Yes, there are specific recommendations regarding outstanding claims in the report on the regime and how the regime could be improved. One of the problems we have with the current system is that there is no finality. That's a concern that's been raised by many.
I also point out that we're still dealing with over $1.3 million in outstanding debts from candidates in the 2004 election. That's a problem that's not unique to leadership contestants—it also exists for candidates. It's normal practice for candidates to use credit to fund their campaign. They often rely on the rebate they will get after the campaign to cover off their debts. Sometimes the campaign doesn't go as well as they thought, so they are struggling to repay their debts.
There are issues there, and they're pointed out in the report. I don't know how much detail you want to go into on this today, but there are provisions in the act that were adopted in the 1970s and that were never aligned with the reforms that took place in 2004, and especially 2006, regarding limits on contributions.
One of the issues that's pointed out in the report is that maybe contributors to leadership contestants could be limited to one contribution per event, as opposed to candidates who can generate annual contributions. That's one thing that may help address the debt burden for those leadership contestants.
There are other things that are pointed to as possible solutions in the recommendation report regarding improving the regime. There's a “deemed provision” that contributions not paid after 18 months, subject to broad exceptions, are deemed to be contributions. In the context in which these provisions were made, it was legal for corporations, unions, or other associations to make a contribution. We end up here, after we've pushed the limit of the current regime. If a bank extended a line of credit on a commercial basis 18 months ago, and the line of credit was still unpaid, technically the bank would have made an illegal contribution. I'm not sure that was the intent, the purpose, of those provisions. That's why they need to be revisited. We've put forward specific recommendations to address these issues and I'm looking forward to your views on these.