Transparency

  1. Why an Accountability Bylaw?
  2. A Municipal Ethics Commissioner
  3. A Municipal Auditor General
  4. A Return of the Real Estate Registry
  5. Campaign Finance Rules

 

Why an Accountability Bylaw?
Calgarians demand the highest ethical standard from their politicians. Yet the same checks and balances that we insist upon at the federal and provincial levels do not apply municipally. There is no real estate registry. There is no auditor general. There is no ethics commissioner. There are no campaign finance rules. The mere perception that there may be unethical behaviour at City Hall shows that rules are needed.  Top of issue

 

A Municipal Ethics Commissioner
The City of Calgary does not currently have an ethics commissioner to advise local politicians on conflicts of interest or ethical issues. City Council recently voted on bringing in an ethics commissioner and all members of council supported the idea, except for Alderman Craig Burrows and Mayor Dave Bronconnier. Since council is already in agreement on this topic, it should be quite simple to move ahead with it.  Top of issue

 

A Municipal Auditor General
Without federal auditor general Sheila Fraser, Canadians would never have known about the sponsorship scandal. It's time Calgary joined the other cities that have adopted an office of the municipal auditor general. The auditor general would submit conflict of interest reports to ensure that politicians are held to the highest ethical standards. The auditor general would also submit value for money reports and ensure that city programs meet proper health, environmental, and safety standards. We need to ensure that city contracts are properly tendered and awarded in a fair manner. The City of Calgary spends over 2 billion dollars of taxpayers money every year - we need a way to make sure it's being spent properly in a fair and transparent way. Top of issue

 

A Return of the Real Estate Registry
While elected politicians usually conduct their business at the highest ethical levels, the only way to remove the perceived conflict of interest is to have them declare any property they own in a real estate registry. Votes taken on council can dramatically change the property value of real estate in Calgary so Calgarians need to know that their Aldermen and Mayor are not in a conflict of interest on any votes. Top of issue

 

Campaign Finance Rules
There are currently no campaign finance rules in place for municipal elections in Calgary. As a result, incumbents can build up massive war chests on the back of special interest groups and carry their funds over from one election to the other. The high cost associated with a serious challenge for office scares off many potential challengers.

As Mayor, Alnoor would impose a one dollar per enumerated voter spending limit for those running for alderman or mayor. To prevent undue influence, union and corporate donations would be banned and personal donations would be capped at $5,000. All candidates would need to submit audited financial statements and war chests would not be allowed to be carried over from one campaign to the next. Top of issue

 
Alnoor Kassam