Deputy Premier Rich Coleman says the BC Liberal Party will co-operate with an investigation of its fundraising practices, but he鈥檚 confident the party is following the rules.
Coleman said Monday he is confident that the party follows the rules for collecting donations, but it鈥檚 up to donors to follow the rules and not charge personal donations to someone else.
鈥淚f you read the [Election] Act, that鈥檚 not allowed,鈥� Coleman said. 鈥淏ut we don鈥檛 know that when we receive a cheque. If somebody buys tickets online, they buy them with a credit card, just like they can for the NDP. They don鈥檛 disclose to us if they鈥檙e actually collecting that money back from somebody else, and the act is very clear, you can鈥檛 do that.鈥�
B.C.鈥檚 election agency has begun an 鈥渙pen-ended鈥� investigation of donations to the BC Liberal Party, after lobbyists spoke publicly of giving money personally and then expensing it back to companies that hire them to represent their issues to the provincial government.
鈥淭hese alleged contraventions include indirect political contributions and making or accepting political contributions improperly,鈥� B.C. Chief Electoral Officer Keith Archer said in a statement released Monday. 鈥淭he scope of Elections BC鈥檚 investigation into this matter is open-ended and will depend on how our review progresses.鈥�
Evidence of Election Act violations will be referred to B.C.鈥檚 Criminal Justice Branch to determine if charges are warranted, Archer said.
The Globe and Mail reported on the weekend that lobbyists say they were pressured by the party to buy tickets to fundraising events, which they reported as individual donations and in some cases charged back to their clients.
The BC Liberals have been under scrutiny for the unlimited corporate, union and personal donations allowed by provincial law, after the federal government and other provinces moved to restrict donations to individuals with an annual maximum.
Coleman said his government has no plan to impose new spending limits on individuals, or to bar donations from corporations and unions as the federal government and other provinces have done.
