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The Odd Couple fundraiser
Letter to the Editor
Graham Thompson’s article in the Edmonton Journal (Jan. 17) said that Alberta conservatives helping to raise cash for the beleaguered B.C. Liberals was not so odd “because B.C. Liberals are not really liberals; they’re conservatives in liberal clothing.”
The organizers of the $125-per-plate dinner in a nice Calgary hotel, Andy Crooks and Rod Love, were hardly the Odd Couple. The Odd Couple were two members of the B.C. “Liberal” government—Deputy Premier and Minister of nearly everything, Rich Coleman; and Bill Bennett, Kootenay East MLA and Minister of Communities, Sport and Culture and a key player in Premier Clark’s re-election campaign.
The Financial Post reported that some funds raised will go to the B.C. Liberal Party and “A portion of the funds will be used to support swing ridings where many Albertans have vacation homes.”
Every democratic minded person, especially in the East Kootenay, has to think about what kind of democracy they want to live in and what they are willing to do to protect it. Ours is a representative democracy wherein we vote for someone to represent us in Victoria. Age, citizenship and residence are among the requirements for voting.
The views of some dinner attendees, as reported by CBC news, give me pause: “We have property out there and we’re taxpayers;” and “We should be paying attention.” Many Canadians work or own property in other provinces or even other countries; and while they pay taxes there, they do not expect to vote there.
It’s the two B.C. ministers’ actions that should worry us. B.C. Liberal Campaign Director Mike McDonald, speaking with the Globe & Mail on Jan. 16, said: “It’s tough raising money. You have to raise it where you think you can find it.” Hence, Bill Bennett and Rich Coleman in Calgary.
It raises the questions: Who is Bill Bennett representing? What is Bennett’s limit for Alberta funds? The Calgary fundraiser sets a dangerous precedent. In a Radio West interview, Kathryn Marlow asked the National Post’s western business columnist, Claudia Catteneo, if this was a common practice. “No,” she answered, “and they probably shouldn’t be doing this.”
Where goes our democracy when we fail to speak up? How much is our democracy worth? These are the questions facing the voters in Kootenay East.
William G. Hills, Ph.D.
Cranbrook
