Liberals change tune on donations
Liberals say they plan ban on union, corporate donations to political parties
VICTORIA — British Columbia’s Liberals say they are now ready to take big money out of politics after rejecting calls for political fundraising reform for more than a decade.
Attorney General Andrew Wilkinson said the government’s throne speech Thursday will include a plan to end corporate and union donations to political parties after it became apparent during last month’s election campaign that voters support the change.
“During the election campaign, all of us had the opportunity to hear directly from voters,” Wilkinson said Monday. “We’re reflecting the sentiment of British Columbians that it’s time to change the way political parties are financed.”
Before the election, the Liberals promised an independent panel that would report to the legislature on political fundraising, but Wilkinson said the government decided that process was “too slow.”
The Liberal party received more than $13 million in donations last year and was criticized for holding exclusive fundraising events at which donors paid up to $20,000 to attend dinners with Premier Christy Clark or her cabinet ministers.
The New Democrats received $6.2 million.
A special prosecutor was appointed days before the start of the campaign to help the RCMP in its investigation of possible Election Act violations over political donations to both major parties.
Wilkinson said the Liberals are calling on the Greens and the NDP to support the ban in the legislature so the new law can be implemented quickly.
The Liberals were relegated to a minority government with 43 seats in the 87-seat legislature.
The NDP and Greens, who both support fundraising reform, signed an agreement to defeat the Liberals in a confidence vote in the days after the throne speech, clearing the way for the New Democrats to form a minority government.
Selina Robinson, the NDP’s mental-health and addictions critic, said the Liberals are trying to hold on to power and can’t be trusted.
“I just don’t believe them,” she
said. “It’s like an epiphany suddenly hit them two weeks ago.”
The NDP has introduced six private member’s bills since 2005 calling for a ban on union and corporate donations to political parties, but the Liberals rejected each bill.
Green Leader Andrew Weaver could not be immediately reached for comment, but his press secretary, Jillian Oliver, said the Greens will consider supporting solid legislation from the NDP or the Liberals.
The Liberals also announced Monday that the throne speech will include a promise to raise welfare rates by $100 a month.
Social Development Minister Michelle Stilwell said the government wants to raise rates after freezing them for more than a decade.
Stilwell did not provide details about the increase other than to say it would take effect either in September or January. A single person on welfare in B.C. currently receives $610 a month.
An official in Premier Christy Clark’s government, who did not want to be named, confirmed the monthly $100 increase, estimated
to cost almost $107 million over three years.
Stilwell said the proposed changes are part of the government’s reaction to last month’s election that saw the Liberals relegated to a minority government.
“What we heard from people is they wanted to see more changes in the social programs,” she told a teleconference call on Monday.
The NDP’s Robinson said the proposed welfare rate increases appear to be part of the government’s attempt to hang on to power.
The Liberals haven’t raised the rates since 2007, and now that they face defeat in the legislature they are making promises they rejected for years and during the election campaign, Robinson added.
“This is about game playing,” Robinson said. “Christy Clark is making promises she knows she is not going to keep.”
The NDP promised to increase welfare rates by $100 a month during the campaign. Its agreement with the Greens includes a poverty-reduction plan and a pilot project to test a living wage to reduce poverty and homelessness.