Wrapped up as Ontarians were in the Blue Jays’ Cinderella run to be World Series champions, they may have missed news that Premier Doug Ford’s government is going to scrap fixed election dates and increase donations and public subsidies to political parties.
Elections are the backbone of a democracy so any tinkering with the rules should receive close attention.
The first change, scrapping fixed election dates, is a good move and long overdue. While Canada’s federal and provincial governments are legally allowed a maximum five-year life span under the Constitution, the calling of an election was always the prerogative of the government of the day.
That changed in 2005 when Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty amended provincial laws to adopt the American custom of fixed election dates every four years. Despite evidence to the contrary, he was responding to criticism that a government could unfairly influence an election’s outcome by choosing a date that was to its political advantage, possibly catching opposition parties by surprise.
But his legislation still gave governments plenty of flexibility to set the date in certain circumstances. And of course, many subsequently took advantage of the loopholes, making whatever benefits of a fixed date, a moot point.
It should also be noted that election calls, set or not, do not come out of the blue and are usually preceded by endless public speculation about a government’s intention. For example, this year’s election call, while early, was hardly a surprise to opposition parties or the public.
Ford’s proposed change only takes us back to our traditional election process and is consistent with the limits already set by the Constitution.
Moves to increase allowable political donations and public subsidies to recognized political parties are also good moves, although the timing of the donation changes are problematic, coming as they do in the midst of a controversy over whether the government’s allocation of money from its Skills Development Fund to various training organizations was influenced by how much they had donated to the party.
Critics say increasing the donation cap is importing American style funding practices where so-called political action committees or PACs raise millions of dollars from wealthy donors for the cause or candidate of their choice. But that is hardly the case here.
First, the proposed change would allow an individual to only donate $5,000 annually, up from the current amount of $3,400. That just happens to be the same cap that applies to a donation to a candidate running for Mayor of Toronto. And it is similar to donations allowed in other provinces.
So it is hardly an unreasonable amount, particularly when the costs of running campaigns and communicating with voters continue to increase.
It should also be noted that the ban on donations from corporations and unions still exists and that the system remains transparent as donations to political parties are on the public record for all to see. Rules around how much political parties and outside groups can spend in election campaigns also remain in place, regardless of how much is raised.
The government is also proposing tougher financial penalties for those who break election and donation laws.
The other proposed change is to make permanent, the existing per vote subsidy of $2.54 for official political parties, as recommended by the Chief Electoral Officer. While the money comes from taxpayers, the amounts allocated reflect the wishes of the voting public by basing the total amount on how many ballots each party received in the last election.
In the words of Green Party leader Mike Schreiner, “even though we get the least amount of money, I think it’s a good idea because it’s a part of getting big money out of politics.”
Like most issues in the public policy world, there is an important balance that must be struck between ensuring political parties have the financial resources they need to function and communicate effectively with voters while avoiding “pay for play” politics and dominance by “special interest” groups.
The proposed changes meet that test.
Janet Ecker is a former Ontario Finance Minister, Minister of Education, Minister of Community and Social Services and Government House Leader in the governments of Premier Mike Harris and Premier Ernie Eves. After her political career, she served as the founding CEO of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, a public-private partnership dedicated to building Toronto region into an international financial centre. She currently sits on a number of corporate and non-profit boards, agencies and advisory committees.
Ms. Ecker received the Order of Canada for her public service contributions and was recognized as one of the “Most Influential People in the World’s Financial Centres” by Financial Centres International. She also received a “Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award” from the Women’s Executive Network and the Richard Ivey School of Business, among other awards. She is also one of the founders of Equal Voice, a national, multi-partisan organization working to elect more women.
