With a final five weeks back in Victoria before this Spring election, there is a lot to talk about.
The last month has been dominated by the big money influence over this BC Liberal government. My New Democrat colleagues and I have repeatedly asked questions about a variety of government decisions that correspond to big donors’ influx of cash to the BC Liberal Party as well as the new RCMP investigation looking into it.
Even though we asked many questions, the BC Liberals refused to answer. This lack of accountability is why we just need to ban big money from politics. We desperately need to restore public confidence in government decisions and get rid of the embarrassing “wild west” corrupt reputation Christy Clark has created for us. That’s why John Horgan introduced a bill to ban big money from politics for the sixth time. And despite our begging the BC Liberals to pass it, they refused.
It’s time we ensured everyone was doing the right thing with campaign financing and following the same rules that build confidence, transparency and public accountability. Once the laws change, government will have no political debts to donors and we can all be assured decisions are not influenced by big money. New Democrats want to change the laws immediately.
As the New Democrat Deputy House Leader, I also worked with my colleagues to bring forward debate on ways to solve the affordable housing crisis, instituting $10/day childcare, growing sustainable jobs in BC, and building a clean energy grid that actually reduces emissions while making big polluters pay.
To elaborate on some of the ideas we’re putting forward in Victoria, I started a Facebook Live show called Sofa Chat. Check out my Facebook page to see the five interviews I did with colleagues about what we were doing in the House. Lots of people are watching and saying how much they like it as a way to learn about what’s going on.
The last week in Victoria saw the arrival of a petition with 61,526 signatures in support of Jumbo wild. It was so amazing to present this petition to all MLAs. I can’t recall ever seeing one with more support brought to the floor of the Legislature.
After four years of doubling down on keeping Jumbo wild, I asked one last question of the BC Liberals, and that was to fold up the fake town and put the money in its bank account toward real projects in the Kootenays. Sadly, the Minister said he wanted to see Jumbo Glacier Resort “come to fruition,” but as we all know, the Kootenays will never let that happen.
It was a busy and full five weeks serving you and our province in Victoria. This being my last column before the election, let me say it is such an honour to bring our values and your voice to Victoria. Thank you.
