Dogwood News This Week: dirty money
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
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In a not-so-distant past, bribery in B.C. politics was legal.
Any corporation or wealthy donor anywhere in the world could donate unlimited money to politicians in this province at both the municipal and provincial level.
This power over our democracy diluted the power of individual voters, eroded public confidence in decision-making and ensured special treatment for some of the worst corporate actors in B.C. including the company responsible for the Mount Polley... mining disaster, big logging enterprises and Site C contractors.
But thanks to the work of local reporters and democracy-watch groups including IntegrityBC and Dogwood, the laws were changed. No longer can oil and gas companies or real estate marketers donate millions from Alberta, Texas or Malaysia.
Then came the Cullen Commission and an inquiry into where the flow of dirty money into B.C. was coming from — who was bringing it in, how it was being washed and the countless ways it has eroded our communities.
The inquiry’s final report was issued this week, after a multi-year investigation and hundreds of witnesses testified. It found an underworld of money laundering happening right under our noses. But the commission claims it didn’t find corruption within the government.
Dirty money has infiltrated a range of high profile industries in B.C., from housing to gambling to buying a car. And it all happened under our government’s watch. Some of the same people in politics today have benefited from a system of bribery, dirty money and corruption.
This is why closed doors must be broken open and light needs to shine into the darkest corners of our political system. Dogwood’s successful Ban Big Money campaign was a step along the path, and that same dedication to truth and democracy is still deeply ingrained in our work to decarbonize and decolonize B.C.
There are times democratizing B.C. feels hopeless and messy and unsolvable. But more than that, there’s hope for a better, healthier system. And remembering what’s possible is important now more than ever with so much at stake.
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More on the findings from the Cullen Commission’s money laundering inquiry released this week. -CBC
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30 days in jail for the crime of defending B.C. against climate change. -Burnaby Beacon
- Pipelines spill oil, which is why they need insurance to operate. Trans Mountain is trying to triple the amount of oil it carries while cheaping out on the insurance. That means when it spills, taxpayers could be on the hook. -National Observer
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Why it’s time to Sue Big Oil. -CBC
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Meet the ‘pipeline police’: the special unit of the RCMP created to clear the way for B.C’s major resource extraction projects. -APTN News
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50 years ago, Secwepemc leader George Manuel got a last-minute invitation to attend the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. The connections he made there helped spark a global Indigenous movement focused on land rights and the protection of ecosystems fundamental to human survival. -The Georgia Straight
- Remember those early days of the pandemic when human activity came to a standstill and we saw Earth begin to recover from our pollution, and it felt like a wake up call to do better? Well, that opportunity is slipping away as oil and gas companies reassert their power over our leaders. -The Energy Mix
- The Australian Energy Market Operator is asking eight million customers to switch off their power for two hours a day to prevent blackouts as the country grapples with a major energy crisis. Here’s why. -The Guardian
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