Mr. Speaker, at the outset, I would like to say that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Louis-Hébert.
I am pleased to stand in the House today to speak to this motion, because as a first-time member of Parliament, there are three core values that have animated the conversation on this side of the House about how we can govern better: openness, transparency, and accountability to Canadians. Restoring these key values after 10 years of neglect in this House of Commons remains, and will remain, a foundational part of our mandate.
It is also part of our strong Liberal legacy. It was a Liberal government, under former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, that first implemented the complete ban on all corporate and union donations to political parties federally. Why did we take that step? Hon. members across the way are very interested to hear why. It was because we wanted to assure Canadians that no special interest group would ever be in a position to purchase influence with regard to the work of our elected MPs.
After more than a decade of these rules being in place, we know that they are working. Our rules are among the strongest in North America, if not the world. For example, every campaign donation of more than $200 must be disclosed on the Elections Canada website four times a year. This means that the public and the media can learn who contributes, how much, and when.
By comparison, in some provinces, like British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland, there are no limits on donations at all, and in Alberta, one can donate up to $30,000 in an election year. By contrast, our standards are much more rigorous. As we heard earlier today, no union, no business, and no special interest may contribute at all to political parties.
As an April editorial in The Globe and Mail affirmed, these are “excellent rules governing donations at the federal level—whose cornerstone principle is that only citizens should be allowed to donate to political parties”.
As the editorial went on to say, with regard to our provincial governments, “Photocopy this legislation. Pass it into law in your province. Problem solved”.
We have created an effective model and a strong precedent, one that speaks to the very best of what political parties are about. They are driven by the passion, the commitment, and the hard work of our volunteers.
As everyone in this House who has had to campaign door to door will affirm, all politics are local. Engagement is driven by those committed Canadians who know that an accountable government needs them to be part of the conversation. These conversations may touch on a larger vision for the country in terms of our place in a rapidly changing world, but they are more often about how we can make things a little better for those in the middle class and those hoping to join it. I believe we have made our commitment to their concerns clear in this government.
This is the driving spirit of our conversations with Canadians as a party, too, and presumably all parties, if they are to be successful in fundraising. Just look at the facts. Since those rules were first put in place, the number of individuals making political contributions has risen dramatically to encompass a broad sweep of ordinary Canadians. In 2015 alone, a total of 330,456 Canadians donated to our three largest national political parties, and that is up from 115,908 Canadians in 2004.
We have felt an obligation and a responsibility to have as many Canadians as possible involved in the political process. That has meant reaching out in new ways. We hosted more discussions online with Canadians than any government over the last decade. It has also meant launching more than 80 consultations with Canadians. You do not have to be a member of a political party for any of this and you do not have to pay for special access or influence.
We have done all of this in the hope that more Canadians might be involved in the political process, first and foremost. Again, this is about accountability. The more Canadians we have involved, the better a job we are doing of listening and responding and governing in the interests of all Canadians.
Ordinary Canadians are able to see the changes we continue to make here in Parliament. It is this government that put in place the rules requiring all MPs to disclose expenses online on a quarterly basis. It also made important changes to the Senate and the appointment of Supreme Court judges to once again provide more accountability and transparency.
We also put these changes in place to increase diversity and gender balance, because these reforms also improve transparency and establish this government's activist approach. That is very important. I cannot think of a better example of how we are listening to all Canadians, representing their interests at a fundamental level, than in how we are ensuring that the highest positions in our courts and indeed here in the House are staffed based on merit and achievement first and foremost.
We have, as they say, checked the privilege of the older ways of special access and of currying favour and influence. We have moved boldly and forcefully on these reforms, because we have listened to Canadians and know that this is how to develop real trust and faith that we have their interests at heart. This is about governing with integrity. This is, I contend, the question at the root of this motion.
For those Canadians who attend fundraisers that any member on my side of the House attends, it is more than clear by the way we govern that we are serious in our commitment to openness, transparency, integrity, and making policy decisions by listening to as many Canadians as possible.
We are a year into this government's mandate. I can cite again the numerous consultations and unprecedented efforts we have made to listen to all Canadians, regardless of party affiliation, and to provide the strongest assurances possible that we are governing in all Canadians' best interests and are working with them to help them realize their highest aspirations.
For those in the middle class and those hoping to join it, we have shown by action, not talk, what we are about. In line with the proud history we all share, we will continue to make fundraising and party financing more transparent and accountable by ensuring that the Liberal Party's efforts are, first and foremost, driven by volunteers. Hope and hard work are the only guarantors of access in the Liberal Party, and that is why I stand in opposition to this motion.
