Premier announces she will no longer collect stipend

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NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Premier Christy Clark will no longer be taking a $50,000 stipend from her party.

“Because it has become a real distraction. What I have asked the party to do is get rid of it. Let’s ask instead for reimbursable expenses,” she told reporters Friday evening while in North Vancouver to announce the renaming of a local peak.

It’s a move she encourages all party leaders to make.

“I would encourage the NDP to do this as well, which is ask instead for reimbursable expenses, because the NDP leader also gets his expenses paid. So reimburse those and make sure it’s all accounted for in the party on a case-by-case basis. I think it’s a better way to do it,” Clark says.

Her decision to stop collecting it comes just a week after a scathing New York Times article that was critical of the stipend and fundraising activities that involve the premier.

With a provincial election just around the corner, Clark was asked if the move will be seen by NDP leader John Horgan NDP as a campaign ploy.

“He always says everything is political. You know what? The most political thing you can do is accuse someone of being politcal. Expect the New Democrat opposition to criticize. They’re in the business of criticizing,” says Clark.

The stipend formed part of two conflict of interest complaints filed against Clark last year by an opposition member of the legislature and a citizen advocacy group.

The province’s conflict of interest commissioner later cleared the premier of wrongdoing, saying the money was a political benefit, not a personal one.

The stipend, which had been awarded to BC Liberal leaders since 1993, was on top of Clark’s $195,000 salary.

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