Liberal MLA Harry Bloy may be finding some hockey tickets under the Christmas tree if this holiday season is anything like the last.
According to the latest MLA public disclosure statements, Bloy, the MLA for Burnaby Lougheed, received two Grey Cup tickets and four Canucks tickets, valued at $1,310 total, courtesy of Scotiabank. On Dec. 15, 2011, Pacific Western Brewery also donated eight Canucks game and Christmas party tickets, for an estimated value of $2,000. In all, Bloy received $3,310 in gifts, making him the "most gifted" of Burnaby's four MLAs.
Richard Lee, the Liberal MLA for Burnaby North, listed his MLA salary and allowances as well as income from one of his sons, who works at CMW Insurance.
(Lee doesn't get any of the money, but because his 20-year-old son works and lives at home, his income has to be reported.)
Lee listed numerous assets: residential property in Burnaby, mutual funds and RRSPs. The only gift he received was an unframed Chinese calligraphy piece, from artist Yu Jo Gao.
According to the Members' Conflict of Interest Act, politicians must reveal sources of income, assets and any gifts they receive valued at more than $250, and the latest public disclosure statement released cover September 2011 to September 2012.
New Democrat MLAs Kathy Corrigan and Raj Chouhan did not report any gifts, but their declared sources of income and assets give us a glimpse of their financial profiles.
Chouhan receives a pension from the Hospital Employees' Union on top of his MLA salary and allowances. He also owns property in Burnaby and holds some mutual funds.
Besides her MLA pay, Corrigan listed a pension from the Canadian Union of Public Employees and her husband's salary under sources of income. Her husband Derek is compensated as mayor of Burnaby, as a director with the Municipal Finance Authority and Metro Vancouver and for his work with TransLink's mayors' council. Kathy also listed a number of RRSP investments between her and her husband, as well as his inactive law practice and shares he holds in Airtest Technologies.
According to last year's public disclosure statements, Bloy also received more gifts than any other local MLA, and Pacific Western Brewery also gave him a pair of hockey tickets.
Bloy did not reply to the NOW by press time, but Scotiabank's Deborah Clark said the bank sponsors many sports and cultural events and periodically invites people from the communities where they have operations. Paul Mulgrew from Pacific Western Brewery, a Burnaby-based company, said the company donates to many causes, including philanthropic ones, and is non-partisan.
