I know why the NDP wants it - that party has an expensive infrastructure to support. But it's not needed. The Green Party ran the last election (and all the others) with volunteers, voters who cared about the party. If the NDP can't do the same, too bad.
Hello Ian,
We appreciate your feedback. I also wondered when I first heard about the allowance, why parties can’t just quit cold turkey. After all - it worked for the BC Greens! It turns out, that approach could actually be really dangerous for our democracy. Other parties rely so heavily on big money that this bill takes away half their income. Any business owner will tell you that losing half your revenue all at once will pretty much put you out of business.
So the way I see it, the per-vote allowance gives all parties a chance to get rid of corporate donations right away, while continuing the essential work they do for democracy in BC - talking to voters, supporting MLAs and developing policy ideas. That’s one of the reasons our BC Green MLAs support the government’s bill. The most important thing is to get big money out of politics as soon as possible.
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