anything to be done by that politician, even if the politician never does anything, and in my opinion the communications from the construction company representatives to the premiers cross that line because they link past donations, and future donations, to expected government actions,” said Duff Conacher, Board member of Democracy Watch and Adjunct Professor of Good Governance and Ethics Law at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.  “Because the donations are to the premier and the ruling party, an independent special prosecutor is needed to determine whether charges should be laid, and given that there are very few past court rulings about these Criminal Code provisions, the special prosecutor should explain fully and publicly if they decide not to prosecute because it seems to me that a full examination of the evidence and detailed ruling by the courts is advisable in this situation.”

 

Clause 119(1)(b) of the Criminal Code of Canada states:

Corruption and disobedience

Bribery of judicial officers, etc.

119. (1) Every one is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years who

(a) being the holder of a judicial office, or being a member of Parliament or of the legislature of a province, directly or indirectly, corruptly accepts, obtains, agrees to accept or attempts to obtain, for themselves or another person, any money, valuable consideration, office, place or employment in respect of anything done or omitted or to be done or omitted by them in their official capacity, or

(b) directly or indirectly, corruptly gives or offers to a person mentioned in paragraph (a), or to anyone for the benefit of that person, any money, valuable consideration, office, place or employment in respect of anything done or omitted or to be done or omitted by that person in their official capacity.

and clause 121(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code states:

Frauds on the government

121. (1) Every one commits an offence who

(a) directly or indirectly

(i) gives, offers or agrees to give or offer to an official or to any member of his family, or to any one for the benefit of an official, or

. . .

a loan, reward, advantage or benefit of any kind as consideration for cooperation, assistance, exercise of influence or an act or omission in connection with

(iii) the transaction of business with or any matter of business relating to the government, or

(iv) a claim against Her Majesty or any benefit that Her Majesty is authorized or is entitled to bestow,

whether or not, in fact, the official is able to cooperate, render assistance, exercise influence or do or omit to do what is proposed, as the case may be; . . .”

 

As reported by CBC, one construction company official sent Premier Stelmach a letter that states: “We continue to support the Conservative Party in whatever way we can, and please don’t hesitate to contact us and advise us on what we may be able to do to enhance our support of the party and/or support the implementation of these or other initiatives” and the initiatives referred to were appointments to the Alberta Labour Relations Board, infrastructure spending, and changes to labour regulations and legislation.

The other construction company official sent Premier Redford’s staff person an email that stated that two construction companies “. . . both made major contributions to Ms. Redford’s leadership campaign and to the PC’s election campaign fund (in Ledcor’s case up to the legislated maximum). Other members of our coalition were also significant supporters of both the Premier and the PC Party . . . I appreciate that there are huge demands on the Premier’s time and that it is difficult to arrange meetings with her.  However, there will be considerable disappointment and possibly misgivings within our coalition if I do not have something concrete to report next week” concerning developments in the review and change of the provincial labour code.

Given these and other very questionable recent situations involving political donations in Alberta, Democracy Watch also called on the Alberta government to democratize the political finance system in Alberta by:

• banning donations and loans from businesses and other organizations to any party or candidate (including party leadership candidates, and municipal candidates and parties);
• limiting individual donations, loans and gifts to a very low amount (no more than $200 annually);
• requiring disclosure of all donations, loans and gifts received by any party and any type of candidate, whether or not the donation or gift is used for a campaign;
• requiring disclosure of the employer and major affiliations of all individual donors (to prevent businesses and other organizations from funnelling donations through their employees, executives, board members and their families);
• establishing a base level of per-vote public financing for political parties (no more than 50 cents per vote), and;
• requiring Elections Alberta to conduct regular audits of donation patterns to reveal violations and track connections between donations and government actions.

“While the corrupting, democracy-undermining influence of secret money and bribes can unfortunately never be stopped, the Alberta government can help a lot by banning business and organization donations and loans to political parties and candidates, setting a very low limit for individual donations and loans, requiring disclosure of all donations, loans and gifts, establishing public financing, and strengthening enforcement,” said Tyler Sommers, Coordinator of Democracy Watch.

Other than in Quebec, donation limits across Canada are much too high, and other than federally and in Manitoba and Quebec corporations and unions and other organizations are allowed to donate.  As well, other than at the federal level and in Ontario, donation disclosure rules are much too weak (and even those jurisdictions have loopholes in their disclosure rules).

And across the country, election agencies either lack investigation and auditing powers, or are failing to do regular audits, and penalties are too weak, all of which encourages violations.

Democracy Watch and its nation-wide Money in Politics Coalition, made up of 50 citizen groups with a total membership of 3 million Canadians, will continue pushing until all laws across Canada prevent the undue influence of money in politics, and the key democratic principle of one person, one vote is upheld in our political finance system.

– 30 –

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Tyler Sommers, Coordinator of Democracy Watch

Tel: 613-241-5179

Email: [email protected]

---

Democracy Watch’s Money in Politics Campaign

A representative of a coalition of construction companies and anti-union contractors lobbied Premier Alison Redford by linking large political donations to Redford and to the provincial Conservative party with political promises to revise Alberta’s labour code, according to documents obtained through Freedom of Information.