I am not sure why letter writer Joe Sawchuk (“MLA expense claims are a joke,” Citizen, Aug. 24) chose to highlight only NDP MLA expenses when he could have easily found the same expense claims submitted by the entire BC Liberal MLA caucus. He suggests that claiming for mileage reimbursements are not allowed, and if that is the case then all elected MLAs, including the premier, are guilty.
One expense I found amusing was that of Attorney General Suzanne Anton for some $200 for a clown. No kidding, but appropriate.
However, if Mr. Sawchuk was really interested in government spending he could focus on the bigger ticket items like the $330 million set aside to forgive up to 75 per cent of the mining industy’s power bills. Does he know of any other sector of the B.C. business community, especially small business owners, who receive such a generous gift from the taxpayers of B.C.? Obviously small business owners have not ponied up to the BC Liberal election campaign fund like the mining industry has. Or perhaps he could look into why the BC Liberals provide royalty and other tax credits to the natural gas industry in B.C.? Since 2003, under the BC Liberals, more than $2.5 billion of taxes and royalties that should have ended up in the government treasury from the gas industry have been forgiven.
Eliminating the $108.16 claimed by Anton for mileage reimbursement won’t do much for improving the deficits challenging almost all of the school districts in the province nor will it help to improve wait times for essential diagnostics or surgeries nor improvements to providing more GP’s nor better hospital emergency infrastructure, etc, etc.
Phil Le Good
Cobble Hill