Please support democracy

Without your support, Democracy Watch can't win key changes to stop governments and big businesses from abusing their power and hurting you and your family. Please click here to support democracy now

Political financing bill needs to be strengthened

Re: “Political loans bill ‘basically dead,’ says NDP MP Scott” (The Hill Times, Aug. 12). I would like to see the new mega-bill introduce into law all of Democracy Watch’s recommendations from their “Money in Politics Campaign,” including: disclose all donations and loans a week before election day, limit and disclose donations in nomination and party leadership races, impose spending limits in party leadership races, limit and disclose paid volunteer labour provided by organizations, disclose the identity of each individual donor’s employer (as in the U.S.) and direct organizational affiliations, and increase the penalty for breaking these laws to include jail time. I also think that these recommendations, as well as the current federal political financing and lobbying laws, must apply to provinces as well. Corporations, unions, and groups representing their interests should not be allowed to donate to any kind of political campaign anywhere in Canada, nor should they be allowed to lobby in secret. Democracies die behind closed doors.