Keeping school board elections fair for all

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This article was published 24/01/2025 (298 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A fundamental tenet of our democracy is the value of free and fair elections. In Manitoba, however, there is a real threat to the democratic functioning of our public school boards by third-party interference in school trustee elections.

Presently, the provincial government does not have legislation to regulate financial, goods and services contributions for school board elections. As a result, school board elections are susceptible to election interference by individuals and corporate organizations that exist both within and outside the province.

At the federal, provincial, and municipal levels of government, election financing legislation ensures elections are fair and not influenced by big money. Without the same type of legislation for school board elections in Manitoba, third parties are able to unfairly influence the results of elections.

In the absence of legislation, there is a wide range of individuals and organizations who have the potential to fund election campaigns of school board candidates, as well as provide in-kind goods and services contributions. This kind of activity by third parties is perfectly legal within the present legislative environment.

School board election campaigns involve a process of organizing a broad network of constituencies, including individuals, parents, residents, organizations, Indigenous and ethnocultural communities, members of unions, businesses and religious groups to support school trustee candidates at school board elections.

This type of participation should take place through mobilizing members of these sectors to get involved in the school board election process, and not based on the election campaign funding role played by corporate entities or organizations to tip the scale of influence.

Manitoba is out of step with other provinces in our country when it comes to school board election financing legislation. The only other provinces that do not have legislation are New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

The November 2024 provincial throne speech acknowledges this vulnerability regarding school board elections in Manitoba. The throne speech states that the provincial government will further promote freedom and democracy by “introducing legislation to protect our elections and democracy from third-party and foreign interference.”

As well, the throne speech identified that “Manitobans may be surprised to know that in 2024 not all First Nations can vote in school board elections. We are going to change this so everyone has the right to vote.” Legislation will be introduced to provide on-reserve First Nations band members with the right to nominate and vote for school trustee candidates.

The NDP government is to be commended for addressing these long-standing school board governance issues.

Guiding principles of school board election financing legislation should be based on: (1) transparency — accountability to the public; (2) accessibility — minimizing barriers for community members to run for school board; (3) evidence — based on the best practices of school board election financing legislation in other provinces; and (4) precedent — consistency with election financing legislation for federal, provincial and municipal levels of government.

A review of the best policy practices of the other provinces regarding transparency for school board election financing legislation identifies that prohibiting corporate, union and out-of-province non-resident contributions are key elements of the legislation. As well, campaign spending limits and the public disclosure of campaign contributors is important.

Accessibility is addressed in the other jurisdictions by making sure that the campaign financial disclosure statements required at the end of election campaigns are simple and straightforward, with user-friendly reporting templates to facilitate the reporting requirements. Potential barriers involving onerous reporting expectations are minimized and streamlined.

Manitoba is an outlier among the provinces when it comes to legislation to protect and promote free and fair school board elections. These contemplated changes to the Public Schools Act will bring our province in step with the rest of the country regarding school board election financing legislation.

Just Elections, a newly developed coalition of organizations and individuals, supports the provincial government’s recent announcement in the throne speech to enact legislation to protect school board elections from third-party interference.

The coalition includes education stakeholders, organizations and community members who are committed to working with the provincial government in this upcoming spring legislative session to develop and pass legislation for school board election financing, as well as the right for all on-reserve First Nations peoples to vote, in time for the next school board elections in 2026.

Kathy Mallett is the first Indigenous woman elected on the board of trustees of the Winnipeg School Division and Order of Manitoba recipient, and Liz Ambrose is former chairperson of the Winnipeg School Division. They are co-chairs of Just Elections.