A province-wide campaign to shed B.C. of its “Wild West” reputation on political donations is hoping to take root in Richmond.
Vancouver resident Tomoko Kawaguchi, a homemaker who emigrated from Japan just over 10 years ago, said campaign finance is at the root of many of the social issues we observe today in B.C.
And so, with the help of friends, she’s created the website Call4Change.ca.
The website allows someone to enter their postal code to receive the phone number of their local MLA, in order to voice opposition to the nearly limitless donations coming in from corporations and unions. Kawaguchi believes calling a politician is most effective, as calls are more difficult to ignore.
The website also provides an “easy to use” script for callers.
“I just observe, attending town hall meetings; I read a lot of articles. I feel the more and more I know the more I do something,” said Kawaguchi
An Angus Reid Institute poll on March 24 indicated 76 per cent of British Columbians agree the current Liberal government is “only interested in helping its political donors.”
Liberal candidate Linda Reid (Richmond South Centre) said at a debate last week that there are limits on what a party can spend on a local riding — that being about $146,000 last election, in addition to about $5.7 million for a party’s overall spending.
Dermod Travis of the watchdog organization Integrity BC has opined that the limits are “meaningless.”
Travis said the expectation of donations from companies vying for government contracts is imperiling free enterprise and effective regulation of industries in B.C.
