The new NDP provincial government could be forgiven for a somewhat messy attempt at fixing the so-called Wild West of political donations. There was so much rot left by the BC Liberals that any stab at reeling in the problem was bound to create controversy.
Two issues have arisen. First, the $1,200-per-person contribution has been deemed too high and critics may have a point. Quebec was forced to drop its per-person contributions limit to $100 a year because people were gaming the system, so there is some room for B.C. to move here.
Second, many don’t like the fact that taxpayers will have to foot the bill for the expenses of political parties for several years. Surely, the money has to come from somewhere because elections don’t come for free, and don’t forget, under the current system, they are subsidized by tax credits. The plan now is to reimburse half of the election expenses, and provide a subsidy that gets phased out in 2022. Too rich? Perhaps.
Maybe B.C. should adopt Quebec’s approach and eliminate the tax deduction instead, and use money saved to match party funds up to a specific amount while also further reducing expense limits.
It’s time B.C. became a leader in fair elections, not a cesspool where government business is done for the highest bidder.
