Law Times

Page 12 June 29, 2015 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com Active time for municipal issues as four acts reviewed Ranked balloting among key reforms envisioned by provincial government BY GLENN KAUTH Law Times hanges may be afoot in the municipal law field as the provincial gov- ernment reviews four key pieces of legislation in the area. In June, the province an- nounced it would be consulting on the Municipal Act, the City of Toronto Act, and the Munici- pal Conf lict of Interest Act. The move followed the high-profile decision to review the Munici- pal Elections Act along with a commitment to give Ontario's 444 municipalities the option of using ranked ballots in future elections. Under such a system, voters would rank candidates in order of preference with those receiving the fewest votes elimi- nated during multiple rounds of counting until one person se- cures majority support. "I think it's a positive develop- ment," says Eric Davis, a munici- pal and planning lawyer at Miller Thomson LLP in Waterloo, Ont., of the move to allow ranked bal- lots. "What I think ranked ballot- ing will bring is . . . it will ensure the winning candidate will get 50 per cent plus one of the votes of the electorate," adds Davis, an associate at Miller Thomson who has run as a Liberal candidate in past elections. While she welcomes the re- view of municipal elections, Jody Johnson, a former municipal clerk who's now a partner at Aird & Berlis LLP in Toronto, has a few concerns. "One of my concerns with the ranked balloting . . . pri- marily revolves around how you explain it to the electorate and candidates," she says, suggesting the change would likely require a move away from paper ballots. "I don't think you could do this without technology," says Johnson. At the same time, such a significant change risks com- plicating the election process, she adds. "The more complicated voting becomes, does that mean people won't vote?" she asks. On a practical level, Johnson cites potential concerns with things like judicial recounts given that voters wouldn't be marking their ballots with checkmarks anymore. "I don't know how a judge would deter- mine voter intent with respect to Choice 2, 3, or 4," she notes. The province cites reduced strategic voting and negative cam- paigning as well as a greater poten- tial for more candidates to remain in the race until voting day as among the key benefits of ranked ballots. It notes any change won't apply to elections for school board trustees, something Johnson says also has a potential to add confu- sion given that voters would face two types of voting systems. Still, the province's move comes as the push to diverge from the first-past-the-post sys- tem gathers steam. On the fed- eral level, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau put electoral reform, including the option of ranked ballots or proportional repre- sentation, on the agenda in his recent policy announcement. In Davis' view, ranked balloting "keeps the benefits of the current system" since people still get to vote for a particular candidate. "They like to know who they're voting for," he says. "I think a lot of the simplicity of the current system will be maintained." The province is consulting on the Municipal Elections Act with submissions due by July 27. While Ontario has made a commitment to allowing municipalities to use ranked balloting starting with the next elections in 2018, Davis says the consultations are useful given the various systems in place across the province. "I think it's worth- while consulting to make sure the system you design can accom- modate a number of systems," he says, adding he suspects larger cit- ies will be more likely to take up the option of ranked ballots since their elections will often feature larger numbers of candidates. For her part, Johnson says she hasn't seen a big push by the mu- nicipal clerks who run the elec- tions for such a change. Davis, too, notes it will be challenging for the clerks who take on the task of run- ning elections every four years on top of their regular duties. Besides ranked ballots, the province's elections review in- cludes campaign finance to see whether the rules that in most cases limit a resident's contribu- tion to a single candidate to $750 ref lect modern practices. It's also looking at third-party advertis- ing, an area where there are no rules when it comes to supporting or opposing a candidate in mu- nicipal elections. In addition, the review will cover accessibility is- sues as well as enforcement of the election rules. On the issue of campaign fi- nance, Davis welcomes any clarity the province can offer given the troubles some candidates have run into when it comes to meet- ing deadlines for submitting their expense forms. Noting candi- dates have varying levels of finan- cial expertise, he says additional guidance as well as considering a gradation of penalties for minor or inadvertent breaches would be helpful. "I think what would be useful is for the government to look at clarifying some of the ex- pense rules," he says. When it comes to the prov- ince's review of the three other pieces of municipal legislation, the government says it will cover accountability and transparency, financial sustainability, and ser- vice delivery. The deadline for comments is Aug. 7. Noting it has been an active time for municipal issues, John- son says she welcomes the re- views. "That's a good thing. 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