On June 1, the 2nd Session of The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, which began on November 21, 2016, adjourned until October 4, 2017.

Bill 26, the Election Financing Amendment Act received Royal Assent on June 1. The new law increases the annual contribution limit for individuals from $3,000 to $5,000, and is indexed for inflation. Other changes to the law include limiting cash contributions to $25 or less, allowing self-employed persons to volunteer services for which they normally charge without the services being considered a contribution, and expanding the definition of “election communication” as applied to third parties to include communications about issues associated with a political party or a candidate. The law takes effect on September 1.

Lawmakers plan to adjourn the Assembly again on November 3, and then reconvene on November 15, with a final scheduled adjournment of the 2nd Session to be on December 1.

Several Canadian legislative sessions adjourned last week:

• On June 2, the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories adjourned. Legislation considered this session included infrastructure and operations expenditure bills as well as an amendment to the Tobacco Tax Act. The Legislative Assembly is scheduled to reconvene on September 19, 2017, and to adjourn on October 4, 2017. The Legislative Assembly is scheduled to then again reconvene on October 17, 2017, and to adjourn on October 20, 2017.
• On June 1, the first session of the 41st Legislature of the Quebec National adjourned until June 6. One piece of legislation still being considered is Bill 56, the Lobbying Transparency Act, introduced in 2015. The bill would expand the scope of the definition of lobbyists to include shareholders lobbying for an entity as well as directors and officers of a nonprofit. The bill would also expand the types of activity considered to be lobbying and impose stricter penalties and higher fines on violators of the law. The National Assembly is scheduled to reconvene on June 6, 2017, and to adjourn on June 16, 2017.
• On June 1, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario adjourned on June 1, 2017. In the last week of the session, Bill 138, Transparency in Government Bills Act, 2017, was introduced. The bill would require all proposed legislation to include a statement describing the problem the bill seeks to address, a description of the public policy goals the bill seeks to achieve, and a summary of the financial costs the bill would have on the government, municipalities, the public, and any affected industries or businesses. The Legislative Assembly is scheduled to reconvene on September 11, 2017, and then adjourn on December 14, 2017.
• On June 1, the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly adjourned to the call of the Chair. During this latest session, amendments to the Intergovernmental Affairs Act and the House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act were considered. The next scheduled sitting day is Monday, November 6, 2017. The Assembly is then scheduled to adjourn on December 7.

On May 31, legislation was introduced in the Federal Parliament of Canada to increase transparency concerning political fundraising events.

House Government Bill C-50 requires a five-day advance notice of fundraisers where the admission price is $200 or more. A regulated fundraising event does not include a convention, including leadership conventions, of a registered party or a leadership contestants’ debate. The bill requires political parties file itemized reports to Elections Canada within 30 days of a fundraiser, including information such as the attendants’ names and amounts contributed. If a regulated fundraising event is organized entirely by persons or entities other than a registered party, the person or entity must provide the attendants and donation information to the registered party in time for the registered party to make its report.

The bill’s regulations would not apply if a fundraiser takes place during the election period of a general election.

On May 5, the third session of the 58th Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada adjourned, passing legislation lowering the political contribution limit to $3,000 from $6,000.

Additionally, the Local Governance Act and the Community Planning Act were enacted, replacing the Municipalities Act and an older Community Planning Act.

The Legislative Assembly is scheduled to reconvene on Tuesday, October 24, 2017.

On March 14, the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut adjourned its 2017 Winter Sitting.

Bills considered by lawmakers included amendments to the Consumer Protection Act, the Inuit Language Protection Act, and the Human Rights Act.

The Assembly meets each year for a Winter Sitting, a Spring Sitting, and a Fall Sitting in October.

The legislature will reconvene for its Spring Sitting on Tuesday, May 30, 2017, at 1:30 p.m.

On March 10, the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories adjourned for the remainder of the winter.

During the session, lawmakers considered various supplementary appropriations dealing with infrastructure and operations expenditures, debated cutbacks, and passed a budget for the territories with all but two MLAs voting for it.

Under the new budget, the Department of Public Works and Services will be consolidated with the Transportation department.

The Second Session of the 18th Assembly will reconvene on Thursday, May 25, 2017.

On March 1, a new lobbying law took effect in the Regional Municipality of Peel, Ontario. By-law Number 47-2016 creates a Lobby Registry and Registration System and establishes the position and duties of the Lobbyist Registrar.

The new law covers consultant, in-house, and voluntary unpaid lobbyists. A return is required to be filed within five business days of a covered communication or may take place in advance of lobbying. Lobbyists must register a separate subject matter registration for each issue they lobby and must include a description of the issue being lobbied, who will be lobbied, and when the lobbying will occur or has occurred.

