Come Clean PM Harper – Democracy Watch

Please send your letter now calling on Prime Minister Harper to come clean, finally, about who paid off his campaigns that put him into power!

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You have the right to know who paid off Stephen Harper’s campaign costs.

Who paid off $2 million for Prime Minister Harper’s campaigns that first put him into power?
Did oil and gas companies and their executives pay off Harper’s costs with huge donations? Did foreign companies? Did China-owned companies? PM Harper still refuses to tell us who paid off hundreds of thousands of dollars of his campaign costs to become party leader.

What has PM Harper done for these secret donors? Is he pushing pipelines and refusing to restrict oil and gas companies to combat climate change to pay back his secret donors?

Did he weaken federal environmental protection laws in dangerous ways to pay back his secret donors? Has he muzzled federal government scientists to pay back his secret donors?

Is he paying back his secret donors by signing trade deals that allow foreign companies to attack Canada’s environmental protection, consumer protection, labour, health and safety laws?

Is Stephen Harper the best Prime Minister big business money can buy?
We don’t know because PM Harper refuses to tell us who his secret donors are. What we do know is that PM Harper owes his secret donors a lot – he wouldn’t be in power if they hadn’t paid off his costs.

And we also know throughout history that politicians being paid off with big, secret donations has led to corruption, waste, pollution and other serious abuses. And we know that big donations have influence – lots of past cases in Canadian politics have shown how loudly money talks.

Secret, unlimited donations were legal, but unethical, payoffs
In 2002, Stephen Harper campaigned and won the leadership of the Canadian Alliance Party. Since then, he has disclosed the identities of only 54 of the donors to his campaign. PM Harper has kept secret the identities of 10 of his biggest donors, and thousands of other donors, even though they donated more than $900,000 of the $1.1 million he raised for his campaign.

In 2004, Stephen Harper won the leadership of the Conservative Party (formed out of a merger of the Canadian Alliance Party and the old Progressive Conservative Party) and spent more than $2 million on his campaign. Since then, the list of the biggest donors to his campaign (he may have kept some of them secret) has disappeared from the Conservative Party’s website.

When he campaigned to be party leader in 2002 and 2004, secret, unlimited donations by big businesses, including foreign-owned big businesses operating in Canada, were legal. Big businesses and their executives could have given Harper hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations, in secret.

Are Harper’s donors all or mostly oil and gas and pipeline companies? Are they major polluters? Are they large foreign-based companies that want weaker corporate responsibility laws in Canada? Are they companies owned or controlled by the Koch brothers from the U.S. – notorious opponents of environmental protection and other corporate responsibility laws?

Please send your letter now calling on PM Harper to come clean, finally, about who paid off his campaign costs and put him into power.

And please Share this with everyone you know.

And please help keep this campaign going until PM Harper finally discloses who paid off his costs. To donate now, please click here.

Send your letter now to tell Prime Minister Harper to come clean about who paid off his costs of winning power, and please spread the word by Liking, Sharing or Tweeting this page

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Dear Prime Minister Harper,

The public has a right to know who gave you more than $2 million to help you win power, especially the identities of the biggest donors, so they can judge whether those donations have influenced your decisions as prime minister.

It has been proven in scientific clinical studies that even small gifts and favours can have significant and lasting influence over a person’s decisions.

In 2002, you campaigned and won the leadership of the Canadian Alliance Party. Since then, you have disclosed the identities of only 54 of the donors to your campaign. You have kept secret the identities of 10 of his biggest donors, and thousands of other donors, even though they donated more than $900,000 of the $1.1 million you raised for your campaign.

In 2004, you won the leadership of the newly formed Conservative Party and spent more than $2 million on your campaign. According to Tom Flanagan, you raised $2.7 million with about half (ie. about $1.3 million) coming from 1,829 donations of more than $200. Have you disclosed the identities of all of those donors, especially the biggest donors, and the amounts given?

When you campaigned to be party leader in 2002 and 2004, secret, unlimited donations by big businesses, including foreign-owned big businesses operating in Canada, were legal. Big businesses and their executives could have given you hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations, and their identities could legally remain secret.

However, legal does not mean ethical. According to international standards, to have ethical decision-making in politics the full details of the biases and conflicts of interest of all decision-makers must be disclosed to the public.

I therefore call on you to disclose, finally, who paid off your campaign costs so the public can determine whether those donations may still be influencing your decisions.

Finally, the federal Conservatives recently raised the annual donation limit for individuals from $2,400 to $3,000 (and during an election year from $3,600 to $4,500) to each party and its riding associations and (during an election year) its candidates. This has made it easy for a few executives from a big business or other organization to have undue and unethical influence over politicians by giving tens of thousands of dollars to a party and its candidates and riding associations.

Quebec recently lowered the annual individual donation limit to $100 specifically to reduce the undemocratic influence of big money in politics.

I call on you to decrease the annual individual donation limit to $100-$200 to help ensure that money cannot legally be used as a means of influence over politicians.

Please let me know when you will disclose your donors, and decrease the donation limit. I will be deciding how to vote in the next election based on the response I receive from you. I look forward to hearing back from you.

Dear Prime Minister Harper,
The public has a right to know who gave you more than $2 million to help you win power, especially the identities of the biggest donors, so they can judge whether those donations have influenced your decisions as prime minister.
It has been proven in scientific clinical studies that even small gifts and favours can have significant and lasting influence over a person’s decisions.
In 2002, you campaigned and won the leadership of the Canadian Alliance Party. Since then, you have disclosed the identities of only 54 of the donors to your campaign. You have kept secret the identities of 10 of his biggest donors, and thousands of other donors, even though they donated more than $900,000 of the $1.1 million you raised for your campaign.
In 2004, you won the leadership of the newly formed Conservative Party and spent more than $2 million on your campaign. According to Tom Flanagan, you raised $2.7 million with about half (ie. about $1.3 million) coming from 1,829 donations of more than $200. Have you disclosed the identities of all of those donors, especially the biggest donors, and the amounts given?
When you campaigned to be party leader in 2002 and 2004, secret, unlimited donations by big businesses, including foreign-owned big businesses operating in Canada, were legal. Big businesses and their executives could have given you hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations, and their identities could legally remain secret.
However, legal does not mean ethical. According to international standards, to have ethical decision-making in politics the full details of the biases and conflicts of interest of all decision-makers must be disclosed to the public.
I therefore call on you to disclose, finally, who paid off your campaign costs so the public can determine whether those donations may still be influencing your decisions.
Finally, the federal Conservatives recently raised the annual donation limit for individuals from $2,400 to $3,000 (and during an election year from $3,600 to $4,500) to each party and its riding associations and (during an election year) its candidates. This has made it easy for a few executives from a big business or other organization to have undue and unethical influence over politicians by giving tens of thousands of dollars to a party and its candidates and riding associations.
Quebec recently lowered the annual individual donation limit to $100 specifically to reduce the undemocratic influence of big money in politics.
I call on you to decrease the annual individual donation limit to $100-$200 to help ensure that money cannot legally be used as a means of influence over politicians.
Please let me know when you will disclose your donors, and decrease the donation limit. I will be deciding how to vote in the next election based on the response I receive from you. I look forward to hearing back from you.

Thank you for sending your letter, and please help keep this campaign going until these key democracy reforms are won. To donate now, please click here.

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