The DAILY DIGEST: INFORMATION and OPINION from ST. JOHN'S to VICTORIA.
ARCHIVED at http://cdndailydigest.blogspot.com/
EDITORIAL PAGEs ARCHIVED at http://cdndailydigest.blogspot.com/
ST.JOHN'S TELEGRAM -
Coming home to roost
CAPE BRETON POST -
Science zeroes in on tipping points
HALIFAX CHRONICLE HERALD -
Week in Ottawa: Battle of Time-out
Bumbling Dion done; Harper's back comes off wall
In women's rights struggle, signs of hope
MONTREAL GAZETTE -
Let's give the Liberals a real chance to govern
http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/editorials/give+Liberals+real+chance+govern/1040406/story.html
OTTAWA CITIZEN -
Government to 'eat crow' on budget: expert
KINGSTON WHIG STANDARD-
Accept Harper's olive branch
Beware of Queen's guardians of political correctness
Bob Rae is going for the Conservative-toppling hat trick
What Harper could have said
BELLEVILLE INTELLIGENCER -
Who says Canadian politics is boring?
TORONTO STAR -
Time for Dion to step down
It's the economy
NATIONAL POST -
Fed on myths, preying on men
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=1039527
The freedom to be 'negative'
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=1039528
HAMILTON SPECTATOR -
We can win war on poverty
K-W RECORD -
Parliament needs to come to its senses
A terrible milestone
WINDSOR STAR -
Auto bailout
http://www.windsorstar.com/opinion/editorials/Auto+bailout/1040938/story.html
SUDBURY STAR -
Canada must hold fast in Afghanistan
Happiness, or e=mc2
Heel raisers
No one is immune
THUNDER BAY CHRONICLER JOURNAL -
And now we wait
One new leader or another
WINNIPEG FREE PRESS -
Extreme prejudice
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/westview/35647619.html
Maybe it's time to vote with your feet
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/westview/Maybe_its_time_to_vote_with_your_feet.html
REGINA LEADER-POST -
Campus ignorance
Gov. Gen essential for our stability
Separatists can't be allowed to 'Bloc' our national will
CALGARY HERALD -
Hang on: conservatives everywhere felt cheated
Harper should have remembered his promise
CALGARY SUN -
Our soldiers know why they serve
EDMONTON JOURNAL -
Flight from the land continues
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion/Flight+from+land+continues/1041054/story.html
RED DEER ADVOCATE -
Harper must take responsibility
President Bush should get credit for accomplishments
PM needs to reach out
Four harsh truths about climate change
Another election not much more costly than continued subsidies for parties
U.S. ignorance threatens liberty
VANCOUVER SUN -
How to spend our way out of recession: Careful investment
VICTORIA TIMES-COLONIST -
A brief guide to a crazy seven weeks
Broadbent's old social democratic dream thwarted
Revelling in a nation galvanized by politics
ISSUES
AFGHANISTAN -
Seed shortage hits Afghan wheat farmers
This time sheep mistaken as enemy combatants
Surge of 'phantom' female voters in Afghanistan
Shambles in Afghanistan - Why Are They Dying?
Allies faltered on three accounts: Afghan diplomat
Afghan warlord in Turkey but not in exile, official says
Obama's Afghan Dilemma
After Mumbai: The Terror Attacks Will Be Worse, Here's What Lies Ahead
Ambassador Jawad: Temporary surge of troops needed for elections
CANADIAN FORCES
Afghan mission: For families, pride and sadness
Veterans' Long-Term Problems Linked to Traumatic Brain Injuries
http://www.afghanconflictmonitor.org/2008/12/veterans-longterm-problems-linked-to-traumatic-brain-injuries.html
HEALTH CARE RELATED
The war to beat the flu bug
FEDERAL POLITICS
Opposing coalition rallies cry out across Canada
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081206/coalition_rallies_081206/20081206?hub=Canada
Bob Rae should put his money where his mouth is
Death of Canadian Democracy?
