You can add last fall's municipal election here in Delta to a growing list of examples why campaign finance reform is needed.
There has been a move afoot for several years now to impose campaign contribution limits at both the provincial and municipal levels, but little has been accomplished in that regard. There have been repeated calls, including from our own MLA on several occasions, for a ban on corporate and union donations in an attempt to restore integrity in the democratic process and give political influence back to the people.
Financial disclosure documents for last November's civic election that were released by Elections BC this week provide yet another example of why that chorus of voices continues to get louder.
The list of campaign contributors to the Delta Independent Voters' Association reads like a who's who of Delta's development community. Century, Shato, Polygon, Dayhu, Alpha... pick just about any major project in these parts and you'll find the proponent on DIVA's list of contributors.
To be clear, there's absolutely nothing wrong with these donations, which are perfectly acceptable under the current regulations governing municipal elections. However, the optics of such an arrangement can leave people with the uneasy feeling that the public's voice is taking a back seat to corporate interests.
Maybe the decisions at the Delta council table would have turned out the same way regardless of whether campaign donations had been made or not. Maybe it's simply a case of business types supporting like-minded people running for public office.
Whether concerns over undue influence as a result of campaign contributions are real or merely perceived, they create a dark cloud over the governing process, one that simply doesn't need to be there.
How does the person speaking at a public hearing that didn't donate a nickel to any candidate feel when they're offering an opinion on a project put forth by a developer who has given thousands to politicians' war chests? Again, maybe everyone receives a fair shake and the right decision ultimately gets made, but the saying about perception being the reality certainly applies here.
That can all be addressed by simply limiting contributions to a nominal amount or by banning corporate and union donations altogether. Restrictions exist at the federal level and in many provinces for a reason. It's about time they were embraced here in B.C.
