Government of Ontario’s municipal election law currently permits contributions by corporations and unions provided they are registered within the province. Contributions from individuals are also allowed, provided that they reside in the province and that recovery of contributions is not being made from a company or employer.
Firms and individuals that have business interests that might benefit from future decisions (e.g. votes in council) by persons standing for election are therefore permitted by current election law. Accepting contributions from these firms and individuals puts councilors in a conflict-of-interest situation and at worst might lead to accusations of bribery and corruption.
In recent elections a large percentage of contributions to several councillor’s campaigns came from corporations or from individuals with direct interests in future developments within the ward or within the city as a whole. This includes individuals who are owners, executives or senior managers in these firms.
Some councillor’s election campaign contributions show no direct corporate donations to their campaign. But indicate a large percentage of contributions from individuals whose firms/employers might benefit in the manner identified above.
It is unfortunate that individual councillors are not considering the ethical dilemma they place themselves in when accepting contributions from prominent individuals whose firms or employers might benefit from later decisions and action taken by city council. This is especially the case when one considers that policies regarding gifts and entertainment to city staff by firms/people doing business with the City have been tightened up in order to avoid appearance of conflict of interest.
It is very disturbing that provincial law allows contributions of this nature at both provincial and municipal levels. Stricter measures that reduce implications of inappropriate election contributions are already in place at the federal level.
http://www.ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/occ/2005/06-08/ACS2005-CCS-CSE-0006-DOC-1.htm
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment