Wynne says Liberals will close loopholes in political fundraising legislation

Ontario:Even though the legislature has adjourned until September, politicians from all three parties will be spending a good part of the summer holding public hearings on the bill, which would ban corporate and union donations to political parties.
The spring session was dominated by opposition accusations that the Liberals were selling access to cabinet ministers and the premier at expensive and exclusive dinners and receptions open to lobbyists looking for government contracts.
The Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats also complained that the Liberals used their majority to overhaul the campaign finance rules to their own benefit instead of allowing equal representation from all parties on a panel to recommend changes.
In an interview with The Canadian Press, Wynne said the reason she agreed to send the bill out for public hearings after first reading, which usually happens only after second reading, is to make sure it’s done right.
“The Conservatives are talking about some loopholes they see in the legislation, and I’m really interested in that,” said Wynne. “I really want to make sure that we listen to that closely, and we make amendments. If there are loopholes, then let’s close them.”
Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown is concerned the process has been “hijacked” by the government, but said he really wants to see the fundraising rules changed. He warns companies or unions could get around the donation ban by sending large groups of paid staff or volunteers to work on a political campaign.
“My worry is that the Liberals, because they’re driving this process, won’t fix any of the loopholes that they’ve left in it,” said Brown.
“I don’t want to leave any loopholes where the intent of what we’re doing can be abused. If you leave loopholes in, politicians will abuse them.”
New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath said the Liberals chose a “flawed, highly partisan” process for campaign finance reform that she believes will favour the governing party.
“Our disappointment remains, but we will continue to participate in that process,” said Horwath. “We will continue to raise our concerns and our voices and engage witnesses in the process that we think have an important part to play in revamping the way we fund our democracy.”
The Tories claim that 99.4 per cent of companies that were awarded wind power contracts by the Ontario government had donated to the Liberal party, and want a public inquiry to look into the issue.
Wynne, however, rejected the idea and insisted donations do not influence government policy.
Liberal cabinet ministers will no longer hold fundraisers with lobbyists looking to do business with their respective ministries, and any events where donations will be solicited will be posted on a public website, added Wynne.
“I’ve stopped doing any private, undisclosed fundraisers,” she said. “I’m not sure the other parties have done that.”
The bill suggests that each party get a $2.26 per vote subsidy to offset the loss of corporate and union donations, which would be reviewed after five years to see if it should be continued. Federal per-vote subsidies were phased out several years after Ottawa banned corporate and union donations to political parties in 2006.
The bill would also greatly reduce allowable political contributions to match federal limits, with a maximum donation of just $1,550 to a party, $1,550 to a single candidate and a total of $3,100 to all of a party’s candidates.
Current political donation limits in Ontario are $9,975 for a political party, $6,650 to the candidates of a party, and $6,650 to the constituency associations of a party, but the rules often allow multiple contributions.

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