An administrative penalty of $1,500 was issued to Prince George-North Cariboo MLA Sheldon Clare.
It was related to the 2024 provincial election and was for accepting anonymous
Section 188 of the Elections Act states that a candidate, leadership constestant or nomination contestant must not, in relation to any one election or contest, accept more than $3,000, in permitted anonymous contributions.
In this case the report indicates that Clare accepted more than $4,000 over the limit in anonymous contributions.
Clare’s financial agent Gary Blair confirmed the following information to Elections B.C.:
- The anonymous contributions were collected by “multiple volunteers and some of the campaign team and handed to Sheldon Clare for deposit” in Quesnel at a meet and greet townhall on July 5, 2024, and at a booth at Billy Barker Day between July 18 to 21, 2024.
- All anonymous contributions were made in cash and under $50.
- This was their first time as a financial agent, and they tried to ensure they managed everything to the best of their abilities.
In assessing the penalty, the agency made several further points including:
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- Accepting anonymous contributions above the legislated limit gives a candidate an advantage in that they do not need to collect the required information to ensure the contributions are from eligible sources.
- Accepting contributions above the limit reduces transparency in the campaign’s financing.
- You did not have any due diligence measures in place to prevent the acceptance of anonymous contributions over the limit.
- The investigation did not reveal any deliberate attempt to circumvent the legislation. • You received notice of the compliance rules.
- You have not previously been the subject of a monetary penalty under the Election Act.
- Your campaign has been cooperative with our investigation.
Clare issued a statement saying “my agent and I duly reported those donations, and we fully cooperated with Elections BC. I thank the Chief Electoral Officer for the diligence of her team in educating us about the limits.”
