“It’s unfortunate for these individuals, many of whom may be worthy of the award, but the way the government has gone about doing this, it leaves the public open to that cynicism,” said Integrity B.C. executive director Dermod Travis
VANCOUVER – An Indo-Canadian businessman is one of six BC Liberal donours who have been chosen among the 16 Order of who were appointed to the Order of B.C. this week.
Integrity B.C. says of the 16 people honoured with the distinction on Tuesday, six donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the B.C. Liberal Party, as well as other political parties, reported CBC News.
“This should be one of the highest awards in the province … and unfortunately when you see people who are donating more than $100,000 to the B.C. Liberals in some cases it draws that into question,” said Integrity B.C. executive director Dermod Travis.
“The government should have been cautious of how it went awarding these Orders of B.C. to ensure the public wouldn’t have the type of cynicism that it’s managed to have over past awards where you’ve seen the same pattern.”
According to Travis, the six donors were:
David Sidoo, former CFL football player and investment banker: $158,500 to the B.C. Liberals and $3,000 to the NDP.
Frank Giustra: $81,500 in individual donations and a further $138,800 in corporate donations though his companies Lionsgate Entertainment and Thunderbird Films .
Dr. Peter K. K. Wong, an East Vancouver physician and West Point Grey Academy board director : $53,350.
Dr. Allen Eaves, owner of “the largest biotechnology company in Canada”: $7,220 to the B.C. Liberals and $1,000 to the B.C. Conservative Party.
Kim Baird, former elected chief of the Tsawwassen First Nation: $4,500.
Pauline Rafferty, former Royal B.C. Museum CEO: $385.
Travis said the same criticism cannot be said of the Order of Canada, which he says has a clearer protocol and process of how the award is bestowed to ensure it’s not tainted by political partisanship, reported CBC News.
“It’s unfortunate for these individuals, many of whom may be worthy of the award, but the way the government has gone about doing this, it leaves the public open to that cynicism.”
According to the Order of B.C. website, “OBC honourees are selected from hundreds of nominations submitted by people across the province and around the world.”
“Appointments to the Order are made by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council (Cabinet), on the recommendation of the advisory council.”
The advisory council consists of five provincial officials, including the Chief Justice of B.C. and the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, and two past recipients of the order.
“For 27 years, the Order of British Columbia has recognized exceptional individuals whose hard work, generosity of spirit and outstanding achievements have contributed immeasurably to the wellbeing of our communities,” said Lieutenant-Governor Judith Guichon, Chancellor of the Order, while announcing the list of recipients. “I extend my congratulations to this year’s recipients and thank them for inspiring all of us with their efforts to build a healthy, diverse and inclusive province for generations to come.”
David Sidoo of Vancouver, who has been described as a sporting legend, successful investment banker and leading philanthropist, has leveraged his success to become a leading philanthropist and a catalyst for improving the lives of many British Columbians through his support of many programs, according to his bio.
The first person of Indian descent to play professional football, Sidoo led the UBC Thunderbirds to an undefeated season and first-ever Vanier Cup national championship in 1982. He then played five years in the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
After retiring from professional sports, he went on to build several companies in the energy sector and has been a founding shareholder of many start-ups.
He has been most impactful in making a difference in the lives of youth all across British Columbia. David and his wife, Manjy, started Sidoo Family Giving, an organization actively involved in the community for the betterment of families and at-risk youth of all ages, specifically supporting children’s breakfast programs, children’s cancer research, mentoring programs, teenage sports programs and community scholarships. Additionally the Sidoo Family Athletics Endowment is the largest of its kind at UBC.
In 2015, Sidoo was recognized by UBC as one of the top 100 outstanding alumni and also honoured with a Navigator award for being one of the eminent leaders in the South-Asian community. He has been inducted both into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame and the British Columbia Football Hall of Fame, receiving the prestigious Bob Ackles award. Internationally, Sidoo is a recipient of the Global Punjabi Society Excellence in Entrepreneurship award and the NRI Institute Pride of India Philanthropy award.
