Manitoba passes bill requiring election candidates to publicly disclose criminal records

Manitoba lawmakers passed a bill Tuesday that willrequire candidates to publicly disclose if they've pleaded guilty or been convicted of a crime.

Private member Bill 240, the Elections Amendment Act,will also require the chief electoral officer to publish the candidates' criminal pasts online through Elections Manitoba.

Candidates who don't do so could facea fine of up to $10,000 and a jail sentenceof up to a year.

The bill wasput forwardbyFort Richmond MLASarah Guillemard, who is a member of the governing Progressive Conservative party.

The Legislative Assembly agrees that openness and transparency strengthen the democratic process,"Guillemard said in a statement in a news release from the Manitoba PC Caucus Tuesday.

"Voters in Manitoba should be aware of the history of all candidates so they can make the best decisions possible."

Convictions as young offenders, pardons excluded

The bill is poised to get Royal Assent, at which point it will be part of Manitoba law.

Candidates will berequired to provide a statement of any crimes they've committed under the Criminal Code, Controlled Drugs and Substances Act,the Income Tax Act, or "any other law related to financial dishonesty."

They would not be required to disclose if they committed a crime as a young offender, or had been pardoned for a crime.

Criminal records are already publicly accessiblethrough the justice system.

Earlier this month, Guillemard dismissed speculation the bill is an attack on Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew, whosecriminal record has repeatedly been raised by political opponents.

Kinew has been open about his past run-ins with the law, including a conviction for impaired driving and for assaulting a cab driver in his early 20s more than a decade ago offences for which he has since received pardons.

He was given a conditional discharge in 2004 for an assault in Ontario, and was charged with assaulting his partner in 2003. The latter charge was stayed, although his former partner said last year she maintains Kinew threw her across the room.

At the time, Kinew said a law like the one described in the bill wouldn't have changed how he conducted his political career.

"Manitobans ought to know that real change is possible, that people can change their lives for the better. I think that's why all of us enter politics," he told reporters earlier this month.

The news release from the PC Caucus said the act "would make Manitoba the most improved province in Canada for candidate transparency."