Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne seems to have a God complex. Instead of spending a pleasant weekend at home watching the Blue Jays on TV, she hunkered down and penned a plan to reform the province’s rules for political fundraising. She came down to Queen’s Park on Monday and delivered her ten tablets.
Wynne even called in those slow-learners Patrick Brown and Andrea Horwath, leaders of the opposition parties, to give them early remedial training in her plan. For some reason, neither opposition leader appreciated the summons nor the instruction. They obviously did not appreciate the tea and crumpets she served.
And so much for us foolish Ontario citizens who thought we might be allowed to make a rare suggestion. She asked for help a while ago and then she ignored us as usual.
So what is this great plan from the Burning Bush?
First of all, it will not happen until next year. And then it is going to look surprisingly like the federal plan as last screwed around with by the Harper government. There seems to be no plan for input from experts such as the province’s chief electoral officer. There does not seem to be input from political apparatchiks who have to work with these laws or lack thereof.
Wynne’s excuse for this presumptive behaviour is that the laws have to be written and passed by the Ontario legislature this year. That needs to happen, we are told, so that we can have the new laws in place for the next election. It also seems the news media were baying at her heels and she thinks that is a good excuse for her to act. She is seeking approval.
Mind you the details are always in the final wording of the law and we still have no idea what it will look like. When you say that third party advertising will be curtailed to some degree, that sounds like a loophole you can drive a truck through.
What Wynne also seems to want but did not specify is a plan for the government to subsidize political parties. This would ease the pain of parties becoming honest in their fundraising. And if they can agree on a plan for about $2 for each vote in the previous election, the political parties will be pleased with the bonanza.
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Copyright 2016 © Peter Lowry
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