Fines issued for unauthorized advertising during B.C.’s 2020 election

Elections B.C. has issued three fines penalties for violations of the Election Act involving advertisement authorization. The offences happened during the 2020 provincial election.

The three cases involved the subjects failing to include an authorization statement in election advertisements. The penalty amounts vary based on the circumstances of each case, such as the reach and cost associated with the advertisements.

The B.C. Green Party has been ordered to pay $1,000; Norm Facey, the B.C. Liberal candidate in North Island has been fined $250; and Jane Thornthwaite, the B.C. Liberal candidate in North Vancouver-Seymour has been penalized $50.

The advertisements in question involved the B.C. Green Party taking out a two page ad in the Times Colonist newspaper in Victoria without an authorization statement. Facey ran an advertisement in the Campbell River Mirror newspaper without an authorization statement, while Thornwaithe had produced 16,898 campaign flyers that did not contain authorization statements.