A Burnaby political party remains under investigation by Elections BC for possible campaign finance violations.
On April 11, 2024, Elections BC announced that 12 parties, including the Burnaby Citizens Association, were under investigation for potential violations of campaign financing laws during the 2022 general local elections.
The investigations are related to one or more potential violations:
- accepting prohibited contributions
- failing to deal with prohibited contributions in accordance with the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act
- sponsoring election advertising without an authorization statement
In a June 2024 update, Elections BC stated the investigation into the Burnaby Citizens Association was still active.
In a statement to the NOW on Jan. 24, 2025, Elections BC confirmed the party is still under investigation.
"We are working to conclude these investigations as soon as possible," the emailed statement said.
"We are unable to provide further details while these investigations are ongoing, but will provide more information once they conclude."
Two outcomes are possible after the investigation.
If the potential violations are unsubstantiated, Elections BC will confirm the organization is in compliance with the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act.
If potential violations are confirmed, the Burnaby Citizens Association will be subject to consequences. Those can include administrative monetary penalties.
The 2022 general election included the following campaign contribution rules:
- In local elections, only someone who is a resident of British Columbia and a Canadian citizen or permanent resident can make a campaign contribution.
- Organizations are prohibited from making campaign contributions.
- Campaign contributions from eligible individuals are limited annually. In 2022, the annual contribution limit was $1,250 per campaign.
- Contribution limits apply to an elector organization and its endorsed candidates. For example, in 2022, a contributor could not give more than $1,250 in total to an elector organization and all of its endorsed candidates.
- There are many requirements financial agents must follow when accepting campaign contributions. These include ensuring the contribution is from an eligible individual, ensuring that an eligible individual hasn’t contributed more than their annual limit, recording information about the contribution, such as its value and the date it was made, and depositing the contribution into a campaign account.
- If a financial agent becomes aware that a prohibited contribution was made, they must, within 30 days of becoming aware of the prohibited contribution:
- Return the campaign contribution to the contributor or
- Remit the prohibited contribution to Elections BC
It's currently not clear which rules the Burnaby Citizens Association may have broken.
The party claimed six council seats during the 2022 municipal election and swept all seven available school trustee positions.
