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Letter: Campaign finance reform is needed in Coquitlam

The Editor, British Columbia has been referred to as “the wild west of politics” for our relaxed regulations regarding campaign donations to provincial parties.
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The Editor,

British Columbia has been referred to as “the wild west of politics” for our relaxed regulations regarding campaign donations to provincial parties. There are also issues at lower levels of government.

Two main issues for residents of Coquitlam surround developer donations to city council and the development of Burke Mountain. Digging into political donations to Coquitlam councillors, I came across a troubling trend: The majority of donations to council candidates during the 2014 municipal election campaign came from developers. (Editor’s note: As reported by The Tri-City News in February 2015.)

One developer, Wesbild Holdings Ltd., stood out, for donating to every councillor’s campaign. Burke Mountain LP also donated to every councillor’s campaign, except Coun. Bonita Zarrillo’s, and every councillor who received donations from Burke Mountain LP voted in favour of the Burke Mountain expansion.

From Wesbild and Burke Mountain LP combined, every councillor received a total donation of $2,500, with the exception of Coun. Zarrillo, who received a donation of $1,500, and Mayor Richard Stewart, who received $9,000.

(I also discovered on Election BC’s website that Wesbild Holdings and Burke Mountain LP both list Hassan Khosrowshahi as a director. With a net worth of $1.16 billion, Mr. Khosrowshahi, the founder of Future Shop, is one of the richest people in Canada. In addition to Wesbild and Burke Mountain LP, he is also affiliated with a number of other companies that have donated $777,356 to municipal and provincial politicians, and is one of the BC Liberal party’s biggest donors.)

Back in November of 2017, Coquitlam council decided to send a letter to Andrew Weaver, leader of the BC Green Party, to express its disappointment in what it perceived to be him going back on his word regarding the implementation of campaign finance reform. At the time, Mayor Stewart and a number of councillors also spoke out publicly against the changes to campaign financing, arguing that the changes would prevent lower income and marginalized folks from entering politics.

From my experience, running for the Greens in the last provincial election as a marginalized person with a limited income, and with no influential corporate and union donations, the changes introduced by the B.C. government may not be perfect but they’re on the right track, and we will see candidates who compete on a more level playing field and politicians who are more accountable to their constituents.

I look forward to seeing our upcoming election in Coquitlam provide more opportunity for candidates, whether they are wealthy and/or connected to corporations and unions, or not. I also hope to see B.C. more fairly represented, under a proportional representation system, following the fall referendum.

Nicola Spurling, Coquitlam