A recent New York times article that called BC the ‘Wild West’ when it comes to money in politics seems to have struck a chord with the BC NDP.
“In 2016, based on information that the Liberals released, we’ve been able to determine that 185 donors to the BC Liberals gave $6 million,” NDP leader John Horgan said at a media event today. “That’s fully half of the money raised by the BC Liberals last year.”
Horgan alleges those donations have shaped the governing party’s policy.
“The only meaningful tax reform that we’ve seen from the BC Liberals since they were elected in 2013 was a billion dollar tax break to the wealthiest people in BC. So those 185 donors are getting a good return on their investment in the BC Liberals.”
He had some strong words for Premier Christy Clark on the issue and addressed Deputy Premier Rich Coleman’s dismissive reaction to the NYT article.
“It’s not funny that those wealthy donors are getting tax breaks from the government of British Columbia. It’s not funny that those British Columbians that are struggling every day to meet the increased costs brought about by BC Liberals, they’re not able to influence their politics because of the overwhelming amount of money raised by big corporations.”
Horgan says he’s been trying to get big money out of BC politics since 2005. Horgan became the party’s leader in 2014. Today, he renewed the call to ban big money from provincial politics.