HALIFAX—Elections Nova Scotia is calling for changes that would require politicians to take a leave of absence while running for other elected positions, though the agency says the councillor who prompted the review broke no rules.

The recommendations came out Wednesday in a report from Elections Nova Scotia (ENS), which detailed a complaint and subsequent investigation into the campaign of Steve Craig, a Halifax regional councillor who is running for a seat at the Nova Scotia legislature.

The provincial riding of Sackville-Cobequid has been vacant since last November, and Craig said in December that he planned to run for the Tories while maintaining his duties as a councillor. He won the nomination for the party in February, and the writ for the byelection was issued on May 15.

On May 16, the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party filed a complaint with ENS alleging that Craig had broken provincial election rules. The riding has been an NDP stronghold since the 1980s, and the party has nominated schoolteacher Lara Fawthrop to run in the byelection.

The complaint included two allegations: that Craig used a municipal newsletter to advertise his campaign and that he issued a $20,000 cheque to a community group to win votes.

Richard Temporale, the chief electoral officer (CEO) of ENS, dismissed the first allegation because the newsletter was sent before the election period began. He launched an investigation into the second.

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According to the ENS report, Craig gave the $20,000 cheque to the Sackville Lake and Trails Association at its annual general meeting on May 15, the day the government called the byelection. Craig issued the money from the City of Halifax District Capital Fund, a discretionary fund that allots $94,000 to each councillor annually to distribute to community groups.

The report says there were several potential problems with the cheque, including that it could have been used to buy votes and that the delivery of the funds could have constituted a form of election advertising.

The investigation cleared Craig of the alleged breaches, concluding that he gave the money as part of his council responsibilities without meaning to promote his election bid.

Still, the report highlighted that just by doing his normal council duties, there was the potential for Craig to influence the electorate in his provincial riding.

“The CEO believes that although Mr. Craig took efforts to ensure that the funds were provided under his role as councillor, and that he took efforts to not appear to be promoting himself as a candidate in the byelection, that the likelihood of a ‘spillover’ benefit effect in delivering the cheque at that time from his role as councillor to his role as a candidate was high,” the report says.

Even though Craig’s actions didn’t constitute a breach of the Elections Act, ENS spokesperson Naomi Shelton said in an interview that the CEO felt “clarity in this situation in the future would be helpful so that it’s clear to the public what role a candidate is acting in when they’re campaigning.”

The CEO’s recommendation for the province is “to require elected local officials and members of other legislative assemblies to, at minimum, take a leave of absence from their other elected position during the election period.”

The report says that the ability to distribute municipal funding, like Craig had, “adds a distinct advantage to candidates who are also members of council that is not afforded to other candidates.”

The CEO also recommended that HRM require councillors to take a leave of absence and restrict their access to discretionary funds during campaigns.

HRM and the Nova Scotia Department of Justice both said they are in the process of reviewing the recommendations.

Jamie Masse, the provincial secretary for the NDP, said in an emailed statement that the ENS report shows Craig “went against the spirit of the law” in donating municipal funds during the election campaign, garnering “an unfair advantage to influence voters.”

“Officials with Elections Nova Scotia have recommended changes to the law so in future councillors running for provincial office would at the very least take a leave. Craig should take a leave now to ensure there are not further concerns in the Sackville-Cobequid byelection.”

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In response to the NDP’s statement, Craig told Star Halifax: “They have their opinion, and I’m not going to comment on their opinion.

“I’m focused on the voters and the electorate of Sackville-Cobequid. I’m not focused on the other parties at all.”

The Sackville-Cobequid byelection will take place on June 18. Nominations closed on Wednesday with five candidates in the running. Craig and Fawthrop are facing Michel Hindlet for the Liberals, Anthony Edmonds for the Green Party and David Boyd for the Atlantica Party Association of Nova Scotia.

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