Latest news with #EligibilitytoHoldPublicOfficeAct
Global News
7 days ago
- Business
- Global News
Conservatives push back on new B.C. law banning MLAs from holding local office
The BC Conservatives are pushing back on new legislation that bars sitting MLAs from simultaneously holding another elected office. The NDP's Eligibility to Hold Public Office Act passed last week with the support of the BC Greens, and will force BC Conservative MLAs Misty Van Popta and Korky Neufeld to resign, respectively, from positions as a Township of Langley city councillor and Abbotsford school trustee. Van Popta told Global News she felt the NDP had targeted her with the legislation. 1:56 Vancouver voters choose 2 progressive city councillors in byelection 'It's not something (my constituents) wanted. I heard loud and clear at the doors when I campaigned openly that I would temporarily hold both positions to not trigger a byelection, that I was willing to work extra hard for them to save taxpayer money,' she said. Story continues below advertisement 'I was playing within the rules, I was playing within what was allowed and what was done for decades before me, this is not a new concept, an MLA holding a local position.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The bill was authored by Esquimalt-Colwood NDP MLA and former Sooke city councillor Darlene Ratchford. Ratchford, who resigned her municipal role upon election to the legislature, said she was surprised to learn quitting the local job wasn't mandatory. 'British Columbians expect their MLAs to show up and participate and that was the intention of this bill. I was actually quite surprised when I was elected as an MLA I just assumed you had to step down from local government,' she said. Ratchord said her bill was to ensure that MLAs were giving '110 per cent' at the legislature, and to close a 'loophole' that allowed them to collect two paycheques. She added the new law brings B.C. in line with other provinces like Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba in banning dual mandates. 1:59 Vancouver byelection advance voting sees record turnout 'Thirteen of us (municipal officeholders) were elected during the provincial election as MLAs and 11 stepped down and did the right thing,' she said. Story continues below advertisement But Neufeld said by forcing the resignations, the province is now requiring Abbotsford and Langley to hold byelections with just over a year before the next municipal election. They're estimated to cost $300,000 for the school board post and $500,000 for the township councillor. 'Let the local municipalities, the local school boards where people are elected to define whether a person should resign and trigger a by-election, ' he said. 'It's overreach in my opinion for the province to mandate this, and now our school board is going to have to fork out $300,000. Well you tell me where $300,000 would stretch in a classroom.' No dates have been announced for the Abbotsford and Township of Langley byelections. British Columbians will next go to the polls for their municipal elections in the fall of 2026.
Winnipeg Free Press
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
New law forces B.C. legislator to quit her ‘part-time' job as municipal councillor
VICTORIA – A B.C. Conservative legislator has lost what she called her 'part-time' job as a councillor after a new law banning MLAs from also serving as municipal representatives came into effect. Misty Van Popta represents Langley-Walnut Grove in the provincial legislature, but lost her job as a municipal councillor in the Township of Langley in the Fraser Valley on Thursday when the Eligibility to Hold Public Office Act came into effect and forced her to resign. 'I'm obviously disappointed, but not shocked,' she said after the passage of the law. 'When you see that bill being presented, and you know that the government has the balance of power, you know it is going to pass.' Van Popta was elected as councillor in 2022, but didn't step down after being elected to the legislature last year, drawing criticism from the provincial NDP. The NDP's Darlene Rotchford, who tabled the new law as a private member's bill, said legislators needed to give '110 per cent' to their jobs, and can't do that if they are trying to hold down another. Van Popta – whose photograph no longer appears on the township's website – said her decision to hold two elected offices at the same time had precedent and was always meant to be a 'temporary solution.' Van Popta added that she was planning to resign as councillor in 2026, the year of the next municipal elections, to save her municipality the cost of a byelection. The last general municipal election in the Township of Langley cost about $500,000. Van Popta's Conservative colleague Heather Maahs quit her Chilliwack school board position after becoming an MLA last year. The school board byelection in March cost an estimated $100,000. Van Popta said she felt that the NDP singled her out, and she was able to prove she could do both jobs. 'There is just no evidence to substantiate the fact that I haven't been working 100 per cent as an MLA,' she said. She said that being a municipal councillor in her community with a population of about 162,000 was a 'part-time job.' Van Popta said being a councillor with the township is not the 'same thing as being a municipal councillor in the City of Vancouver' or other large community. 'I have demonstrated over the last seven months that it was doable,' she said of her two jobs. Rotchford said the bill was not focused on anyone in particular, but meant to close a loophole. 'This is something that shouldn't be allowed,' Rotchford said in the legislature on Wednesday. 'We are ensuring that all (MLAs) are giving 110 per cent in closing that loophole, when you are an MLA in the province of British Columbia, similar to other provinces across the country.' There is no rule preventing federal members of Parliament from serving as councillors. Richmond Coun. Chak Au was elected as an MP representing Richmond Centre-Marpole in April. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2025.
