Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West is speaking out after being notified that foreign governments will no longer be able to sponsor receptions at Union of BC Municipalities conventions.
Wednesday, the UBCM confirmed that it agreed with a panel's recommendations to ban sponsorships form foreign governments although other sponsorships would be allowed to keep costs for delegates affordable.
Craig Hodge, a Coquitlam councillor and a member of the UBCM executive, said the decision followed a survey of delegates at the recent convention.
"We surveyed the membership at the convention and the report has come back to the board and the key finding of that report is that sponsorship plays an important role in keeping the costs of the convention affordable to delegates but that sponsorships wouldn’t include foreign governments," Hodge said.
In an interview with The Tri-City News, West said he was pleased with the decision, saying it was the result of people expressing their concern to mayors and councillors.
"The public agreed, and I think they spoke up quite overwhelmingly and that’s why this decision has been made," West said.
The mayor was particularly outspoken against the UBCM accepting $6,000 from the govrenrment of China to sponsor a reception for delegates. He said UBCM shouldn't accept the money because of diplomatic issues with China, including the detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor who were detained shortly after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested for an extradition procedure.
But West told The Tri-City News money shouldn't be accepted from any foreign government and acknowledged the UBCM executive for doing the right thing.
"I believe that it is just simply wrong that a foreign government that has its own agenda is allowed to pay and in exchange for that money gets access to mayors and city councillors whose job it is to represent and work in the best interests of our residents and citizens. I see a significant conflict between those two things," West said.
PoCo city council also sent a resolution to the UBCM, calling on the UBCM to stop foreign sponsorship. In a Tweet Wednesday, West relayed his support for the UBCM move.
Happy to share I’ve been informed that @UBCM will no longer being accepting $ from foreign govts. Thank you to those who stood by me on this matter of principle. The credit goes to regular citizens who spoke up loudly & made their voices heard. We can make a difference! #bcpoli
— Brad West (@BradWestPoCo) November 27, 2019
