Stephen Taylor is puzzled about the language in a Democracy Watch report on party fundraising released yesterday.
The Liberals have many more donors donating more than $1,000 than all the other parties combined. (DW suggests the max limit should be reduced to $1,000 as most Canadians cannot afford to give as much as $5,000)
Gomery has revealed that the Liberals have allegedly used undeclared corporate-bankrolled “volunteer” labour to work election campaigns in Quebec.
The Liberal Party receives four times more money from riding associations and candidates than all the other parties combined. Remember that the identity of donors who donate to a candidate or riding association and then have their donation transferred to a party are not required to be disclosed quarterly, allowing parties to hide the identity of donors for up to 18 months.
Where does Democracy Watch find fault in the Conservative Party of Canada?
In a year where a commission of inquiry hears evidence about hundreds of thousands of dollars flowing to the Liberal Party in unreported, illegal cash and in-kind contributions, allegedly in exchange for favoritism in government ad contracts, Democracy Watch is worried about $85-a-year donors corrupting the process of government in Canada.
The DW report includes valuable information, and it’s damning stuff for the Liberals. The puzzling portion is that DW goes on to condemn all parties equally – an assertion that seems to have little basis in the facts or figures presented.
Too democratic in casting suspicions?
Stephen Taylor has an excellent post about a good idea from Democracy Watch executed poorly. The issue DW was checking on was the rules for disclosing political campaign donations, and the limits on their size. Go read the entire piece…
Yeah Kate, Democracy Watch is working off of some bad premises. They are quite happy that your (or my) issue should only get a lot of attention during an election if a large media outlet decides to “report” on it — they were/are 100% behind the elections gag law.
Needless to say, this seems to be a lot of power in the hands of (say) CanWest Global, and it’s strange that DW is so keen on it.
Stephen Taylor on Democracy Watch
Let’s review:
The Liberals have many more donors donating more than $1,000 than all the other parties combined. (DW suggests the max limit should be reduced to $1,000 as most Canadians cannot afford to give as much as $5,000)
Gomery has revealed …