Class-action lawsuit aims to clamp down on B.C. ads

A White Rock man has filed a class-action lawsuit aimed at getting the B.C. government to stop spending millions on what he and his lawyers are calling partisan advertising.

David Trapp, representative plaintiff in the case, was angry at watching government ads running on TV while he was recently recovering from cancer.

He and his lawyers David Fai and Paul Doroshenko are seeking to have a judge impose an injunction on the ads, given the looming provincial election campaign.

They claim the government has spent up to $15 million on the ads and want the court to certify the case as a class-action suit, arguing the Liberals have consistently engaged in taxpayer-funded partisan and non-essential advertising since being elected in May 2013.

Trapp, 63, a retired TransLink employee, told reporters Monday the thing that bothers him the most about the ads is he is helping pay for them and, secondly, the Liberal party on its own has raised millions in donations.

“So why am I paying for them to tell me how great British Columbia is? If it’s so great, then why do we have to have it shoved down our throat every 15 minutes on Global News?”

Doroshenko called the suit a public-interest litigation and told reporters he and Fai will not be working on the case on a contingency basis. They have launched an online fundraising campaign in a bid to defray the expected legal costs.

“Right now they’re distorting the electoral process by taking this money and using it for their own purpose,” Doroshenko said of the Liberal government.

“We want to stop that as quickly as possible.”

The suit, which names both the B.C. government and the B.C. Liberal Party as defendants, identifies several offending advertisements, including ads dealing with a government plan on jobs and a plan to promote the liquid natural gas industry.

Doroshenko said the ads are breaching the government’s fiduciary obligation to taxpayers with the Liberal party getting a “huge” benefit because they don’t have to spend money on advertising.

“We say they’re converting the taxpayer money into their own money for their own purpose,” he said.

Said Fai: “We say that’s a misappropriation of public funds and a breach of the public trust ... We want the B.C. Liberal Party to pay the government back the money spent on their ads.”

The lawyers pointed to a 2014 report by B.C.’s auditor general that reiterates a 1996 report from the AG recommending the government establish a policy that prohibits the use of partisan political information in public government communications.

An email from the B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education, responsible for government communications and advertising, defended the ads.

“The issues should be addressed in the election and not in the courtroom,” said the email.

“Government has informed British Columbians about important services and programs.”

The email said government has provided information, including details about the opioid overdose crisis that claimed the lives of more than 900 people last year, as well as changes to Medical Services Plan premiums.

“Government worked with the Office of the Auditor General to ensure that all information campaigns fulfil clear criteria: Be factbased, inform the public about government programs, services, policies or priorities ...”

Doroshenko said he hopes to bring the injunction application before a judge within the next two weeks.