The Chong Retains the Shame

B.C. Community Services Ida Chong has shot down Vancouver Councillor Raymond Louie's request for an investigation into the Nantich Policy Society's donations to Sam Sullivan and the 'Non-Partisan' Association (NPA). The Nanitch Society claims to promote the well being of "marginalized or disabled community members", which, based on their recent history, would amount to Sullivan himself: disabled by a skiing accident and marginalized by his callous arrogance. Nanitch donated $5,136 to the NPA in 2004 and were heavily involved in Sullivan's efforts to crush representative democracy in Vancouver by stopping a Ward system from being implemented.

Chong claims that because Louie can't name anyone who specifically donated to Nanitch for the purposes of funnelling the NPA, the province won't proceed with an investigation. This page says back up a minute: isn't that why there should be an investigation? Or at the least proposed campaign finance reforms to the Vancouver Charter, to fix the most corrupt municipal electoral system in Canada?

Of course not, because even if the motives of the Nanitch Society, the NPA, and Sam Sullivan aren't transparent, the motives of Gordon Campbell and the B.C. Liberals are. Raymond Louie is a former Union organizer, sits a little to the left of the Vision Vancouver caucus, and is seeking his party's nomination for Mayor. Picking a fight with him makes things that much easier for the right-leaning Allan De Genova, the Parks Board Commissioner who defected from the NPA. A De Genova nomination virtually assures the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) runs its own candidate for Mayor, splitting the left of centre vote, handing the keys to 12th and Cambie back to the NPA, and the world would be kept safe for Real Estate developers, Bully Capitalists, and Mercenary Fascists who have the run of this 'fair' city. Just the way the Lieberals like it.

Also, the crushing defeat of the NPA in the 2002 civic election by the Coalition of Progressive Electors was instrumental in revitalizing social democrats and socialists in the Lower Mainland and made them feel good about themselves after the Lieberals swept the province a few months earlier. That success echoed in the NDP's comeback from 2 to 33 seats in the 2005 election, making it more than possible than Chong and the Lieberals don't want to see that kind of history repeating itself going into their 2009 campaign.

British Columbia: The Best Place on Earth.....to get away with it.