Harper 'ran away from Parliament,' Dion says
Game over' for Harper - Ignatieff
Liberal heavyweight says replacing Dion important
Rae works to get the jump on Grit rivals: insiders
Sovereignty back on Quebec radar
GLOBE AND MAIL -
Rallies sparked by parliamentary crisis draw crowds across country
Dion, Layton keep the heat on Harper at Toronto event
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081206.wrallies1206/BNStory/National/home
NATIONAL POST
Fresh pressure on Dion to resign Liberal leadership
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=1039516
The psychology of Stephen Harper
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=1039517
Harper played accordion of Quebec separatism, professor says
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=1039519
Tories pledge protection for embattled oil sands
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=1039520
Just like the bad old days of the NEP
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=1039521
Political rallies threaten to take focus from Montreal Massacre remembrance
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=1039523
No winners after week of unnecessary hell
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=1039524
Parliamentary imbroglio garners Canada international media attention
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=1039525
Parliament's Out, So What Happens Now?
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=1039526
Harper's mission: Avoid an early election
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=1039580
America's paralyzed neighbour
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=1039586
The Normalization Of Separatism
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=1039581
An inspired decision
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=1039583
Giving up the element of surprise
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=1039584
Ignoring our constitutional tradition
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=1039585
PLEASE, SOMEONE, DUST OFF STEVE'S BLUE SWEATER PRONTO
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2008/12/06/kelly-mcparland-whoever-took-stephen-harper-s-blue-sweater-will-they-please-give-it-back.aspx
TORSTAR -
Dion in Toronto for coalition rally
Obama's lesson lost on Ottawa
Brief pause en route to a showdown
Quick exit for Dion possible: Ignatieff
PM partisan, passionate and profane
Fumbling coalition lets Tories rewrite Constitution
An economic challenge the Tories won't meet
Politicians, scholars say Governor General must dispel secrecy
Crisis in Ottawa: Battle for legitimacy
Now obscured, the spark that lit the crisis lingers still
NDP tiptoes around Liberals' problems
Coalition partners put the focus on jobs
Flaherty engages in numbers game he denounced
TRANSLATED FROM FRENCH
Gilles Duceppe: busy week for frogs
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cyberpresse.ca%2Fdossiers%2Fles-grandes-entrevues%2F200812%2F06%2F01-807935-gilles-duceppe-semaine-chargee-pour-les-frogs.php&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=fr&tl=en
OPINION AND INFORMATION
Get used to it
Like it or not, our parliamentary system opens the door to coalition government
Nineteenth anniversary of massacre at Montreal's Ecole polytechnique marked
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/081206/national/mtl_massacre_anniversary
The Liberals Must Now Endure the Twelve Temptations
Families of first Canadians killed in Afghanistan ask: has anything changed?
The real Canada isn't connected at all to the bizarre antics in Ottawa. If you want to find the real Canada, you have to travel 10,000 kilometres
Stealing power no way to go
An occasional look at the Dec. 4 proroguing of Parliament, by the numbers
WHERE'S THE POETRY OF LEADERSHIP AND THE STABILITY OF STATESMANSHIP ?
The high price of truth-telling
The Functions of Fascism
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21392.htm
INFOS
Une centaine de personnes manifestent pour la coalition à Montréal
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/politique-canadienne/200812/06/01-808000-une-centaine-de-personnes-manifestent-pour-la-coalition-a-montreal.php
Les libéraux sortent leurs couteaux
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/dossiers/succession-de-dion/200812/05/01-807885-les-liberaux-sortent-leurs-couteaux.php
Pas de budget tout de suite pour la coalition
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/politique-canadienne/200812/06/01-807903-pas-de-budget-tout-de-suite-pour-la-coalition.php
Gilles Duceppe: semaine chargée pour les frogs
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/dossiers/les-grandes-entrevues/200812/06/01-807935-gilles-duceppe-semaine-chargee-pour-les-frogs.php
Manifestants contre manifestants
http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/Politique/2008/12/06/001-manif_coalitions_samedi.shtml
Les partis fédéraux s'activent malgré un Parlement désormais fermé
http://info.branchez-vous.com/Nationales/081205/N1205151AU.html
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What set the fiasco off?
What set the fiasco off?
_______________
From: "R. Gagne"
To: Joe Hueglin
Subject: Appalled
Joe:
I've been following the postings in the DD and the media ever since the charade in Ottawa erupted several days ago.
