VICTORIA B.C. – Today during his address to delegates of the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) 2016 convention, Andrew Weaver, MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head and leader of the B.C. Green Party, announced that the B.C. Green Party will institute a ban on donations of any kind from corporations and unions. The party’s new political finance policy will take effect immediately. It was passed unanimously by Provincial Council, the member-elected governing body of the B.C. Green Party.
“We need leadership that places the interests of the people of British Columbia — not organized union or corporate interests— first and foremost in decision-making,” says Weaver.
“Take the recent Mount Polley experience. The corporation that operates the mine is a substantial donor to the B.C. Liberals; the union representing the workers at the mine is a substantial donor to the B.C. NDP. Whose interests are being served? Who is there to represent the people of British Columbia?
“The acceptance of this practice is undermining every sector in our province. I am tired of waiting for the B.C. government to do something about it. I am tired of listening to the official opposition say they will change the system only if they form government. That is not leadership.
“Real leadership doesn’t come from doing what is easy. It is built on doing what is right. We are a party of the people, for the people and that will be mirrored in our funding structure.”
According to an Insights West poll conducted for the Dogwood Initiative in April, 86% of British Columbians want a ban on corporate and union donations in place before the May 2017 general election.
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Media contact
Mat Wright, Press Secretary, Office of Andrew Weaver, MLA
+1 250-216-3382 | [email protected]
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