Former public office holders are prohibited from lobbying for one year after leaving their position. Lobbying on a contingency basis is also prohibited under the new law.

On April 3, five by-elections will be held for the Canadian House of Commons. On February 22, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced four by-elections for the electoral districts of Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Calgary Heritage and Calgary Midnapore, Alberta, and Markham—Thornhill, Ontario. Trudeau had previously announced on February 19 a by-election would be held for the electoral district of Ottawa—Vanier, Ontario.

The vacancies requiring the by-elections came about for different reasons. Last year, former prime minister Stephen Harper and member of Parliament(MP) Jason Kenney resigned from their House of Commons seat representing electoral districts Calgary Heritage and Calgary Midnapore, respectively.

The seats for electoral districts Saint-Laurent and Markham-Thornhill were left vacant last month after ministers Stephane Dion and John McCallum were named to diplomatic posts, according to the Globe and Mail. The seat representing electoral district Ottawa-Vanier became vacant when MP Mauril Belanger died last year from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

On February 21, Vancouver, British Columbia, City Councilmember Andrea Reimer intends to request the Council consider a city lobbyist registry.

In her notice of motion to the Council, Reimer is asking the municipal legislature to submit a request to the province to allow municipalities the ability to register lobbyists, create rules for lobbyist’s conduct in their interactions with elected officials and public servants, and the ability to enforce those rules. Reimer also wants the city to investigate the city of Surrey’s current lobbyist registry to determine the cost impact and any other information Vancouver may find helpful.

British Columbia does not permit municipalities to use the provincial lobbyist registry and has not given municipalities the legal authority to enforce lobbyist rules.

The Third Session of the 58th Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick adjourned on February 17. The legislature next meets on March 14, with an expected adjournment date of May 5.

Lawmakers continued to consider governmental ethics legislation, including bills to amend the Members’ Conflict of Interest Act, the Lobbyists’ Registration Act, and the Crown Construction Contracts Act. On February 16, the Act to Amend the Political Process Financing Act, which would have prohibited political contributions from corporations and trade unions, was defeated.

On February 16, several campaign finance bills were introduced in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.

Introduced as a private member’s bill by British Columbia’s New Democratic Party Leader John Horgan, the “Get Big Money Out of Politics Act” legislation bans union and corporate donations to political campaigns, allows only individuals normally residing in British Columbia to make political contributions, and restricts the premier and cabinet ministers from outside income.

Member of the Legislative Assembly Vicki Huntington’s bill, “Cash for Access Elimination Act, 2017,” prohibits members of the Executive Council and their employees from attending fundraising functions, personally soliciting political contributions, or attending or inviting individuals and organizations to attend fundraising functions. Huntington also submitted to the Assembly the “Election Finance Amendment Act, 2017,” which bans corporate and union donations, caps political donations at $1,500 a year, and allows them to be received only from British Columbians. The Local Elections Campaign Financing Act is also amended by this bill.

Additional bills introduced yesterday include the “Banning Publicly-funded Campaign Advertisements, 2017,” which bans government advertising during the four months preceding a general election, the “Fairness in Financing Local Government Elections Act, 2017,” which amends the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act to eliminate union and corporate donations in municipal election campaigns, and the “Fixed Fall Election Amendment Act, 2017,” which amends the Constitution Act to move the general election from May to October.

On February 16, the “Lobbyist Registry Reform Act, 2017,” was introduced in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.

The bill restricts publicly funded organizations from pursuing lobbying activities, legislates a cooling off period of two years for public office holders and their staff and advisors, and calls for a review of the lobbying act every five years.

The legislation is a part of a package of campaign finance and ethics bills introduced by the New Democratic Party.

On July 8, Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson will conclude her appointed position with Canada’s federal ethics agency. Dawson has chosen not to seek reappointment as commissioner, according to The Hill Times.

Some critics had argued the possibility of a reappointment could have influenced Dawson’s impartiality with inquiries into the current Liberal government. Her appointment was to have ended in the summer of 2016, but was twice temporarily extended by the Liberal government.

Besides administering the federal conflict of interest laws for public office holders and members of the House of Commons, the Office of the Conflict and Ethics Commissioner provides confidential advice to the prime minister about conflicts of interest and ethics issues.

Rob Altemeyer, caucus chair for Manitoba’s New Democratic Party (NDP), will step down to focus more on issues within his constituency and his impending wedding.

Altemeyer’s resignation follows a lengthy two-day caucus discussion of a sexual harassment accusation against fellow NDP member Mohinder Saran.

Altemeyer stated he will remain the caucus chair until the NDP chooses a replacement.