Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I read a particular clause from Bill C-2 that bans contributions by corporations or businesses to a political party. This is to a certain degree drawn, as was the case with certain provisions a few years back, from what the Loi électorale du Québec advocates. However, I personally do not agree with this clause.
As far back as November 1999, I expressed the opinion that corporations which are corporate citizens, should be allowed to make financial contributions to political parties. Subsequently, a similar text appeared in Le Devoir on April 9, 2005. What must be made clear is that the Quebec experience illustrates that it is wishful thinking to forbid corporations from making contributions to political parties. Allow me to read you a short passage from the 1999 article:
Party financing by the public can no longer meet the financial needs of political parties [...] new avenues must be explored.
Financing by the public is raised by going door-to-door, and what I had just stated corresponds to what they have experienced in Quebec.
We can no longer continue putting a large number of people in a situation where they must act inappropriately. This is not ethical behaviour. Changes must be made. It seems to me that corporations must be allowed to contribute to political parties, but according to very strict rules. For example, one could allow corporations — businesses, law firms, engineering firms — to contribute to political parties. What happens currently in Quebec, is that members of the board of directors, from a law firm or an engineering firm, each pay, if there are 10 of them, the maximum amount allowed by the legislation out of their own assets, but they are then reimbursed for these contributions through expense accounts or salary increases, or some other means, which is obviously illegal.
The biggest problem is being able to investigate these cases in order to identify the people who are behaving this way, subjecting them to fines or taking them to court. This is a real problem, and I must point it out to you. This is why I find it strange that, instead of drawing on Quebec's experience, the main provisions of Quebec's 1977 legislation have been invoked, including those banning the corruption of corporations.
Having said that, I would like to submit a further comment on another section of the act that is not mentioned in Bill C-2. I find it an unfortunate omission. Section 24 of the Canada Elections Act dealing with the appointment of returning officers should be amended, and Quebec's example should be followed. All returning officers at the federal level are appointed by cabinet decree, but without any of the competitions and controls mechanisms that we established several years ago now in Quebec.
Those are my two remarks, Mr. Chairman.