Even BC Lib lobbyists sick of 'Wild West" of fundraising

[flamingfingers]

It's way past time to ban corporate/union and special interest funding of political parties:

British Columbia: The ‘wild west’ of fundraising

With no limits on political donations in B.C., the provincial Liberals raised an astonishing $12-million last year. One alarming source: Lobbyists are giving tens of thousands of dollars in their own name – and some power brokers are breaking one of the few rules the province has in place. Kathy Tomlinson reports

KATHY TOMLINSON
VANCOUVER
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, MAR. 04, 2017 7:28AM EST

A Globe and Mail review of public records found dozens of people who get paid to promote special interests also give tens of thousands of dollars every year – under their own names, not those of the interests they represent – to help B.C.’s governing politicians pay for their campaigns.

Many are registered lobbyists, whose job is trying to influence those politicians to make decisions that will benefit their clients.

Those unfettered donations would not be allowed almost anywhere else in Canada, because most other provinces and the federal government now have annual caps on how much individual donors can give. B.C. has almost no rules governing political donations, making it a holdout and an outlier and leading many critics to brand it as the “wild west.”

“It’s like you are getting strong-armed,” said one of four lobbyists and consultants The Globe interviewed, but agreed not to name because they fear their livelihoods could be affected.

If they do not donate when asked, some believe the party in power will shut them out, which would kill any chance to gain access or influence for the clients or employers they represent.

“You are paying not to be blacklisted,” she said. “The whole thing is smelly.”

Some of the unnamed B.C. Liberal donors The Globe talked to admitted that when they pay in their own name, they use the receipt they get for a personal tax credit, which is a maximum of $500 a year. If they recoup the donation from clients or employers, claiming that credit would be considered tax fraud.

The bottom line, several lobbyists say, is that they are tired of getting tapped for money, tired of having to go to endless fundraisers and tired of trying to compete with those who have deeper pockets.

Read more here:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/inv ... e34207677/

[flamingfingers]

BC Liberals’ stance on donations an insult to voters
GARY MASON
The Globe and Mail
Published Thursday, Mar. 09, 2017 2:00PM EST
Last updated Thursday, Mar. 09, 2017 4:34PM EST
18 Comments PrintLicense article
A parliamentary committee in Australia is expected to soon report on the fate of foreign donations to political parties. Many signs point to the group recommending their immediate abolition.

Foreign donations became an issue in the last general election when it was revealed that Chinese interests gave more than $5-million to Aussie politicians. It caused such an uproar that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull vowed these type of financial pledges would never be allowed again and that the only people who would be able to contribute money to political parties would be Australian citizens.

Most of the commentary on the appalling state of vital democratic tenets in B.C. has focused on the obscene degree to which the wealthy, through donations primarily to the governing Liberal party, have an outsized role in the outcome of elections. The rich also have exclusive access to the highest power in the province, Premier Christy Clark; all that is required is a healthy donation, say $10,000, to attend a private function at which Ms. Clark is the prized attraction.

It is an unconscionable situation that wouldn’t be allowed in some tinpot dictatorships.

But in B.C., the land where the government has no scruples, this is completely fair ball. The Liberals will take money from whomever is willing to fork it over, no matter how terrible it appears, no matter how unethical and morally bankrupt it is. Who cares if it compromises the province’s sovereignty?

Read more here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/ ... icle+Links

[Veovis]

AND?

Neither party will change this. The liberals sadly see no need or desire, and the NDP charge double the rates of the Liberals so certainly have no qualms about the practice.

I'm not against removing this, but no BC party is going to.

[flamingfingers]

^^With over 86% of BC residents demanding this change, and with the NDP presenting Bills SIX time to ban these donations and with Horgan clearly stating that one of his gov's first initiatives will be to pass legislation to effect this change, the NDP will definitely do so.

The ChristyLiberals are so arrogant that they sneer at the Greens and the NDP AND the voters in BC.

BC/foreign corporation to Christy: We'd like to lay another pipeline from Alberta to the Port of Vancouver. It may present environmental risks with pipeline leaks, more tankers plying the port and the possibility of tankers leaking oil onto Vancouver beaches, the waters in the Strait or elsewhere. Do we have your support??

Christy Clark: Absolutely, totally NO WAY!!

BC/foreign corporation: Well, we could perhaps talk about a significant donation to the ChristyLiberals over dinner so that we could present the details of our proposal.....?

Christy Clark: Well, perhaps it would be mutually beneficial discussion...

BC/foreign corporation: Heh, Heh, heh.......

[Veovis]

The NDP present for image with full knowledge it will go nowhere. Then charge double for the same crap as the Liberals, and if elected will "look into it" and never do a thing.

Hating the liberals is understandable, being willfully blind isn't.

[flamingfingers]

if elected will "look into it" and never do a thing.

And you know this how?

On the other hand, how many 'investigations' and 'studies' have the ChristyLiberals done - and have never done a thing??

Health care firings? Going on 5 years.
MCFD and 120 kids dead or injured in care last year?

Christy's 5 conditions for doing business in BC:
1. M
2. O
3. N
4. E
5. Y

[Urban Cowboy]

The NDP present for image with full knowledge it will go nowhere. Then charge double for the same crap as the Liberals, and if elected will "look into it" and never do a thing.

