By Pepper Parr
January 4th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
Premier Ford keeps meeting with provincial staff who later turn up in email traffic that refers to land developments. Details on this latest are set out in a link below.
When we learned yesterday that Ontario Premier Doug Ford told the Provincial Integrity Commissioner that”he he isn’t ‘immediately familiar’ with Manchia, we decided to look a little deeper and see just what took place during the 2022 municipal elections.
Councillor Rory Nisan faced a complaint on some of his 2018 election spending.
In Burlington, every member of Council was returned to office and no one came up with any election funding infractions. Ward 3 Councillor Rory Nisan faced a complaint on some of his election spending. The Election Oversight Committee decided not to take any further action but did release a short written report.
It wasn’t the same in Hamilton where Matthew Van Dongen, a Hamilton Spectator reporter specializing in transportation and the environment reported at length on what was going on in Hamilton.
The Hamilton election oversight committee started rare legal action against two developers who gave more money to municipal candidates than allowed under the law.
The committee decided to appoint a prosecutor to review “overcontribution” violations by planner-developer and downtown megadeveloper Darko Vranich. In a pair of decisions now posted online, the oversight body called pursuing the uncommon legal proceedings “warranted … and in the public interest.”
But is still up to that prosecutor to determine what charges — if any — should go before a judge. The maximum fine for an individual for most violations under the Municipal Elections Act is $25,000.
Municipalities across Ontario appoint arms-length citizen committees that can consider alleged campaign finance violations by candidates, donors or third-party advertisers following an election.
Often, rulings result in “cautions or a slap on the wrist” rather than audits or even more rare court action, said Zack Taylor, a professor of political science at Western University. Campaign finance violations that do end up in court also more commonly involve citizen complaints about elected officials.
In Hamilton, former Mayor Larry Di Ianni pleaded guilty to campaign fundraising violations in 2006 and was sentenced to make a charitable donation and write an essay about his mistakes. In 2020, Toronto councillor Jim Karygiannis was removed from office as a result of campaign overspending — a legal battle that went to the Supreme Court.
When it comes to exceeding contribution limits by citizen donors, Taylor said oversight committees and prosecutors likely have to do a “cost-benefit analysis” on the pricey prospect of legal action. “If they’re going down this road, it is to send a message,” he said.
The looming legal action was spurred by a city clerk review of 2022 election financial contributions. It found several donors appeared to have contributed more in total to candidates than the maximum $5,000 set under Ontario law.
Sergio Manchia and Darko Vranich both admit to giving more money to local election candidates than allowed under the law, but they argue the violations were honest mistakes.
After hearing from those donors Hamilton’s oversight committee ruled against legal consequences for everyone except Vranich and Manchia.
In a written decision, the body noted the head of development giant Vrancor overspent on donations “by a significant margin” — handing out $9,600, or nearly double the legal limit — and “without reasonable explanation.”
Manchia only exceeded the maximum by $300 and he told the committee he mistakenly believed the limit was higher.
But the committee noted the ubiquitous planning consultant also ran afoul of spending limits after the 2018 election and that he is “sophisticated, with past experience relating to contribution limits.”
A spokesperson for Vranich expressed disappointment at the ruling and argued the overcontribution was “an honest mistake” that would not be repeated.
By email, Manchia called his “slight overcontribution” a mistake and acknowledged the importance of campaign finance laws. “My aim was to support local candidates who I believe can make a meaningful difference in our city,” he said. “I did not intend … to compromise the perceived integrity of the electoral process.”
Developer donations tend to earn more scrutiny because of the “perception of influence” on councillors who are routinely asked to approve millions of dollars in building projects, noted Taylor.
Some candidates in last year’s election announced they would not accept donations from the building industry.
Link to the Premier’s involvement with Sergio Manchia
Rory Nisan catches a break with his 2018 election problems
