This morning Christy Clark was interviewed on CFAX 1070 in Victoria. She made three statements about B.C. New Democrats that were blatantly untrue:
Public financing of political parties
“There are only two ways to raise money [for political parties]. One is through private sources… The other way is to take out of people’s taxes. Which is what the NDP are saying they want to do.”
The Truth: Christy Clark knows there are many examples of political financing systems that rely solely on individual donations, including the system currently in place at the federal level, implemented by Stephen Harper.
John Horgan and B.C.’s New Democrats have long advocated to take the big money out of politics, and will introduce legislation to do so for the sixth time when the legislature resumes sitting this month. That means an end to corporate and union donations, so only individuals can donate to political parties. We have never advocated for a system that includes public financing. (Source: http://bit.ly/2jsRNDP)
Running a dirty election campaign
“I know the NDP are all saying they want to make this a dirty campaign, kind of an American style import.”
The Truth: It was Christy Clark’s own cabinet minister, Bill Bennett, who said ““I anticipate the ugliest campaign we’ve ever seen — and the ugliness will come from the NDP.”
In fact, John Horgan is quoted in the same article saying “We’re going to be aggressive on the government’s record… But it’s not good enough to focus only on the government’s failures. You need to give people optimism and hope that things will be better.” (Source: http://bit.ly/2k3Vq1I)
Raw log exports
“The NDP are saying they want to ban all raw log exports right now… just a blanket ban all of a sudden, which is their very heartfelt position at the moment, would be so bad for so many families.”
The Truth: John Horgan has never called for a blanket ban on raw logs. He has said we need to end the raw log export free-for-all that has worsened since Christy Clark became premier, with 30,000 forestry jobs lost in B.C. on her government’s watch. Horgan said “The only logs that leave B.C. should be the logs we can’t use in B.C. communities, in B.C. mills and B.C. wood-product manufacturing.” (Source: http://bit.ly/2k8iT5Z)
Bonus: The most true statement Christy Clark made today:
“We didn’t put as much effort into the Island [in the last election] as I think we probably should have.”