Yes, absolutely. The current situation is that if you have wealthy friends or family or are well connected with corporations or unions, as a leadership contestant or candidate you can borrow money from these people and essentially have a major advantage over anyone else. This bill addresses that situation.
As for transparency, reporting on the loans of Canadians and knowing exactly what the term limits are, what the rate is, who is guaranteeing the loan, is obviously very important. It helps Canadians have trust in the whole system.
Under the requirements in this bill, reporting on the loans would include a statement of the terms and conditions of each loan, the amount of the loan, the interest rate, the lender's name and address, the dates and amounts of repayment of principal and payment of interest. If there's a guarantor, the guarantor's name and address and the amount guaranteed would be included. In the case of candidates and nomination contestants, the unpaid principal remaining at the end of each calendar year would be included. All these things would be reported to the public and Canadians would know who gave the loan and the amount of the loan that was given. It really adds to the transparency of it all.
As for loans themselves, individuals can still make a loan up to the donation limit. Currently that's $1,200. For anything over and above that, only financial institutions can give loans, and there are literally hundreds of registered financial institutions that can provide those loans.