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Neil Godbout: Why does city council meet during an election?

The legislatures at the federal and provincial government levels do not continue to meet during their election periods.
Prince George City Hall 5
City Hall in Prince George.

An interesting issue arose during last Wednesday night’s city council meeting.

Two city councillors excused themselves from a vote because the matter involved someone who had donated to their re-election campaigns.

Which begs the question of why Prince George city council meets in the middle of an election. There is one more meeting scheduled for next Monday, Oct. 3, before election day on Oct. 15.

The legislatures at the federal and provincial government levels do not continue to meet during their election periods. In fact, they legally can’t meet, because the Queen’s – scratch that, now the King’s – representative in the form of the governor general in Ottawa or the lieutenant governor in Victoria ends the parliamentary session to allow an election to happen.

There are obvious reasons to do this. Politicians running for re-election while conducting government business are in clear conflict of interest peril if they are making decisions that involve campaign supporters, as Wednesday’s incident shows. That conflict ends after the election because those politicians are safe in their seats and can’t be unduly influenced for the next four years, until the next election.

Furthermore, continuing to meet gives the incumbent candidates an extra advantage over the other candidates. Those decisions they make give them the spotlight in the news media and show them working hard on behalf of the electorate. Put another way, it’s free advertising.

Prince George city council might not have the legal authority under the Community Charter (city council and mayoral candidates, have you read all 292 parts of the job description for the job you’ve applied for?) to cancel or postpone meetings during an election. So, either the provincial government alters the rules or maybe future Prince George city council’s (2026, 2030 and so on) could agree to meet during the election for emergency business only. No emergency? Great. Motion to adjourn.

It's a small thing in the big scheme of things but plenty of candidates are talking about transparency and accountability this time around.

Here’s one more way to improve both.

Editor-in-chief Neil Godbout