The government introduced a bill Monday that would see foreign nationals or foreign-controlled corporations pay an additional property-transfer tax of 15 per cent on the purchase of residential property in Metro Vancouver. The tax money will be put into a new fund for housing and rental programs.
Any effort to make housing more affordable or to increase the rental supply is welcome, but the legislation isn’t much more than tinkering. High prices and low rental vacancy rates are the results of demand exceeding supply, a situation not likely to be changed substantially by government intervention.
It’s too bad the government didn’t take the opportunity to make full use of this special session and legislators’ time by passing legislation banning political donations from corporations and unions.
How hard could it be? Government lawyers could have easily crafted a bill in time for the session. It is not a complex issue.
It’s what the majority of the people want. A 2010 poll found three-quarters of British Columbians favoured contribution limits, and two-thirds wanted a ban on union and corporate donations.
During a TV talk show last month, Martyn Brown, who served as chief of staff to former premier Gordon Campbell, gave a blunt assessment of political financing in B.C.
“For the Liberals, the housing industry, construction industry, real estate, the liquor industry, energy industry, certainly the mining industry, big forest industry — all gave exceptional amounts of money, and they got exceptional attention,” Brown said.
“No corporation, no industry, no union gives the level of money that they give to politicians without expecting special consideration in return, and they do get it.”
It’s beyond naïve to think big money doesn’t steer politics.
Yet it seems that’s how the B.C. Liberals see it. In 2010, as the Local Elections Task Force was hearing recommendations on campaign finance reform, Bill Bennett, minister of community and rural development at the time, took issue with the implication that money buys influence.
“You don’t buy influence because you give a large donation,” he said. “You give a large donation because you believe in the person for the job, and probably that candidate encapsulates your world view more so than the other candidate. The assumption or belief that somehow or other you are buying influence is actually quite insulting to anyone who is in public office.”
The insult is not to people in office, but to the people on the street who feel increasingly marginalized in the democratic process when big business and unions can buy the attention of politicians. Polls have determined that almost 90 per cent of Canadians believe people with money have special influence over government.
And even if all politicians were of such sterling character that they could completely disregard the source and amount of all contributions, there would still remain the perception that money talks, often in very demanding tones.
Premier Christy Clark has ordered her party to be more transparent about contributions, requiring that all political donations be made public every two weeks. B.C. now requires only a once-a-year disclosure, and legislation is being prepared to speed up that process, but it couldn’t be completed in time for the summer session.
Clark’s move is modest progress, but a major leap ahead would be an outright ban on corporate and union donations. There would be no better way to state clearly that B.C.’s government is not for sale.
