The stain of ‘Wild West’ B.C. politics

Tin Vancouver he cartoon begins with a dark-haired woman travelling in the economy class of an airplane, one eye twitching as she endures seat-kicking from a child behind her, a sick passenger blowing his nose to her right, and a noisy iPad enthusiast to her left. An obligatory wailing baby can be heard in the cacophony of noise.

Amid this chaotic, and frankly familiar scene, the voice of the captain floats through the intercom with the message, “First Class is reserved exclusively for rich BC Liberal donors and highflying lobbyists. Unlike you, they’re enjoying easy access to the premier, massive tax breaks, and a government that works exclusively for them.”

The video is part of a BC NDP attack ad against the BC Liberals, and perhaps the best sign that the issue of “cashfor-access” political fundraising has reached its zenith in B.C. politics.

A New York Times article written by Dan Levin in January declared British Columbia the “Wild West” of Canadian political cash, where there remain few legal limits or rules on how much individuals or companies can donate. Meanwhile, a comprehensive investigation by Kathy Tomlinson in the Globe and Mail in March revealed the Liberals raised an astonishing $12.15 million in 2016, mostly from donations through lobbyists representing big business.

Last week, Dermod Travis of the non-partisan independent watchdog organization IntegrityBC, released the results of a year’s worth of research over those donations. The 197-page ebook entitled, May I take your order please?, was based on an analysis of public accounts submitted to Elections BC and then crossreferenced with in-kind treatment in the form of government contracts awarded to donors.

The term Travis came up with for those members who have donated more than $100,000 to the BC Liberals totalling $55.97 million, is the “177 club”.

“We’re talking about a very small number of people who have an incredible amount of clout with the BC Liberal Party through their donations,” said Travis.

According to the ebook, these 177 donors have received $74.4 million in government transfers and $3.5 billion in government supplier payments in return, including four companies that have donated in excess of $800,000 receiving 20 of the largest infrastructure projects in the province.

While the research looks at the years 2005 to 2016, a period of time over which the party raised $120.3 million, Travis says the campaign financing issue really arose in 2009 (an election year) when the Liberals were ostensibly “broke.” It was then that the party began really pushing cash-for-access with then-premier Gordon Campbell, earning more in the first quarter of 2009 than they had in all of 2006.

Travis says the situation has only worsened under the leadership of Christy Clark, who took over from Campbell in 2011.

“This has gone from being a political party raising enough money to satisfy its needs to a political party that is raising so much money now that, in fact, last year raised more money than the federal New Democrats and the Green Party combined by more than $4 million.”

But if this issue has been going on for so long, one might ask why it’s only surfacing now? Travis points to the aforementioned stories in the mainstream national media as shining a brighter light on B.C.’s politics.

“I don’t think that most people in B.C., or even in Canada quite frankly, fully appreciated the fact that the Liberals were charging some supporters $10,000 to sit down with the premier and have dinner.”

David Valentin, executive vice-president of Mainstreet Research, points to the rising cost of living in the province and the growing divide between the rich and poor.

“These cash-for-access things are important when voters perceive that they are beginning to have a negative impact on them,” said Valentin, whose company released a poll April 25 indicating the BC NDP have a 10 point lead on the BC Liberals.

The cash-for-access issue is gaining momentum among Metro Vancouver’s middle class, who are finding it next to impossible to afford a home. “When people hear this cash-for-access thing and they hear about all these developers who are giving money and who are being spotted at all this fundraisers with Christy Clark, it’s not that they’re upset with the cash-for-access but also about the result, which in their view is that nothing is being done about home affordability.”

To put this into context, Vancouver journalist Bob Mackin published a story April 7 on thebreakernews. com revealing a four-bedroom, four-bath Dunbar home was purchased by Christy Clark in 2016 for $3.688 million, $200,000 over asking.

While Travis insists the cash-for-access issue has definitely become part of the “ballot box question” on May 9, the problem won’t be solved by electing the BC NDP, which he notes has also been involved in their own fundraising controversies. Changing the pork barrelling price of doing business in the province will require wholesale electoral reform.

When asked to comment on allegations made in the ebook, the party did not change its view. BC Liberal spokesperson Emile Scheffel said: “The made-up claims from Dermod Travis suggesting there is a connection between donations and the awarding of government contracts is a baseless attack on the reputation of the public servants who make these decisions. As has been reported, Mr. Travis freely admits he has no evidence of wrongdoing. There is a clear and transparent system in place to ensure that politicians are not involved in these decisions and to get the best value for British Columbians.” B.C. Liberal Leader Christy Clark arrives for a leaders debate in Vancouver on April 26. The cash-for-access scandal has worsened under her leadership, says Dermod Travis of the independent watchdog organization IntegrityBC.