VICTORIA (January 31, 2019) – Opposition Leader Andrew Wilkinson and House Leader Mary Polak have written to the Legislative Assembly Management Committee and Auditor General Carol Bellringer with 20 tangible, immediately-implementable actions to increase transparency and tighten oversight of legislative spending.

“British Columbians want us to fix this as soon as possible,” says Wilkinson. “The public’s trust in our institution has been badly shaken, and understandably so. We must work immediately to reassure the public that when their money is being spent, they will know how and why. Public dollars should be spent serving British Columbians – full stop. This is an opportunity for us to work together and reform legislative spending, and I am re-issuing my call to Premier Horgan and Mr. Weaver to work together to achieve this goal.”

Among Wilkinson and Polak’s proposals are: public disclosure of travel expense claims from legislative officers; regular, open meetings of legislative oversight committees; and a ban on non-emergency international travel without prior approval.

“Let’s move forward with common sense solutions for British Columbians,” says Polak. “We have to remember the reason we all came here – and that’s to serve British Columbians. Restoring public trust must be our top priority, and that’s why we’ve proposed immediate, actionable solutions. I hope we can set our political differences aside to carry out this very important work.”

Letter Below: