Greg Dionne presents Victoria Elliott-Erickson of the Rose Garden Hospice Association with a $1,000 cheque at City Hall. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Campaign Finances

Dionne gifts portion of approximately $18,000 collected in campaign donations

Dec 1, 2020 | 2:40 PM

The Rose Garden Hospice Association got a boost from newly re-elected Prince Albert mayor Greg Dionne on Tuesday.

Dionne presented the association with a $1,000 cheque. The money was initially donated to his campaign by a union, but Dionne said he chose to redirect it because he does not accept campaign donations from unions or special interest groups.

“It’s a need in our community, a place for people to die in dignity,” Dionne told paNOW speaking about the hospice.

He applauded the association, formed in 2008, for their committment to making the project a reality.

Victoria Elliott-Erickson, secretary and corporate council for the Rose Garden Hospice Association, said $2.6 million – 60 per cent of the total cost of building and outfitting the facility – has now been raised and the association is hoping to break ground this spring.

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“We’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” she said. “And it’s great news for the board but it’s greater news for the Prince Albert area.”

Campaign financing

Prince Albert does not have a bylaw limiting campaign spending or requiring candidates to disclose donations, although the matter was debated in January.

Dionne explained he does not accept donations from unions or special interest groups based on his own personal code of conduct. In the 2016 election he said he re-donated four cheques. This year only one union gave him money. He said he believed the others “got the message.”

Dionne said he received around $18,000 in donations this election, largely from businesses or individuals. The rest of his $38,000 campaign he funded himself, he said.

“I received lots from businesses this year that I don’t do business with, or the city doesn’t do business with,” he said. “So I appreciate that, it means a lot to me because you can always count on people you do business with because they want to continue with your business.”

When asked if he would support a bylaw limiting campaign spending or mandating disclosure of donors, Dionne said yes as long as the restriction was reasonable. He added he would have to talk to other cities before deciding what kind of limit he would like to see.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom