Real estate and construction companies were some of the most generous donors to the B.C. Liberals with some donors pushing well over $100,000 according to the 2008 Annual Financial Report.
Amongst the highest donors were Madison Pacific Properties and The Maple Bay Townhomes Corporation each donating $100,000.
According to Business Week Magazine, Madison Pacific Properties “engages in the ownership, development, and operation of industrial and commercial real estate properties,” the majority located in Metro Vancouver.
As of December 31, 2007, the company’s property portfolio contained 1.1 million square feet of net rentable area in industrial properties; 395,708 square feet of net rentable area in highway-commercial properties; and 81,149 square feet of rentable area in office properties.
In 2007, the company generated over $19.8 million in revenue.
Sam Grippo, chairman of Madison Pacific Properties, is also president and CEO of Madison Venture Corporation, a company that operates business and tourist publications as well as community newspapers. Madison Venture also gave to the Liberal party with a donation of $10,000.
Grippo is also chairman of Glacier Ventures, which had company shares acquired by Madison Venture. Glacier Ventures owns daily and weekly community newspapers including Business in Vancouver and, also in B.C.:
Whistler Question, Squamish Chief, Lillooet Bridge River News, the Sunshine Coast Reporter, the Powell River Peak, Nelson Daily News, West Kootenay Weekender, Cranbrook Daily Townsman, Kimberley Daily Bulletin, East Kootenay Weekly Extra, East Kootenay Weekly Weekender, Trail Times, Fernie Free Press, Grand Forks Gazette, Grand Forks Boundary Bulletin, Creston Valley Advance, Kamloops Daily News, Kamloops The Extra, Prince George Citizen, Prince George This Week, Prince George Extra, Alaska Highway News, North Peace Express, The Northerner, Peace River Block News, The Regional Advertiser, The Northern Horizon, The Mirror, Prince Rupert Daily News, Merritt News, Cariboo Advisor, Quesnel Advisor, 100 Mile House Advisor, Coast Mountain Advisor, the Real Estate Weekly and Kodiak Press.
Another member of the 100K club is businessperson Milan Ilich who donated $253,050.
Ilich is president of Progressive Contracting Ltd., a construction and development company. Progressive Contracting made a separate donation of $9,750 to the B.C. Liberal party. Ilich is also former owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps and is related to Olga Ilich, Richmond Centre MLA. Prior to being MLA, Olga Ilich was an executive vice-president of Progressive Contracting.
Ilich has been a loyal contributor to the Liberals donating over $70,000 in 2005 and in 2006 went on to donate over $17,000. He donated over $53,000 in 2007.
Ilich’s company, Progressive Contracting, recently submitted a bid of over $323,000 to the Greater Vancouver Sewage and Drainage District to provide “earth moving equipment.” Ilich and his wife Maureen have given to a number of causes through the Maureen and Milan Foundation. Both the Richmond Hospital Foundation and the Richmond Community Centre Transportation Program are previous causes to which the foundation has given.
Other donors of the real estate and construction company variety included Dunkley Lumber, a lumber product corporation that distributes all over North America, its location focused in Prince George, B.C. The lumber distribution company donated over $40,000 to the Liberal party in 2008.
In 2008, Dunkley Lumber constructed “a fully automated lumber grading system, along with additional trimsaws, a second sorting system, autostacker, banding and paperwrapping stations. This investment has provided significant gains with respect to efficiency, recovery, consistency and flexibility,” said the Dunkley Lumber webpage.
Dunkley Lumber also donated over $35,000 in 2005 and just over $20,000 in 2007. Delta Land Development, located in Vancouver, donated $42,000 last year. The company is a North American branch of the Delta Group, an international real-estate development company with offices located in Singapore, London and Shanghai.
The company is responsible for the construction and completion of Callitso, a massive apartment suite on Coal Harbour and a number of other projects within B.C. including the Conservatory in Oakridge Vancouver.
Delta Land Development donated over $30,000 in 2006 and in 2007, the company donated $33,000 to the B.C. Liberals.
Rennie Marketing System, a company responsible for handling the assets of real-estate properties and the manufacturing and selling of condominiums all over B.C. donated just under $30,000 to the B.C. Liberals.
The company has donated thousands of dollars to the Liberals in the past, with over $30,000 in 2007 and $1,550 in 2005.
Led by Bob Rennie, the company has managed to sell $1 billion in property in the last four years and has sales teams all over B.C.
Burnco Construction gave the Liberal party a donation of more than $20,000 in 2008. The company specializes in the manufacturing of rock and concrete bi-products made for industrial construction and is the largest independent supplier of ready-mix concrete in Canada with offices all over B.C. and Canada.
The company has also contributed to the party in the past with over $4,000 dollars in both 2007 and 2006.
Other companies who broke the $20,000 mark in political donations to the Liberal party included Polygon Homes, donating $22, 250 in 2008. In 2005, the company donated $25,000 and roughly $18,000 in 2006. The company went on to donate over $18,000 in 2007. The company has contributed over $85,000 to the B.C. Liberals since 2005.
In 2008, Concord properties donated $26,000. They also have been a generous donor in the past, having donated over $80,000 to the B.C. Liberals in 2005. The company also donated over $12,000 dollars in 2006 and over $14,000 in 2007.
Maple Bay Townhomes donated $100,000 to the B.C. Liberals in 2008 with no previous donations in past years.