One thing stands out clearly. In a long life of observing political antics of all sorts I've never seen Canadians so angry at each other, and that includes the sorry spectacle of the great pipeline furore in 1956, the oil wars between Ottawa and Alberta in the late 1970's and early 1980's, as well as the Meech Lake and Charlotteltown Accord fiascoes.
I read an article somewhere yesterday which quite aptly described these antics as 'a banana republic with snowflakes.'
What appalls me the most is that this whole fiasco was set off by an unholy triumvirate with their knickers in a knot at the prospect of losing some of their perks (and believe me, Joe, this is what this is all about), not the public good.
What has happened to this country?
Mark my words. No good will come of this, no matter how it plays out in the end. The rancour is too deep.
Real
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From: Ron Thornton Subject: Re: Daily Digest December 4, 2008
Hi Joe:
For the longest time we have heard that our participation in our political/electoral process has dwindled. Who knew that all it would take to build up that interest was to have a band of socialists/separatists try to grab power without benefit of a mandate from the people?
In the Dec. 4 Digest, the Charlottetown Guardian had an article that called for the dismantling of what it called systematic barriers that frustrated people from taking part in the process. One mentioned was the $200 fee that PEI candidates do not get back if they fail to get at least half the votes of the winner. Duh. Remove that fee, and I'll run in every damned election myself. If $200 is a barrier, then I'm just guessing that you are someone who has no initial support and simply are there to clutter up the ballot. I like that barrier, but it seems the Greens are among those going to court to have such sensible restrictions tossed out. As we supposedly progress, it would appear that humankind is actually becoming dumb as a stick.
Jacob Rempel might have a point in regards to how the Dion-Layton-Duceppe Coalition might provide more stable government for Canada. All I need to know is the cost of it, such as the legislative program the parties have agreed to that prompted the BQ to support the scheme for 18-months, rather than on a case-by-case basis. What have they, who couldn't give a crap about the rest of the country, been promised in order for them to sign on for this amount of time? I can't believe this party advocating Quebec independence surrendered its own independence for nothing. If Jacob could provide me with the answers to that, I would sure appreciate it.
Charlotte Garrett, in response to Brian, is incorrect when she says the BQ is not part of the coalition. They won't have cabinet seats, but it took all three parties to sign the accord to work in concert together for a predetermined amount of time. The BQ got something for its 18-months worth of support, and as I mentioned before, we are still wondering just what that something is.
Glenn Harewood made an interesting point, one I agree with, in that each representative is individually voted into parliament on election day, not as a group or party. However, then we should also agree that as this represents 308 separate elections, the national total of what party got how many votes is totally irrelevant. As Glenn pointed out, as these are separate elections, then what Ed picked up in his race in Corner Brook got can't be added to the votes Joe received in his election against the candidates in Victoria. They are totally different elections held in different places involving different people that just happened to take place on the same day. Actually, they weren't always held on the same day either.
One final point. I initially thought the removal of political welfare from the parties based on their national vote count was a jab at the Liberals. It would appear that instead it was a shot at the BQ, who leave all private fundraising in Quebec to the PQ, and are totally funded from the public purse. I guess it is too much to ask those who support a political party through their vote to also toss a couple of bucks their way as well. Then again, what good socialist would attempt to attract private funding when the public purse remains open.
Have a great day, Joe.
Ron Thornton
===================================
From: "Efstratios Psarianos"
Has "The next election has already begun."?
- From: "John Dowson"
- Subject: It's just Harpers nature
- Subject: It's just Harpers nature
From: "Anne Dickinson"
Subject: Re: Daily Digest December 5, 2008
Hi Joe-
I didn't see Susan Riley's article in your DD though I may have missed it.
She expresses my opinion on the whole debacle. but says it much better than I can.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Harper+bitter+victory/1034515/story.html
Anne Dickinson
===================================
From: "Eugene Parks"
Subject: In the news
Jobs: going, going, gone
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081206.COLETTS06-3/TPStory/Comment
EUGENE PARKS
December 6, 2008
Victoria -- An economy can skip a heartbeat now and again, it can even have an irregular rhythm - although unhealthy, it's not fatal. Stopping a heart is another matter. In November, 71,000 Canadians lost their jobs.
