Copy of e-mail correspondence by Ron Bolin and Elections BC; used with his permission. From: Ron Bolin Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2014 4:17 PM Subject: Fw: Penalties for breach of Election Procedures See my question below and the response from Elections BC. As I suspected, they are powerless to enforce their own administrative rules and the bold will scoff at them, recognizing that few have the wherewithal to “take it to court”. Another bad joke about our democracy. As an aside, all concerned should have recognized that we are dealing with a farce.... But a farce which brought itself into the open. Ron From: Coombs, Geoff EBC:EX Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2014 12:45 PM Subject: RE: Penalties for breach of Election Procedures Dear Ron Bolin, The Local Elections Campaign Financing Act (LECFA) does not grant Elections BC the authority to impose administrative penalties in relation to General Voting Day election advertising or election campaigning infractions by candidates. The only penalty provided by LECFA for these circumstances is prosecution by the Criminal Justice Branch. If convicted by a court, an individual can be subject to a fine of up to $5,000 and/or imprisonment up to one year. Sincerely, Geoff Coombs Senior Compliance Specialist Local Elections Campaign Financing Elections BC Phone: 250-387-2167 Toll-free: 1-855-952-0280 / TTY 1-888-456-5448 Fax: 250-387-3578 Location: Suite 100 - 1112 Fort Street, Victoria Email: [email protected] Website: elections.bc.ca From: Ron Bolin Sent: November-25-14 3:11 PM To: Elections BC, Generalmail EBC:EX Subject: Penalties for breach of Election Procedures To whoever is in charge of municipal electoral infractions: It appears clear from looking at: elections.bc.ca/index.php/local-elections-campaign-financing/faq/ that there have been breaches, some would hold multiple and even impudent breaches, of the Electoral rules for BC municipalities in Nanaimo. What is not clear are the penalties for such breaches. Can you please provide a clear set of penalties which are associated with impermissible actions taken by candidates on election day or during a municipal campaign. Thanks, Ron Bolin Nanaimo
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 21:11:36 +0000