While many donors to the BC Liberals are in the business of building homes, one other very supportive group is all about what’s parked in the garages.
The B.C. Association of New Car Dealers donated $107,000 to the BC Liberals last year.
Morgan J. Modjeski and Ashley Gaboury report for The Tyee.
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freebear
2 years ago
The 'Growth' Machine cultists!
Of course they support 'pave everything' Campbell!
They sell the same unsustainable crap!
Tony Martinson
2 years ago
How interesting
Unionized workers at some of those newspapers were asked to take rollbacks by the company. Yet the owner has enough money to give to the Liberals. Fascinating.
seth
2 years ago
telecommuting
The reason there has been such little support for telecommuting with the BCLiberals is they don't want to empty the downtown office buildings of there big real estate developer donators.
Despite the evidence 50% of jobs could be done by telecommuting removing all need for transit and the gateway projects, Campbell does not wish to annoy his supporters.
WHAT
2 years ago
OK
If you venture out of the cities, you will find that the recent real estate boom was in a large part fueled by low interest rates...etc and the first wave of baby boomers who wanted to build their dream houses. Places that used to cost $129,000 3 bedroom rancher, now cost $369,000 - $400,000. It seems that the recent losses experienced by boomers in the stock market, might prevent them from building their dream houses. The next round of boomers aren't the freedom 55 ones. Real estates agents, there are tons of them, they should start thinking about real numbers, demographics. As seniors move outta their houses, into extended care facilities (not too many of them around) but as they get older and move out of their 5-10 year old dream houses. Who is going to rent/buy them out at $400,000 when there are no jobs to support the real estate prices in the area....Take a drive to Qualicum Beach (average age 66. [posted on the municipal website]). I drove all over the place looking for new housing starts, could only find two, as compared to a year ago, when I could walk around and find 10+, in a small area...Courtenay is in the same boat,,phase two of a large development, has yet to start, and probably won't....Sustainability people,,,no more booms...You can't expect people to buy when they are lack of jobs to support it....Pls do some research...Developers are real estate agents, there is no difference...come on.....
freebear
2 years ago
What What said!
And I will wait to buy low in Comox once those boomers ahead of me bite the dust!
Martin Campbell
2 years ago
This needs to stop.
I posted this comment in the story about union donations - it's relevant here too. Especially since the Liberals allowed a rental increase this year! If that isn't proof of being bought by special interest groups, I don't know what is!!!!
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There needs to be a limit on the amounts that individuals and business AND unions are allowed to donate to a political party.
With amounts this large all they are doing is buying favouritism.
I'd like to see a maximum amount per year per party to be $3,000.00 or less.
Unions especially should not be using union dues on donations to political parties UNLESS they start asking the employees who are paying the dues for permission prior to donating to any political party - they should also ask for a preference on which party they'd like to donate too.
These numbers, and the amounts also donated by businesses are embarrassing. No one but NO ONE spends this kind of money without expecting something in return, perhaps a happy ending? Politics for sale.
Lower the maximum to something that many average taxpayers can compete with and you'd find the politicians would be much more responsible and accountable to the public that votes for them - not just the people/firms with the biggest cheque book.
The parties would have less money from special interest groups, these losses could be partially made up for by increasing the amount each candidate is awarded for campaign costs.
Do we want our political system to resemble the USA? 'Cause that's where we're headed.
SharingIsGood
2 years ago
Martin Campbell - reality check
Unions are democratic entities that chose their leadership to represent them. Union members are often asked through votes if they want to donate to political parties. Some unions wish to donate more than others. All unions represent the majority of the membership that choses to vote for their leaders and the policies those leaders follow. For the most part, they are very democratic - far more democratic than our current BC Government.
470,000 people make up the BC Federation of Labour. Total donations from all unions = $520,000. Some unions that belong to the BC Fed donated over and above the BC Fed donation. Some unions that donated probably do not belong to the BC Fed. But for argument's sake, let's just use the BC Fed members for some calculating.
2005-2009 total BC Fed Donations:
$580,000 / 470,000 members = $1.23 per member for the entire four years!
This year's total Union Donations:
$520,000 / 470,000 BC FEd members = $1.11 per member of the BC Fed!
O boy, those are really big per person donations from the union members!
Martin Campbell says that unions are pushing their weight around too much. Big business pushes hugely more on a per capita basis, and they don't ask the employees if they should donate to the Liberals.
Unions are entities that have formed to look after the needs of the workers. Union members just want to be fairly remunerated for the work that they do. Union members are not pullin in the 6, 7, 8, and even 9-figure salaries/earnings per year like just about every one of their employers (and corporate management) are making.
SharingIsGood
2 years ago
errata
chose = choose
choses = chooses
Whoops!
Martin Campbell
2 years ago
SharingIsGood - I don't care
As a member of a union my dues should not be used to buy political favours.
It is a rank practice, and stinks to high heaven.
Every time a union aligns itself with one party over another they are damaging themselves AND THEIR CUSTOMERS that they pledge to represent.
Let's take the BCGEU for example. They are NDP supporters right to the bone. How has that helped the government employees during the campbell administration? A lot, some, or not at all?
It is not the job of unions to finance political parties. Nor should unions be staffed primarily by NDP supporters.
I'd much rather see that money be put in a strike fund.
ps - the NDP have pledged to abolish and disallow political donations from unions and business.