Dear Editor,
A committee of the B.C. government, after public consultation, has recommended specific spending limits in city and municipal elections, and the government is about to legislate them. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation objects (Opinion, Burnaby NOW, Oct. 30), saying limits will disadvantage individual candidates and encourage the formation of slates.
We have a better idea. The Canadian constitution says we are all equal; from this we deduce that all individuals should have an equal opportunity to affect legislation. Thus, campaign expenses should be limited to contributions from individual voters only, and that each voter should be limited to an amount that just about anyone can afford, something like $50 to $100.
As well, each local government should be required to distribute statements from all the candidates, as the City of Burnaby did before the last election.
David Huntley, Burnaby/New Westminster Citizens for Voting Equality
