Editor:
The recent public attack on the NDP by a Green and the NDP’s necessary defence were unfortunate. It is a diversion from what is a very real and significant issue, one that overlays this entire campaign – the ethical failings of the BC Liberals.
Corporate, foreign, union and unrestricted personal contributions are certainly a point of great concern. On this you have the NDP and the Greens with similar policies and the BC Liberals in the exact opposite corner. The question though is what damage has this done to the electoral process and the governing of the province? What can be seen with very little effort is that virtually every policy decision of the Liberals has a line that can be drawn to a donation. This goes from land deals to construction contracts to labour and employment law and to the privatization of services. In addition, even the very weak existing regulations have been breached. We now have an RCMP investigation and the appointment of an independent prosecutor.
It is hard to dismiss the implications when there are so many examples of ethical failures. To name a few there were the triple deleting of emails, the “quick win” scandal, the firing of 12 health researchers (and consequent and unfortunate suicide on one), up to and including the mind-boggling failure of the premier to appreciate her party stipend was improper. Even the Liberals’ executive director is expected to be absent this fall when she goes on trial in Ontario.
Can anyone believe such an ethically challenged party? Based on history, I would not be planning to spend any of the pre-election promised MSP savings that Liberals are advertising using your money. Remember “BC Rail will not be sold,” “there will be no HST” or “there will be two LNG plants by 2015?”
Paul Johnston, Roberts Creek
