Re: “We need to ban big money from politics” (Feb. 1)
I was delighted to see Michelle Mungall’s editorial on banning big money from politics in the February 1 edition of the Nelson Star. This is a serious issue with significant implications. Ms. Mungall did a great job in outlining some of them. I encourage Nelsonites to check out the New York Times article on BC as the “Wild West of Canadian political cash” as it accurately describes how BC’s laws on election financing are the weakest in Canada.
Since October 2016 the BC Green party is the only BC party that has actually banned corporate and union donations. The BC Green Party is funded entirely by individuals. This is clearly something that citizens appreciate – the party raised more than its entire 2015 revenue in the last 3 months of 2016 after instituting the ban.
I heartily support the NDP’s efforts to introduce legislation to ban big money, but I would suggest that it is just political posturing in time for the upcoming May election. There is no chance that this legislation will pass. Meanwhile BC NDP leader John Horgan has continued to host cash-for-access events with hefty ticket prices, the same as the Liberals. I invite the NDP to show real leadership and join the BC Greens in banning big money donations to their party today. There’s nothing stopping them from doing so.
Kim Charlesworth
Green Party candidate
Nelson-Creston