Clark’s extra cash gets thumbs-down in poll
A majority of British Columbians believe Premier Christy Clark’s annual stipend from the B.C. Liberal Party is unjustified, a new poll shows.
The Insights West survey of 802 British Columbians conducted from May 15 to May 17 found twothirds of B.C. residents (or 66 per cent) believe the annual payout — which amounts to $50,000 on top of Clark’s $195,468.20 salary as premier — is unjustified. Most of those (44 per cent) said it was “definitely” unjustified.
Only 26 per cent of respondents said the stipend is justified.
Younger British Columbians and women were most likely to say the stipend is unjustified. Not surprisingly, 83 per cent of NDP voters said they are against the practice, while B.C. Liberal voters were split.
Insights West also asked respondents how much awareness they had of the recent news concerning the premier’s stipend. More than half of those polled said they are following stories related to the stipend “very closely” or “somewhat closely,” including 66 per cent of BC NDP voters and 57 per cent of B.C. Liberal voters.
The premier came under fire recently when NDP MLA David Eby argued the money violates B.C.’s Conflict of Interest Act because it provides a direct personal financial benefit to Clark from party donors who pay to see her at Liberal fundraisers. The Liberal party, however, denied the accusation and called the stipend a long-standing practice publicly reported on Clark’s annual MLA disclosure form.
Earlier this month, B.C.’s conflict-of-interest commissioner ruled Clark was not in a conflict of interest for hosting exclusive party fundraisers or receiving an annual stipend for leading the B.C. Liberal Party.
Respondents were asked whether they would like to see the party cancel the stipend to the premier, and most (68 per cent) said they want it cancelled, including 47 per cent who said it should be “definitely cancelled.” Twenty-two per cent said to leave it alone.
The margin of error for the online poll is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.