A rchive Date
[ 01-10-2002 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Canada ]
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[http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/steward.html
Campaign contributions: Money talks
By HARTLEY STEWARD -- Toronto Sun
October 1, 2002
I'm afraid real democracy doesn't have a chance in this country
When the writ is finally dropped signalling our next federal election, hundreds of rich and powerful Canadian company presidents will get out their chequebooks in a determined effort to buy a piece of the in-coming government.
Boardrooms across the nation will be filled with top executives discussing their campaign contributions strategies. They will be trying to determine to whom their money should go - and how much.
How much to the Liberals? How much to the Conservatives? Should any money at all go to the Canadian Alliance? From whence is likely to come the best return? Like Las Vegas gamblers at the roulette table, they'll cover as much of the board as they can.
But the process will have been compromised long before that. The Liberal leadership race will have to be financed before an election call. Perhaps a half-dozen high-profile Liberal politicians will be out after the brass ring.
They will need war chests. Big war chests, since the winner will become, at least for a time, prime minister of Canada. Their bagmen will be criss-crossing the country taking in the big dollars. We are talking multi-million-dollar campaigns here.
For some, the pickings will be embarrassingly easy. Others will have to twist arms from the get-go. No promises will be made, of course, but everyone on both sides will know who was generous and who held back. Even a small piece of democracy can be expensive.
It is not a coincidence that the candidate most likely to win the leadership race will have his war chest filled the soonest. The long-odds guys will struggle and make do with the "just-in-case" dollars. Likewise, it's no coincidence the party most likely to form the government will most easily reach its contributions goals. Even so, there is plenty of money for everyone.
By the time we get to the polls, our politicians and their parties will have collected hundreds of millions from people and companies who, in the main, make such contributions so willingly because they expect something for it.
This money is not given on altruistic grounds. These people are not trying to support democracy by making sure everyone has a fair chance. Frankly, they are trying to subvert democracy. They are trying to give themselves a leg up in the system; to secure an advantage over the rest of us.
They expect untendered government work for their companies and friends. They expect important government decisions affecting their businesses to go their way. They expect their loans, grants and subsidies applications to be rubber-stamped. They expect a hearing in the highest offices of the land.
Not to overstate the case, but what we have in Canada is an exclusive club made up of politicians, in all parties, and powerful CEOs and company presidents with the wherewithal to buy membership. They set the important agenda items for the country. They govern. Even within the club, democracy does not prevail. Outside the club, it doesn't have a chance.
While several provinces, including Ontario, have taken steps to improve disclosure of leadership campaign funds, most rules governing contributions are handled by the political parties themselves.
The resistance to legislation limiting campaign spending and governing complete disclosure is fierce. Given their druthers, most politicians would like to keep the workings of the club as secret as possible.
Federally, Prime Minister Jean Chretien has set rules for those seeking his job, but they cover only cabinet ministers. His most likely successor, Paul Martin, does not have to reveal who is financially supporting him, although he says he will.
The fact of the matter is, the opportunities, both provincially and federally, to buy a politician in this country are plentiful. The questionable grants and loans and the scandals over advertising contracts which have plagued the Liberals in the last two terms indicates enough of them are in the market, frankly, to undermine our system.
Only a fool would believe our politicians don't understand their part of the deal when they take a $100,000 donation from someone running a business in their jurisdiction. That donor, some day, is going to show up on your doorstep with a favour to ask.
Even those in the club know the only way to re-establish something resembling a democratic system in Canada is to put an end to campaign donations and set up a system of equal funding for all parties.
Even serious reform of the present contributions system will not be enough to end the abuses, but don't hold your breath waiting for even that.
Steward appears Tuesdays and Sundays. E-mail: hartleysteward@canoemail.com
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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