Wynne promises new fundraising rules after Toronto Star probe

Sweeping changes to political fundraising will be unveiled this fall, says Premier Kathleen Wynne.

Thestar.com
March 29, 2016
By Robert Benzie

Sweeping reforms to clean up political fundraising in Ontario will finally be unveiled this fall, Premier Kathleen Wynne says.

In the wake of an investigation by the Star’s Martin Regg Cohn that revealed cabinet ministers have secret fundraising targets of up to $500,000 a year, Wynne promised new rules and restrictions are coming.

“We will be making changes. We’re working on significant reforms right now. We have been for the last few months,” the premier said Tuesday in Markham.

“The government will bring forward a plan in the fall and that will include new rules on third-party advertising ... it will also include transitioning away from corporate and union donations, (and) lowering the annual donation limit,” she said, referring to the existing $9,975 contribution cap that is routinely exceeded due to loopholes.

Corporations, unions and individuals can donate much more than their yearly limit by giving additional cash during byelections and by bankrolling candidates during party leadership campaigns.

Wynne stressed that the government is “keeping the transparency measures currently in place on real-time reporting” of political donations that are listed on Elections Ontario’s website.

“We need to change those rules as the social mores change and as the expectations of the public change.”

If the reforms arrive this fall, the new rules would coincide with the 13th anniversary of the Liberals taking power in Ontario.

The premier stressed there would have to be a “transition” period like there was when federal fundraising was revamped more than a decade ago.

“There will be some changes in place before the next election,” she said. “Will all of the changes apply before the next election? Probably not. There does need to be a transition.”

Asked specifically about the ministers’ targets, which are typically in the range of $250,000 annually - though some, such as Finance Minister Charles Sousa, are expected to collect $500,000 a year - Wynne was unrepentant.

“I understand there’s a desire to drive wedges between people. You know that makes a story, but the fact is we’re a team. We have to raise a certain amount of money in order to be able to do the advertising, to run the campaign that we need,” the premier said.

Progressive Conservative MPP Monte McNaughton (Lambton-Kent-Middlesex) said Wynne’s “long overdue” reforms are coming only because the Liberals were caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

“I’ve long believed that democracy shouldn’t be purchased in Ontario and this has made cabinet ministers and the government open to criticism of policy being bought,” said McNaughton.

“It’s ridiculous - taxpayers deserve better. It opens up the current government . . . and future governments to being bought and it’s wrong.”

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath - who held a private, $9,975-a-plate fundraiser last month with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel - warned Wynne against unilateral action.

“New Democrats have long called on the government to fully engage all parties, Elections Ontario and the public when it comes to limiting the influence of big money on our electoral system,” Horwath said in a statement.

“However, we believe that it should not be up to the Liberal Party of Ontario to fundamentally change the rules that govern our democracy on their own. We sincerely hope that any changes will be made through a process that is open and transparent. The strength of our democracy depends on it.”

Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid, who was with Wynne in Markham, declined to disclose his informal fundraising quota, which sources say is in the range of $250,000 to $300,000 a year.

“We all have responsibilities as members of a team to raise money for the next campaign and you don’t want to go into a campaign without a good war chest in place to be able to launch a good, competitive campaign,” Duguid said.

“All I do is I do the very best that I can to raise as much as I can for the party. We all follow the rules exactly, it’s all transparent. I don’t pay a lot of attention to anything about allocations or how much you should or shouldn’t raise,” he said.

Duguid scoffed at complaints to the Star by former ministers Dwight Duncan and John Gerretsen about their concerns over fundraising process.

“They didn’t say anything when they were here,” he said, though Wynne admitted Gerretsen had expressed his displeasure to her.

Health Minister Eric Hoskins, who brings in as much as $500,000 a year for the Liberals, said helping his party has nothing to do with his official duties.

“My purpose as minister of health is to represent patients in this province and that’s a job I take absolutely seriously day in and day out,” said Hoskins.

“Quite separate from that, I have a responsibility to my party and that is to, following existing guidelines and rules, do my best also to contribute to the Liberal party and those two issues are entirely separate,” he said.

Hoskins noted that fundraising is done by MPPs from all three parties at Queen’s Park.

“There are rules and guidelines that govern that, which I follow.”

The Star’s investigation came on the eve of the Ontario Liberal Party’s $1,600-a-plate Heritage Dinner on Wednesday night, which will collect about $3 million, making it one of Canada’s biggest political fundraisers ever.