moved for leave to introduce Bill C-407, an act to amend the Canada Elections Act.
Mr. Speaker, I am introducing a bill to amend the Canada Elections Act to address the situation I encountered last fall in which a private company tried to launder its corporate contributions to the Liberal Party by asking its employees to donate directly to the party and promising to reimburse the employees the full amount of their donations.
This practice hides the donations of companies which have a lot of influence with the government. It puts unethical pressure on employees who do not wish to support the political party of the company's choice and it rips off the taxpayer because donations from individuals receive higher tax exemptions than corporate donations.
Elections Canada agrees that this practice needs to be prohibited in the act and I hope to receive the support of all members for this proposal.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)