B.C. NDP's Sihota and Larsen trade more shots

The slanging match between the president of the B.C. NDP and the only candidate to declare intentions of running for the party leadership heated up Friday.

Dana Larsen, a marijuana activist and a former New Democratic candidate federally and provincially, said the NDP has apologized to him after finding him ineligible to run because his membership had expired.

But president Moe Sihota denied apologizing and insisted that Larsen knew he was wrong.

"His actions speak very loudly," said Sihota. "After my conversation with him, he went online and he corrected the problem by paying his membership fee," Sihota said.

Sihota would not go so far as to say Larsen lied about his membership status, but said Larsen is inaccurate.

Says comments inappropriate

In response, Larsen says he can prove his membership was active.

"I renewed my membership in the party in November. I have a credit card receipt showing that I made a $20 donation to the NDP," Larsen said, adding that Sihota's comments are out of his jurisdiction as president of the party.

"I don't know if Moe Sihota has a personal agenda or is concerned about my running for the leadership of the party, but the president should not be making comments like that to the media," Larsen said.

The race for a new leader started when Carole James abruptly resigned on Dec. 6amid a revolt of 13 of her caucus members.

She led the party through two elections, and took the NDP support from just three members of the legislature to winning 33 seats in the 2005 election.

New Democrat executives meet on Jan. 6 to decide the rules for contestants seeking to replace James.

2008 resignation

Immediately after Larsen announced on Wednesday his intentions to run, Sihota said that Larsen was deemed ineligible to run in the 2008 federal election.

During that campaign, Larsen made headlines when videos of him taking LSD and smoking marijuana surfaced on the Internet. The videos caused an embarrassment for the party and Larsen said he resigned mid-campaign voluntarily to avoid becoming a distraction.

Larsen's leadership platform is to legalize and regulate the sale of marijuana, but he has also presented other campaign promises to avoid being labelled a single-issue candidate.

If elected, Larsen said he would raise the minimum hourly wage to $10 and reverse the privatization of B.C. Rail and BC Ferries.