Hating the liberals is understandable, being willfully blind isn't.

It is understandable, when the hatred is so consuming, the affected is incapacitated to the point of being non functional.

[Urbane]

Flaming, I agree with you about the fundraising and the polls I've seen would suggest that the majority of people want union and corporate donations axed. The Liberals are too strong on arrogance and too light on transparency. However, the economy is strong, the budget is sound, and most importantly, the NDP doesn't have a set of policies that I support.

I will not vote for an an NDP candidate when the leader of the party says that he agrees with the bulk of the Leap Manifesto and that he'll bring in his own Leap Manifesto to BC. If Gary Doer were head of the NDP I'd most likely vote NDP to get rid of the Liberals but I can't do that with the BC NDP that's waaaaay out in left field.

While I don't agree with many of your personal attacks on Christy Clark I do agree with some of your other complaints, i.e. the legitimate complaints about governance. Too bad there isn't a viable alternative to the BC Liberals.

[Veovis]

Christy's 5 conditions for doing business in BC:
1. M
2. O
3. N
4. E
5. Y

Better than the NDP's 5 conditions

1. T
2. H
3. E
4. F
5. T

[flamingfingers]

Urbane wrote:

will not vote for an an NDP candidate when the leader of the party says that he agrees with the bulk of the Leap Manifesto and that he'll bring in his own Leap Manifesto to BC.

For openers, you can't vote for an NDP in your riding - they aren't running a candidate there; same as in my riding here, the Libs aren't running a candidate here.

For seconders, where did you get the impression that Horgan supported the LEAP manifesto?

Here is what he actually said:

The open letter to B.C. NDP leader John Horgan was from Jim Shepard, identified as the group’s chair and former CEO of Canfor and Finning.

“I implore you to reverse your support for the NDP’s Leap Manifesto,” it said. “Tens of thousands of British Columbians and their families would feel great pain if you implement the NDP’s Leap Manifesto.”

But Horgan has never endorsed it or its calls for a ban on new resource-extraction projects and an expedited transition to renewable energy, saying that it doesn’t reflect the values of British Columbia. The manifesto was released by author Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis last year before the federal NDP convention.

Last April, Horgan said, “It’s a document I don’t embrace personally. There are elements in the document that make sense and there are elements that make no sense for British Columbia.”

http://vancouversun.com/opinion/columni ... 1489029568

[Urbane]

^^ Didn't you see the video of Horgan that was posted earlier? He said that he agreed with the "bulk" of what's in the Leap Manifesto and he said that he would bring his own Leap Manifesto into BC if he becomes premier. He said that on the video. You can't deny it. As for the NDP in my riding, how do you know they aren't running a candidate? I've read that they haven't nominated one yet but that doesn't mean they still couldn't. But no, I won't be voting NDP. I do not support the Leap Manifesto.

ETA The quotes in the article that you linked to are from last year. Horgan NOW says that he agrees with the bulk of what's in the Leap Manifesto and that he will bring his own Leap Manifesto into BC. You can see him say that if you go to the BC Budget thread. The video clip was posted earlier today. Sorry, you can't go back to something that he said last year when he now endorses the "bulk" of the Leap Manifesto.

[flamingfingers]

^What video? There hasn't been a video posted on this thread, Urb...Much less one of Horgan recently saying he 'embraced' the LEAP manifesto. Maybe cut back on the scotch......

[Urbane]

^What video? There hasn't been a video posted on this thread, Urb...Much less one of Horgan recently saying he 'embraced' the LEAP manifesto. Maybe cut back on the scotch......

I've told you it's on the BC Budget thread, not this thread, and I've told you what he said. Go look at the video and then get back to me rather than pretending that the video doesn't exist!

[flamingfingers]

^^yeah I finally found the attack ad put out by the CC4BC shills... means nothing... it's an attack ad.

[lesliepaul]

Flaming, I agree with you about the fundraising and the polls I've seen would suggest that the majority of people want union and corporate donations axed. The Liberals are too strong on arrogance and too light on transparency. However, the economy is strong, the budget is sound, and most importantly, the NDP doesn't have a set of policies that I support.

I will not vote for an an NDP candidate when the leader of the party says that he agrees with the bulk of the Leap Manifesto and that he'll bring in his own Leap Manifesto to BC. If Gary Doer were head of the NDP I'd most likely vote NDP to get rid of the Liberals but I can't do that with the BC NDP that's waaaaay out in left field.

While I don't agree with many of your personal attacks on Christy Clark I do agree with some of your other complaints, i.e. the legitimate complaints about governance. Too bad there isn't a viable alternative to the BC Liberals.

Urbane...........you mention Gary Doer who for about 10 years was the NDP leader in Manitoba and then Ambassador to the United States for about 7 years. The NDP in this province would CERTAINLY have a different agenda and approach with him at the leadership.......it would be a "top to bottom" change to get rid of their current flock of idiots. Not just that, if Doer ran for the B.C. Liberals you would see a massive turn around of the corruption and self-serving attitude we taxpayers have to put up with.........and the constant lying. Doer IS one of the smartest politicians in Canada and has never shown an attitude like what our current sow of a premier displays daily.