The Editor,
Re. “Who should donate to election campaigns? Speak up” (The Tri-City News, June 15).
As per the referenced article, there will be a dialogue regarding campaign contributions at the Gallery Bistro in Port Moody.
But if one would really like to hear how all of council feels in regards to this issue, I would recommend coming out to the Monday, June 20 council meeting at Coquitlam city hall as councillors will be voting on a motion to ban corporate and union donations in municipal elections.
Why should Joe Q. Public be interested? And what does this meant to you?
The Coquitlam motion asks the Union of BC Municipalities to lobby the provincial government to ban corporate and union donations. If the province were to change election financing laws to do so, there would be less opportunity for city councillors to be swayed big donors.
How is this good for you? As a voter, you could feel more confident knowing that your elected representatives will be more engaged with the folks they represent and more critical of the parties that could be potentially damaging to the interests of the general populace.
What might this for the mean the democratic process and for future candidates? It would level the playing field by taking money out of the equation. It would open the door for more people to throw their hats in the ring to run for office because they wouldn’t need huge sums of money to run a campaign. It would create more transparency because voters would know the money raised by candidates won’t potentially have strings attached.
Some folks may think this is an issue here in Coquitlam — perhaps it is, perhaps it isn’t — but across our great nation, many Canadians believe that it is and in many provinces, other Canadians are banning these donations at both a provincial and civic levels.
So I urge you to make the time on Monday at 7 p.m. to drop in at Coquitlam city hall and have your voice heard on this pressing matter.
Mike Bell, Coquitlam
