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Penticton  

Ashton blasts NDP bill

Over the next four years, British Columbians will see the Horgan government use about $27.5 million of taxpayers' money to support political parties, something that has Penticton Liberal MLA Dan Ashton up in arms.

On Monday, the NDP announced its anticipated campaign finance bill banning corporate and union donations. The bill also limits individual donations to $1,200 per year.

To fill that funding gap, the province has proposed using tax dollars distributed through a per-vote subsidy.

"I scratch my head in disbelief because the premier has said on numerous occasions that he would not bring this forward," Ashton said. "There has been a 180-degree turn and I don’t know if it’s because of his relationship with Mr. Weaver and the Green Party or whether it's a direct change coming from a new direction coming from the NDP."

He said having the public fund political parties is “just wrong.”

The Horgan government has stated the funding will be a depreciating over the next four years, but Ashton is skeptical.

"They say it will be a depreciating amount up to 2022, but they have gone against numerous things they have purposed in the election already," he said.

The new bill will cause an uproar among many British Columbian's, explained Ashton.

"To make people, through taxation or however they are going to purpose to do this, fund political parties through public dollars, I’m vehemently opposed to that," he said.



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