It’s the principle

Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: February 09, 2010 7:00 PMI

Nobody has ever implied that Mayor Wayne Lippert is breaking the law when he sits down to watch a Sweden/Germany hockey game during the Olympics. In fact, provincial legislation dictates that elected officials must claim gifts over $250. As the two tickets from the B.C. Lottery Corporation are valued at $280, there is nothing to hide. But the problem is that a publicly owned corporation is handing out free tickets to elected officials at a time when it has been slashing funding to parents’ groups at schools and non-profit organizations that provide important services to the community. And the implication from those cuts shouldn’t be lost on Lippert. After all, the City of Vernon dug deep last fall and gave $30,000 to the Teen Junction Youth Centre and the Junction Literacy Centre because gaming money was uncertain. In another case, council handed over $15,000 to the Kalamalka Highlanders’ youth band because BCLC wasn’t stepping up to the plate.

Now the argument can be made that BCLC can do what ever it wants because it’s not directly using taxpayers’ dollars to purchase seats at Olympic events. It’s money generated at casinos or the selling of lottery tickets. However, the corporation is not independent from government, particularly as gaming has been expanded in recent years to top up Victoria’s coffers. And when times got tough and the government needed more cash, BCLC started redirecting funds by taking an axe to grants. This fact was substantiated in the fall when Eric Foster, Vernon-Monashee MLA, spoke about the reduction in grants to parents’ groups. “There is only so much (money) to go around and we had to make tough decisions,” he said of the economic downturn and shrinking revenue for the government. “I feel bad about it and other members of caucus feel bad about it but there had to be some tough choices.”

But those tough choices didn’t extend to the Winter Olympics, which most average British Columbians can’t attend because of the high cost but politicians are able to attend for free. Not for a moment am I suggesting the Games should have been cancelled because it’s something B.C. committed to years ago and a deal’s a deal. But there is a difference between actually hosting athletes for competition and adding unnecessary activities like torch relay parties, travelling exhibits and, of course, free tickets. When rank-and-file British Columbians are being asked to tighten their belts, why haven’t government agencies done the same? And as a direct result of these policies, communities across the province have had to pick up the slack. That’s why Lippert should have taken a stand and turned the hockey tickets down. He could have sent a message to the B.C. Lottery Corporation and the government that their treatment of local taxpayers and non-profit groups is completely unacceptable. It may just be $280, but it’s the principle of the matter. But by accepting the tickets, Lippert, intentionally or not, has condoned the actions of the B.C. Lottery Corporation and given the impression that downloading is OK.