For those families, their economic heart has stopped. Rather than do anything to prevent more economic tragedy, Stephen Harper stopped Parliament to avoid Parliament.
===================================
From: "John Halonen"
John`s view has great merit, especially with the beginning points.
It is quite apparent that Stephen Harper would not introduce a budget that is so against the values of so many Canadians. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND would oppose women`s rights and at the same time deny the right to strike for others. These are not very popular values and affect over 50 percent of our population. The denying of funding for political foes was thrown in to ensure a united opposition that had no option but to band together.
Now with his major selling points he is saying that "The opposition includes Separatists, and he is the one trying to protect Canadian values". This does sound good and for many Canadians it appears as the major point. Unfortunately it is totally wrong as it was his intent to have others believe he is the one that will save our Country and thus move it`s values to his own.
The end result can be changed that he so wants, but that means that the public must look at the total package HE proposed, rather than the end that he is trying to manipulate to.
Hopefully, the delay will not cause Canadians to suffer longer term consequences, as the economic situation we are now in is rather serious.
===================================
From: "Barry Douglas"
Subject: No Nativity Scene in Ottawa this year !!!!
There will be no Nativity Scene in Ottawa this year!
This isn't for any religious reason.
They simply have not been able to find Three wise Men in the Nation's capitol.
P.S. There was no problem, however, finding enough asses to fill the stable
===================================
From: John Kruithof
Subject: The Governor General erred
Joe,
The Governor General erred in giving in to Harper¢s wish of shutting down Parliament. In her capacity as Commander-in-Chief of Canada, how can she now send our armed forces off to foreign lands to promote democracy, when she allowed a minority government to thwart the will of the majority right here at home? Canada has lost its beacon as a bastion of democracy.
John Kruithof
Ottawa South
===================================
From: "Real Gagne"
Joe:
The next election began the moment the final vote count was in.
I'm not as certain as John Dowson seems to be about the forthcoming scenario and the reasons he advances. But I do believe that, win, lose, or another draw, Harper has set the agenda for the next general election, whenever it comes.
Real
===================================
From: Larry Kazdan
To: msmyth@theprovince.com, provletters@theprovince.com
Subject: Letter to Editor Re: We should be grateful to governor-general, Michael Smyth, Dec. 5
- Re: We should be grateful to governor-general, Michael Smyth, Dec. 5
From: "Robert Ede"
To: "Pierre Bourque" <pierre@bourque.com>
Subject: Analysis of : Majority (68%) Supports Governor General¹s Decision to Prorogue
On Bourque I spotted "Majority (68%) Supports Governor General¹s Decision to Prorogue"
And 100% support getting $500.00 gov't cheque in the mail (unless you ask them if they'd rather get $1,000, then support for $500 goes way down)
Polling ... it's magic is NOT in the answers ... it's in the questions.
For Example (or ensample):
#1 How many would prefer an "All the Talents cabinet" with Harper in charge, appointing 63% of the members of cabinet but including 24.7% from the Liberal & 12% from the NDP?
Especially how many would prefer this option if this Co-operative Coaltion of Collaborative Canadian Change Party (CCCCCP) was mandated to stay in power until the Reform-Harperites 4yr Fixed Date Election rolls around in 2012 - the world should be over the worst of our monetary-induced economic purge by then (if ever)
#2 How many would favour ELECTING the next Governor General (and continuing thereafter on alternating General dates)?
#3 How many would favour (after Electing the GovGen) to returning the Privy Council (and it's supervisory sub-committees - Treasury Bd etc) to its original place within the Executive orb of the GG? ie back providing supervision the boneheads who get their jobs by bribing trusting souls with the innocents own money
#4 How many would favour re-instituting the Office of Comptroller General to check spending BEFORE it happens (not 2-5 yrs the horse is out of the barn as does the Auditor General)?
#5 How many would favour simplifying the tax code? and making uniform laws, codes, regulations and registration qualifications across the country?
Don't know? Why not ask?
