Toronto Mayor Rob Ford won another election last night in Toronto, albeit for the Ward 2 City Council seat he occupied before becoming mayor. The incumbent mayor’s brother, Doug Ford, lost his own bid to be the next mayor of the city against John Tory, the Progressive Conservative candidate.

According to CBC News Toronto,  Rob Ford, who withdrew from the mayoral race earlier this year due to illness, said, “I can assure you, I’ll be taking care of my health and I’ll be taking care of the people in Etobicoke North and I’ll continue to take care of every taxpayer in this city, like I always have.”

Photo of Rob Ford by West Annex News on Wikimedia Commons.

Commissioner of Lobbying Karen Shepherd has drafted a revised Code of Conduct and invited written submissions on the proposed revisions. The changes focus on the relationship between lobbyists and public officials, while removing rules relating to the relationship between lobbyists and clients.

New rules would prohibit a lobbyist from lobbying a public official if the lobbyist has campaigned for or has business interests with the public official. New gift regulations would hold a lobbyist responsible for giving a gift the public official is not allowed to accept.

Once Shepherd finalizes the revisions, they will be referred to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy, and Ethics, before being published in the Canada Gazette.

Parliament and parts of the capital are emerging from a security lockdown following shootings at the National War Memorial and inside the Parliament building.

A soldier guarding the memorial has died from his injuries, as well as a gunman. Prime Minister Stephen Harper was addressing his Cabinet at the time, but left Parliament Hill safely.

The House of Commons is meeting today, Thursday, October 23, 2014, at 10:00 a.m.

Photo of the Parliament Centre Block by Adrijko Z. on Wikimedia Commons.

Today the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Canada, will convene for the first session of the 41^st Parliament.

The assembly had adjourned its session with unanimous consent on July 24, 2014, in order to continue to work over the summer to address budget issues.

Photo of the Ontario Legislative Assembly Building by Andrijko Z. on Wikimedia Commons.

A by-election is scheduled in Saskatchewan for November 13, 2014, to elect a member of the Legislative Assembly from the Lloydminster riding.

The polls in Lloydminster will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on election day.

The fall sitting of the first session of the 33rd Yukon Legislative Assembly will convene on Thursday, October 23, 2014.

The assembly will adjourn on a date to be determined.

The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia resumes today at noon for the prorogation of the second session of the 40th Parliament. The third session of the 40th Parliament will then open at 1:30 p.m. The third session is scheduled to adjourn on November 27, 2014.

Photo of the British Columbia Legislature Building by Ryan Bushby on Wikimedia Commons.

Valerie Jepson began her term as the city’s new integrity commissioner on September 6. Jepson, whose appointment was approved by the City Council in June, replaces Janet Leiper, the commissioner since 1999. Jepson was counsel for the Office of the Ontario Integrity Commissioner since 2007.

Lucie Fiset, the chief electoral officer of Quebec, plans to set up a searchable online registry for accused violators of the province’s election laws. The database is slated to be operational by March 2015. This initiative is part of Fiset’s broader strategic plan to promote transparency and tighten surveillance of political contributions and election spending.

Recently, the province has been examining links between public construction contracts, organized crime, and provincial and municipal political contributions after investigators testified about a political financing scheme involving straw men contributing to political parties using money from a third party, thus skirting contribution limits, residency requirements, and the ban on contributions from entities.

With the new database, the public and the media will be able to search or cross-reference charges against individuals, companies, organizations, and parties accused of violating election laws.

The Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying is set to enhance the lobbyist registration system following website maintenance on July 5, 2014. The system updates will provide lobbyists with a late notification when monthly communication reports are not filed on time.

In addition, the system will make reporting easier by excluding government institutions without a designated public office holder.

Previous website updates have included a flowchart to help lobbyists determine if they need to register and a page with frequently asked questions regarding definitions and registration requirements.

The Registry of Lobbyists is available at https://ocl-cal.gc.ca/eic/site/012.nsf/eng/h_00000.html.

Photo of Canadian flag by Djameson1983 on Wikimedia Commons.

The Fair Elections Act to amend the Canada Elections Act has passed and received Royal Assent on June 19, 2014. Bill C-23 increases contribution limits to candidates and political parties from $1,200 to $1,500.

Third-party advertising limits, currently imposed only during a campaign period, will be imposed for all election advertising “in relation to a general election.”

The bill also increases penalties to $100,000 for intentional violations by corporations acting as a third party. The new limits are not effective until the next call for a general election at the federal level.

On June 11, the Toronto, Canada City Council appointed Valerie L. Jepson as the city’s new integrity commissioner. According to the city’s press release, Jepson was counsel for the Office of the Ontario Integrity Commissioner since 2007. Jepson replaces Janet Leiper, the commissioner since 1999.

On May 29, the second session of the 40th parliament of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia adjourned for the summer. It is scheduled to reconvene on October 6, 2014, and to adjourn on November 27, 2014.

Two campaign finance bills affecting local elections in the province were passed during the session. Bill No. 20, the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act, and Bill No. 21, Local Elections Statutes Amendment Act, 2014 require, among other changes, third party advertising sponsors to register with Elections B.C., report expenditures and contributions of $50 or more, and clearly identify themselves in any election advertisement. Both bills received royal assent on May 29.

The day before scheduled adjournment, New Brunswick’s Legislative Assembly approved the Lobbyists’ Registration Act, establishing a lobbyist registry for the province.

The Act establishes a registrar of lobbyists and outlines requirements for registration by consultant and in-house lobbyists.

The province attempted to create a registry a number of times over the last several years, but failed because of financial concerns and technical complications.