EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article was updated from the version which was originally posted on-line and published in the February 1 edition of The Reporter. The revised section is in bold type.
HALIFAX: Elections Nova Scotia (ENS) ruled today there was no intentional wrong-doing by current and former Richmond municipal officials who paid for tickets to a Liberal Party fundraiser in May 2014, then were reimbursed by the municipality.
ENS concluded that the 11 individuals investigated were unaware the reimbursements were in breach of the Elections Act. Two of those investigated were cleared during the investigation. Eight of nine remaining people accepted responsibility for their acts, according to ENS.
“It was a breach of the [Elections Act],” ENS director of policy and communications Andy LeBlanc explained. “Of course, we’re very confident they were not aware.”
ENS said the contributions from the eight individuals, which were illegally reimbursed for the tickets they purchased, had been accepted by the Liberal Electoral District Association (EDA) for Cape Breton-Richmond.
In a December 2016 letter, the ENS Chief Electoral Office (CEO) instructed the EDA to reimburse the portion eligible for the tax receipt. Within two weeks, the EDA returned the funds to the Nova Scotia Department of Finance. Based on the EDA’s decision to comply with the CEO’s directive, no further action against the EDA will be taken.
“Elections Nova Scotia had the full cooperation of all individuals involved in the investigation, including the municipal representatives, the officers of the Liberal Electoral District Association for Cape Breton-Richmond and the Executive Director of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party,” said ENS CEO Richard Temporale.
ENS announced it entered into eight compliance agreements. The ENS CEO signed agreements with the former CAO, the former warden and six councillors. A compliance agreement is a voluntary agreement on terms and conditions that the CEO considers necessary to ensure the individual’s compliance with the act in future.
On February 1, ENS announced it received the ninth and final compliance agreement with former councillor Gail Johnson.
The rules governing political contributions are set out in sections 234 to 258 of the act. Based on the evidence found in the investigation into officials with the municipality, ENS added that some individuals and organizations – such as corporations, unions or municipalities – are not fully aware of the particular rules governing political contributions and the limitations as set out in the act.
As a result, ENS announced it is launching an amnesty period for individuals, corporations, unions and municipalities to come forward to report similar breaches of the act. The amnesty period will expire at the end of this fiscal year, March 31.
For more information about the amnesty period, visit electionsnovascotia.ca or contact Dorothy Rice at ENS at 902-424-8584.