Lawyers strike a chord with donors in lawsuit over B.C. government advertising

by Charlie Smith on March 21st, 2017 at 8:28 AM

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After just one day, Vancouver lawyer Paul Doroshenko and and North Vancouver lawyer David Fai are already 17 percent of the way toward a fundraising goal in a lawsuit over B.C. government advertising.

They set up a GoFundMe page to try to force the B.C. Liberal party to repay the government for advertising that they allege is being used for partisan purposes.

Doroshenko and Fai have a goal of raising $26,000 "to cover out of pocket and staff costs". As of this morning, they've raised $4,390.

The plaintiff is retired TransLink worker David Trapp.

"In our opinion, a duty of trust exists when it comes to the spending of money collected through taxes," the lawyers say on the GoFundMe website. "Any government is required to spend tax money in the interests of the community they govern. If the government uses tax money for their own purposes, they breach this duty of trust—a fiduciary duty."

The lawsuit alleges that if the government advertising "indirectly or directly enhances their party's chances at re-election, the party benefits unlawfully".

The plaintiff also claims that an ongoing government-financed ad campaign is designed to enhance the chances of the B.C. Liberals being reelected in the May 9 provincial election.

Doroshenko and Fai hope to obtain a judicial order to have the governing party return the money "so it can be used for schools, hospitals and children in care".

"This is a public interest lawsuit," they declared. "We're doing it because we think lawyers need to take on these types of cases. We have the skill and the support in our offices to take this on. And we believe in our case."

Paul Doroshenko and David Fai say the B.C. Liberal party should pay for ads like this one.

The B.C. government is spending $1.8 million on an advertising campaign telling the public that medical-services premiums will be cut by 50 percent, effective next January.

The minister responsible for government advertising, Andrew Wilkinson, has issued a statement saying that the lawsuit was timed for the election campaign.

"Government worked with the Office of the Auditor General to ensure that all information campaigns fulfil clear criteria: be fact-based, inform the public about government programs, services, policies or priorities and provide an opportunity for the public to engage with government," Wilkinson said.