I share similar concerns to Mr. Martin, because, frankly, I made my first contribution to a political party when I was 15 years old, and this would have prevented me from ever being a member of a political party. I donated $5 to join the party. What year was that again? I can't figure out which party.... What did we call ourselves at the time?
I would have been prohibited from participating as a member of a federal political party had this clause been enacted into statutory law. I know of dozens of youth in my constituency who recently met to start up a youth association in our constituency, all of whom would be disqualified from continuing to contribute their $10 membership fee.
The Liberal Party has already caused problems with donations due to the Volpe affair, and I would not want those problems to now extend and strip away the democratic rights of people to join parties before they turn 18—a right that our party cherishes. So I'm going to propose a subamendment, replacing Ms. Jennings' amendment. For the purpose of placing it in the act, it would read: “Section 404 of the act is amended by adding the following after subsection 404(1): In addition, no individual shall make a contribution to a leadership contestant, or to a nomination contestant, unless the individual is 18 years of age or older.”
In other words, we ban the Volpe effect but we continue to allow youngsters to be members of federal political parties. In essence, we address the concerns that Ms. Jennings is ostensibly seeking to deal with, and at the same time we ameliorate the concerns Mr. Martin has raised.
I offer that subamendment, Mr. Chair.