Maybe the CCCCCP could adopt some policies that people really do favour? and that would improve the country's operation as ONE NATION.
Robert (Rob) Ede,
===================================
From: "Suan H.Booiman"
Subject: John Dowson
Joe,
In a way do agree with John Dowson. however there is more to it than finding
a majority. In this round he will be obligated to pay more attention to the voter,
particular Western Canada, in the same move ignore Quebec, there is noting
to be saved. All the trial steps have been made to patronize the left-leaning
Quebecois and have failed, because in the mind of Quebec there is never
enough. Besides that why should the Rest of Canada support a State province
that restricts the rights of the individual with Jean Charest's document "sign here".
The lefties Liberal and NDP have shown their true nature by going in bed with
the separatists without consulting the voter, not even within their own bankrupt
organizations. Harper's survival depends on the budget that he brings, after the
arrival of Obama, the protectionist. Any government that would take steps prior
the crowning needs brain surgery. All the media hype about failure is the reflection
of them not being able to drive there left leaning wagon. It takes a brave man to,
at last stand up and say "Quebec you are nothing more than the rest of us".,
cut out all the special funding to buy Quebec's vote, including the Liberal
declaration of bilingualism, scrap the enforcement of the French language in the
first place.
Besides that there is nothing wrong with closing the door on funding political
parties, if they don't have the platform to raise their own, they don't belong there.
Good-bye to the Bloc Quebecois.
Suan
===================================
From: "Don Keir"
YHi Joe:
It doesn't take a lot of words to say what I am thinking.
If Dowson is right we all better be ready to kiss this country good-bye. Harper has already shown that he will happily comply with the with the slightest whim of the CEOs of any and all corporations. He can barerly wait to make Canada part of a North American Union that is completely controlled by the USA.
When this happens very little time will pass before all pretence of democray will be abandoned and we will be dictated to by our established plutocracy.
Don Keir
===================================
From: Caspar Davis
Subject:: Must Watch: Amory Lovins Explains Why Green
Technology Is a Bird in the Hand, Not Pie in the Sky
Thanks to Vera Gottlieb:
Amazing.
Hope not only exists, it is cheaper, better, and safer.
This video is almost an hour long, but it may change the way you look at everything from cars to war.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHASS1Yjg_s&feature=related
also see:
Amory Lovins on "The Oil End Game". www.oilendgame.com
===================================
From: "Rebecca Gingrich"
Subject: True words
What is hateful...is not rebellion but the despotism which induces the
rebellion; what is hateful are not rebels but the men, who, having the
enjoyment of power, do not discharge the duties of power; they are the men
who, having the power to redress wrongs, refuse to listen to the petitioners
that are sent to them; they are the men who, when they are asked for a loaf,
give a stone : Sir Wilfrid Laurier
===================================
_________________
PARTY FINANCING
Now obscured, the spark that lit the crisis lingers still Now obscured, the spark that lit the crisis lingers still
http://www.thestar.com/News/Ideas/article/548670
The PM's decision to cut his opponents' funding goes against the grain in the Western world, but he may yet revisit the subject PARTY FINANCING
Now obscured, the spark that lit the crisis lingers still Now obscured, the spark that lit the crisis lingers still
http://www.thestar.com/News/Ideas/article/548670
Dec 06, 2008 04:30 AM
Comments on this story
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(4) Lynda Hurst
Feature Writer
The Harper government's plan to kill public subsidies to political parties was hardly the sole cause of the current uproar in Ottawa, but the surprise move enraged opposition leaders who saw partisan paw-prints all over it.
Within 24 hours, the proposal – which would have saved taxpayers about $26 million in direct funds and millions more in tax credits – was withdrawn. But the spark of long-festering revolt had been lit.
Now Canadians must wait for the next move on Jan. 26 when Parliament reconvenes after being prorogued. Plenty of time to ponder whether, naked politicking aside, Stephen Harper truly was serious about ending public subsidizing of the political process.
"I fully expect Harper will go back at it again – if he's still there," says Carleton University economist Allan Maslove, who specializes in public finance.
Indeed, as Harper's former mentor and chief-of-staff, Tom Flanagan, wrote this fall, the PM's goal has been to push the Liberals "into a financial pit they can never climb out of."