Global News
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Global News
B.C. MLA forced to quit ‘part-time' job as councillor under new law
A BC Conservative legislator has lost what she called her 'part-time' job as a councillor after a new law banning MLAs from also serving as municipal representatives came into effect. Misty Van Popta represents Langley-Walnut Grove in the provincial legislature, but lost her job as a municipal councillor in the Township of Langley in the Fraser Valley on Thursday when the Eligibility to Hold Public Office Act came into effect and forced her to resign. 'I'm obviously disappointed, but not shocked,' she said after the passage of the law. 'When you see that bill being presented, and you know that the government has the balance of power, you know it is going to pass.' 1:56 Vancouver voters choose 2 progressive city councillors in byelection Van Popta was elected as councillor in 2022, but didn't step down after being elected to the legislature last year, drawing criticism from the provincial NDP. Story continues below advertisement The NDP's Darlene Rotchford, who tabled the new law as a private member's bill, said legislators needed to give '110 per cent' to their jobs, and can't do that if they are trying to hold down another. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Van Popta – whose photograph no longer appears on the township's website – said her decision to hold two elected offices at the same time had precedent and was always meant to be a 'temporary solution.' Van Popta added that she was planning to resign as councillor in 2026, the year of the next municipal elections, to save her municipality the cost of a byelection. The last general municipal election in the Township of Langley cost about $500,000. Van Popta's Conservative colleague Heather Maahs quit her Chilliwack school board position after becoming an MLA last year. The school board byelection in March cost an estimated $100,000. Van Popta said she felt that the NDP singled her out, and she was able to prove she could do both jobs. 'There is just no evidence to substantiate the fact that I haven't been working 100 per cent as an MLA,' she said. She said that being a municipal councillor in her community with a population of about 162,000 was a 'part-time job.' Story continues below advertisement 5:10 Langley addiction treatment centre seeks citizen support Van Popta said being a councillor with the township is not the 'same thing as being a municipal councillor in the City of Vancouver' or other large community. 'I have demonstrated over the last seven months that it was doable,' she said of her two jobs. Rotchford said the bill was not focused on anyone in particular, but meant to close a loophole. 'This is something that shouldn't be allowed,' Rotchford said in the legislature on Wednesday. 'We are ensuring that all (MLAs) are giving 110 per cent in closing that loophole, when you are an MLA in the province of British Columbia, similar to other provinces across the country.' There is no rule preventing federal members of Parliament from serving as councillors. Story continues below advertisement Richmond Coun. Chak Au was elected as an MP representing Richmond Centre-Marpole in April.
Toronto Star
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
New law forces B.C. legislator to quit her ‘part-time' job as municipal councillor
VICTORIA - A B.C. Conservative legislator has lost what she called her 'part-time' job as a councillor after a new law banning MLAs from also serving as municipal representatives came into effect. Misty Van Popta represents Langley-Walnut Grove in the provincial legislature, but lost her job as a municipal councillor in the Township of Langley in the Fraser Valley on Thursday when the Eligibility to Hold Public Office Act came into effect and forced her to resign.
