The Ontario government’s water torture continues. There has been a reluctance to write about the so-called ‘reforms’ in political fundraising until we knew more of the details. We are still waiting. The Wynne Liberals like to dribble out their giving in to the inevitable over multiple news cycles. And the hypocrites in the opposition parties are having an ongoing field day.
It is a given that political fundraising in Ontario has been a disgrace for a long time. We should not forget that the rules have not changed appreciably since the 1970s. The same basic rules apply today as applied during the Conservative regime of Mike Harris and the New Democrat interregnum of Bob Rae. Mind you there have been times over the years that even this old apparatchik had to shake his head at the foolishness of the rules.
The problem with working on political campaigns over the years is that at the beginning of each municipal, provincial, federal or leadership campaign you have to sit down with the team’s lawyer and/or accountant to get a refresher on the rules. If you have not gone through that session you had better not touch a donation cheque and definitely do not pay a bill.
What is encouraging so far in this proposed change in Ontario is that the opposition keep daring the Liberals to go further.
And as it stands now, some of the rules have reached the silly stage. One of the proposed rules is that cabinet members and their staff as well as paid political staff of the party are forbidden to attend party fundraising events. A party’s candidates will also be barred from attending fundraisers.
The major changes that nobody seems to be arguing about are that individual donors will be limited to $1200 per year (down from almost $10,000) and that corporations and unions will no longer be able to donate funds.
To make up for the anticipated shortfall in funds because of these supposedly restrictive rules, the public purse will be tapped to make sure that our political parties have a base of financing. About $3 million a year will be divided between maybe 400 electoral district associations for them to kick-start local campaigns while the central parties will be lavished with an annual subsidy of $2.71 per vote received in the last election. These figures look like more than $5 million for the Liberals, $4 million for the Conservatives, $3 million for the New Democrats and just $639,000 for the Greens.
The good news in the package will be the setting of restrictions on third-party advertising by groups such as ‘Working Families.’ This was a group of teacher unions that spend a considerable amount of money attacking the Conservative Leader Tim Hudak in the last Ontario election. What limitations will be set on this third-party advertising is one of the details we have to wait for the law to be passed and the regulations put in print.
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Copyright 2016 © Peter Lowry
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