Elections BC has issued a Port Moody council candidate a $150 fine for forgetting to include an authorization statement on her brochures promoting her candidacy.
Barbara Junker received 38.1 percent of the vote on Oct. 15 in the 2022 municipal elections, missing out on a council seat by less than two points.
Just before the election of Oct. 11, she contacted Elections BC, informing them she had accidentally forgotten to place the required authorization statement on 14,500 brochures that had already been distributed.
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Junker was required to compile copies of the brochures and her invoices for an Election’s BC investigation team, who requested she correct the non-compliant advertisements.
Monetary penalties for this offence under the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act can reach up to $5,000, but there were several mitigating factors, according to Elections BC.
The statements were not likely to have misled a reader, the lack of any authorization was a mistake, and Junker reported the error.
However, Elections BC’s director investigator noted it is Junker’s fourth time participating in local elections as a candidate and she should be aware of election advertising requirements.
