Yes, the only way that Democracy Watch thinks that loans should be allowed is if you set up a public fund and the loans come from a public fund. The current taxpayer subsidy on donations is essentially a public fund, so replace it with something that replaces loans that are given by federally regulated financial institutions so that when a party gets a $30-million loan for an election, it has to be on the same terms as a $30-million loan to anyone else.
That kind of loan would be a huge favour that a bank has now done for a party that will have a finance minister who makes decisions about the Bank Act if that party wins. Wow. It seems a pretty blatant conflict of interest to me. Why would you leave that loophole open? It's a big-money loophole.