Problem is, the other parties – the blue-collar-supported New Democrats, the fledgling Greens, the almost totally subsidy-reliant Bloc Québécois – would suffer collateral damage simultaneously.
Moreover, says Maslove, if the government were to pursue the no-subsidy stance, Canada would be walking away from a process recognized in virtually all Western nations. It is seen as the cost of democracy.
"They've done it for the same reason we did it," he says, "to get rid of undue influence by corporate and union donors."
Those who argue, as Harper might, that political parties are private, voluntary associations of like-minded citizens who should pay their own way are "naive," says Maslove. "They may be voluntary but they cost money to run."
At present, the five federal parties annually receive $1.95 for every vote they received in the previous election, an amount that increases with inflation (it began as $1.75), but ebbs and flows with their political fortunes.
Since corporate and union donations were banned by outgoing Liberal PM Jean Chrétien in 2004, parties have been expected to meet the rest of their financial needs via individual donations. But only the Tories have mastered the art of grassroots funding, a skill inherited from the Canadian Alliance, which specialized in it.
From 2004 to mid-2008, the Conservative party raised 2.5 times more than the Liberals – $73 million to $28 million. In 2007, they received 159,000 donations, averaging $170 each. Some 53,000 individuals gave to the NDP but – after decades of relying on corporate donors – the Liberal party found only 36,000 Canadians willing to cough up for the coffers.
While public funding is inarguably necessary for an equitable democratic process, says Duff Conacher, head of Democracy Watch, an Ottawa political watchdog and reform organization, the present arrangement needs reworking. For a start, he says, the $1.95 per vote is not only an arbitrary figure, but unnecessarily high. "People say, `Hey, it's only $1.95,' but the parties get way more than that."
Conacher notes that if a party wins more than 2 per cent of the vote, 60 per cent of its expenses are reimbursed, as are individual candidates who collect more than 10 per cent of the vote. Moreover, donations to a party and riding associations are capped at $1,100 each, the first $400 of which gets a 75 per cent tax credit.
Charities get only a 17 per cent tax credit, he says, "and I'd strongly argue that they do more good work for the public day to day than political parties."
Another perverse aspect of the current set-up, Conacher adds, is that the separatist Bloc is subsidized at the same ratio as the others even though it doesn't have the expense of running nation-wide campaigns. The yearly grant also means it doesn't have to do much, if any, fundraising.
Conacher thinks that should be countered by paying parties on the basis of how many candidates they field, not how many votes they get. As the Bloc runs in only one-quarter of Canada's 301 constituencies, its subsidy would drop.
That's a possible option, says Maslove, but the real issue is the Bloc's right to sit in Parliament: "If you argue they have the right, then you have to apply the same rules to them as the others." (A similarly awkward situation exists in France, where taxpayer funding means the widely condemned, far-right Front Nationale is kept alive.)
Doing an end-run around the Bloc is a non-starter, warns University of Toronto political scientist Nelson Wiseman. "Maybe Quebecers don't like their tax monies going to the other parties, but it happens anyway. The same with the rest of Canada and the Bloc."
Sweden is one of the few nations not to use state funding, regarding political parties as voluntary, representative associations. Its five parties agreed among themselves in the 1970s not to accept corporate donations and, in 1980, to exchange bank balances and expenditures.
In the U.S., parties that get more than 5 per cent of the vote receive $5 million a year in taxpayer money. In presidential campaigns, the rules require candidates to raise the first $100,000 on their own, then Washington matches donations dollar for dollar. In return, candidates must agree to limit spending according to a statutory formula.
This year, Republican John McCain received $84 million in taxpayer money to run his campaign, while president-elect Barack Obama said no to it, instead raising big money in little sums. His campaign drew about $400 million from 2 million individuals through an aggressive, Internet-based program that reached out beyond known Democratic supporters. Wiseman says all countries continually revise their political financing reforms as loopholes are discovered – as they always are. But if Ottawa eliminates taxpayer subsidies, it should realize it would have to lift the cap on donations. Canada could be back to square one.
"There are," he says, "implications with all approaches."
===================================
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