B.C. premier’s party dinners and stipend make reforms all the more urgent, group says

[B.C. Premier Christy Clark disclosed she gets a top up from the Liberal party in addition to her annual premier and MLA salary. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck]

Revelations that B.C. Premier Christy Clark receives a $50,000 stipend from her party, on top of her premier’s salary, makes it all the more urgent that the province reform its political fundraising rules and put an end to high-priced fundraising dinners with the leader, says an advocate for political reform.

Duff Conacher, co-founder of the group Democracy Watch and a visiting professor at the University of Ottawa, says Clark is in a conflict of interest if she benefits from the money raised by the party by offering exclusive and expensive access to her.

“It’s a benefit that is connected to your position. The money goes to the party but gets routed back to you in a re-election campaign. Therefore, it’s an illegal gift,” Conacher tells Yahoo Canada News.

“Even worse now that we know that some of the money directly goes back to her.”

The B.C. Liberals were already defending their fundraising. At the annual dinner earlier this month in Prince George, where two tickets at Clark’s table were available for $25,000 and two more for $15,000 each.

Now Clark confirms a report from the Globe and Mail that she receives the annual stipend, in addition to her $192,000 salary.

Conacher and B.C. New Democrat MLA Dave Eby have both filed complaints with the B.C. conflict of interest commissioner. The commission office will not comment on any complaints, even to confirm it has received them or is pursuing an investigation.

Dermod Travis, executive director of the group IntegrityBC, says he hasn’t bothered to file a complaint.

“It’s a significant and major concern but so is B.C.’s conflict of interest legislation, which is pretty well toothless and gutless,” Travis tells Yahoo Canada News.

Clark has told reporters that the stipend was no secret, part of public disclosure records since 1993. And she’s given no indication that the annual stipend will stop on her watch.

Similarly, the B.C. premier has been steadfast in defending the fundraising dinners she and her cabinet members attend.

“The NDP raise money with exclusive soirees and the B.C. Liberals raise money, as well,” she tells reporters.

“We all do that under the rules in the province. We’ve done it for a long time in British Columbia, and, you know, I think the issue for us is to make sure that we always separate our duties, our public duties from any sources of funding for our political parties.”

Clark says that separation is “utmost in my mind when we’re making decisions.”

Travis points out that the B.C. Liberals have raised nearly $108 million since 2005 — $70 million of it from businesses and corporations.

Five companies and one association have donated more than $1 million each, he says, including Encana Corp., the Aquilini Investment Group and Teck Resources Ltd.

“Elections are almost being bought and sold in this province and that’s not the way elections should unfold,” Travis says.

Prior to the last provincial election in 2013, the B.C. Liberals raised eyebrows with a $125-a-plate fundraising dinner in Calgary, attended by then-energy minister Rich Coleman and his successor, Bill Bennett.

In Ontario, similar revelations about Ontario Liberal fundraising dinners with the premier and cabinet members spurred Premier Kathleen Wynne to table legislation.

Travis says Clark doesn’t appear to be ready to follow suit.

“One premier demonstrates leadership and one premier who thumbs her nose at the electorate,” he says.

Democracy Watch has long championed changes in political fundraising rules that would eliminate corporate and union donations and cap individual donations. All levels of government should also ban out-of-province donations, Conacher says.

Quebec has the best model in Canada, he says.

“Christy Clark, it’s just going to get worse and worse for her. I think they’re underestimating the concern.”