Monday, February 14, 2000

OTTAWA - Today, as criticism mounts over the Transitional Jobs Fund (TJF) scandal, the Money in Politics Coalition, made up of more than 40 groups nation-wide, called on the Liberals to make Canada's party finance system democratic by enacting changes to Bill C-2, an Act amending the Canada Elections Act.

"Many TJF grants were given to Liberal donors, and there have been serious allegations of political interference in the program,Ó says Aaron Freeman, a Board Member of Democracy Watch and author of the forthcoming book Cashing In: Money and Influence in Canadian Politics. "The Liberals say they are fixing the problems with the TJF, but these problems will remain as long as the parties rely on well-financed corporate donors, and as long as these donors can hide their contributions from public scrutiny."

At least one TJF recipient, Fermco Industries President Jocelyn Trépanier, has admitted that he made donations to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's election campaign as a way of "encouraging him to do a good job." "If I obtained gifts, it would encourage me also," he told the Globe and Mail in December 1999.

The Liberals have an opportunity to minimize the influence of political donations over government decision making by amending Bill C-2, which is scheduled for debate in the House of Commons this week. The Money in Politics Coalition advocates closing the loopholes that allow donors to hide their contributions if they donate to riding associations, MPs between elections, or leadership campaigns.

In addition, the Coalition called for improving the timeliness of disclosure, so that parties would be required to file quarterly instead of annually, and that the date of each donation would be disclosed. Currently, parties do not have to file until June 30 each year, up to 18 months after they received their donations from the previous year.

"Any bill dealing with how parties are financed that won't even show us the money should be scrapped," said Freeman.

The Coalition also called on all MPs to support a proposed amendment by the Bloc québécois that would place a cap of $5,000 on all donations, ban contributions by corporations and unions.

"As long as parties are dependent on wealthy special interests, fighting for policies that protect our health and our environment will always be an uphill battle," says Angela Rickman, Deputy Director of the Sierra Club of Canada.

"Most of Canada's major military contractors are Liberal donors," said Richard Sanders, Coordinator of the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade, a member of the coalition. "Trying to push for policies that limit the arms trade is difficult when the party in power relies on this sector for revenues."

The Money in Politics Coalition, coordinated by Democracy Watch, is made up of more than 40 groups from across Canada, representing a wide range of viewpoints.