VANCOUVER— Councillor Andrea Reimer will try for a third time to compel her colleagues to reveal who their consulting clients are, a move her political rivals say “specifically targets” them.

“The way it works right now, if I work for Ballet BC … I have to disclose that source of income,” said Reimer, a Vision Vancouver councillor, using the dance organization as a fictitious example. “However, if I have a consultancy and my only client is Ballet BC, I don’t have to disclose that — I only have to disclose my consultancy firm.”

Under the current rules, Reimer said, there is a risk that elected officials could obscure a direct financial benefit through a consultancy.

Reimer’s motion is scheduled to come before council on May 1. She previously brought a similar motion forward in November; in response, all four Non-Partisan Association councillors walked out, stating they couldn’t take part in the debate because they didn’t know whether or not they were in a conflict of interest.

That’s because all four councillors — Melissa De Genova, George Affleck, Elizabeth Ball and Hector Bremner — own or work for consultancies. De Genova lists Eventure Holdings as an income source on her financial disclosure form. Affleck is the owner of Curve Communications, a marketing and communications firm. Ball is co-owner of Eos Lightmedia, a lighting design company. And Bremner is vice-president of public affairs at PACE Group, a public relations and lobbying firm.

Affleck said he believes current conflict of interest rules are already clear: councillors are required to declare when they could financially benefit from a decision and recuse themselves if necessary, and they have to identify which client is the cause of the conflict.

“So I’m not sure what her intention is with this motion, more than to be a nuisance motion targeted at specific councillors,” Affleck said.

But Reimer said a recent conflict of interest complaint against Bremner highlights why there needs to be tougher disclosure rules. She believes more stringent rules would help bolster public confidence in the political system.

“In the past this wasn’t much of an issue because we didn’t have councillors who were consultants, but we’re now in a position where four out of 10 of us have external employment as consultants of one kind or another,” she said. “That seems to me that it’s a pretty significant issue if 40 per cent of your council has obscured financial interests.”

Affleck pointed out that Geoff Meggs, a Vision Vancouver councillor from 2008 to 2017 who is now chief of staff to Premier John Horgan, also owned a communications consulting firm during his time in office.

Affleck said he hasn’t yet decided whether he’ll recuse himself when Reimer’s motion comes up at council. StarMetro asked De Genova and Bremner for comment (Ball is recovering from surgery, according to Affleck), but did not receive a response by press time.

Reimer’s motion asks council to approve sending the request to the Union of B.C. Municipalities for consideration during the next UBCM meeting in September; it would then go to the province if adopted by the UBCM.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

As to why Reimer chose that more roundabout route rather than sending the request directly to the minister of housing and municipal affairs, Reimer said she’s been advised to seek input from other elected officials throughout B.C. first to see if they share her concern.

Neither Reimer nor Affleck are seeking re-election. B.C.’s next municipal election takes place on October 20.

Jen St. Denis is a Vancouver-based reporter covering affordability and city hall. Follow her on Twitter: @jenstden

Read more about: