Yesterday, we were very pleased to see Cariboo North independent MLA Bob Simpson push political accountability another significant step forward.

Simpson, who has been leading the charge on this in the BC Legislature, put his travel expenses online for all to see. This may not seem like much, but it’s more than any BC elected official has ever done. It’s a great step toward our end goal: complete MLA expense and office transparency. The taxpayers picking up the tab deserve it.

Simpson’s efforts will rub off on other MLAs, as no one wants to look unaccountable. In the BC Liberal leadership race, fourth-place finisher Mike de Jong took the unprecedented step of releasing a list of his donors BEFORE this big vote. This prompted bronze medallist George Abbott to quickly do the same. Once those two went, the two frontrunners who raised the biggest bucks—eventual winner Christy Clark and runner-up Kevin Falcon—had no choice but to release their donor lists. No one could afford to look as if they were hiding anything.

We are very hopeful the same pressure will occur here. The travel reimbursement forms Bob has posted are used by every member. There is no good reason why other MLAs couldn’t follow suit. And we’ll keep pushing them to do so!