In the story 'Telkwa council proposes recall mechanism' published in the Lakes District News' Sept. 23 edition, Telkwa council was proposing a recall mechanism for B.C. municipalities during the 2015 Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) convention held last month in Vancouver.
The resolution was endorsed by UBCM delegates and is now up to the province to decide on its implementation. If implemented, the resolution would allow B.C. residents to remove local politicians who did not meet voters’ expectations.
Currently, the B.C. community charter contains provisions that could disqualify politicians for ethical misconduct. Reasons for disqualification include conflict of interest, failure to take the oath of office, unexcused absence from council meetings and unauthorized expenditures.
Recall legislation for unpopular local governments is not being considered at this time by the province. However, the provincial government says the viewpoints expressed by UBCM and its members “are considered throughout the year,” as well as the resolutions endorsed at UBCM’s annual convention.
“The province will continue discussions with UBCM after this year’s UBCM resolution package is received later this fall,” explained Alison Giles, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development.
The provincial response to the 2015 UBCM resolutions is expected to be announced in early spring of 2016.
“I’m very proud of the [UBCM] delegates, and of our Telkwa council from supporting the resolution,” said Telkwa Mayor Darcy Repen.
The way recall works is that a specified percentage of voters can petition for an election to remove a particular elected official. If the vote is in favour of removal, then the seat of the official is declared vacant and a by-election is held to fill the vacancy.
Recall legislation already exists in British Columbia to remove members of the legislative assembly (MLAs). In order to remove an MLA, a voter must collect signatures from more than 40 per cent of voters eligible to sign the petition in that electoral district. Applications for recall petitions cannot be submitted to Elections B.C. during the 18 months after the MLA was elected.
In Canada, the recall process is unique to B.C. – no other province or territory has a system in place for removing elected representatives from office between elections. In the United States, recall laws exist in over half of the states.