Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that we have to rise today to speak to this bill under the effects of closure but we will do our best.
I rise today to speak on the report stage of Bill C-2, an act which repeals and replaces, inadequately in my view, the Canada Elections Act.
Initially, when I first heard that the government was going to repeal the Canada Elections Act, I was encouraged, for that was something our party has taken a firm position on. In fact, it can be found as a policy in our blue book, where it states under the section entitled Parliamentary Reform, subsection A:
The Reform Party supports repealing sections of the Canada Elections Act which make MPs beholden to their national party executive or leader rather than their constituents.
The Reform Party has taken a strong stand on political reform, believing that for too long Canada's political system has been out of touch with the common voter. We believe it is time to restore the confidence of Canadians in Canada's political system and federal representatives to make sound decisions about their future. We will do this through the introduction of real democratic representation in parliament and accountability for parliamentarians.
I firmly believe that it is time elected representatives be held accountable to the people who elect them and that the duty of elected members to their constituents should supersede their obligations to their political parties.
Sadly, as I learn more about the government's intentions, first in the form of Bill C-83 in the first session of this parliament, and now Bill C-2 in this session, I see that the Liberal government and, indeed, some of the other parties in the House, do not share Reform's commitment to openness and transparency in government.
Before I continue in any detail, I first want to compliment my colleague, the member for Vancouver North. I congratulate him for his tenacity, for his unfailing commitment to the principles of democratic reform that I outlined previously and for his undying belief in the equality of all people, regardless of their political affiliation. This member has almost single-handedly exposed this bill for the farce that it is, and I recognize him for that.
The efforts made by the government to change electoral legislation is inadequate. It has become clear to members of the House and members of the public that the government sent this bill to committee before second reading hoping to keep it hidden from public spotlight and thus isolate it from any meaningful public comment.
This arrogance is evidenced by the fact that no significant amendments were made in the committee in spite of numerous suggestions made by the official opposition, third party and media witnesses and witnesses from other political parties that are not represented in the House today.
It was with relief that I noted that some small parties did have an opportunity to make representation to the committee. Too often these parties, and the Canadians who voted for them, are ignored by the traditional parties and the mainstream national media. In fact, the elections acts in Canada are so biased toward the parties with seats in the federal or provincial legislatures that it is normal for any changes to be slipped through quietly on a Friday afternoon lest any public scrutiny expose those political hijinks for what they are.
This time, however, Canadians are fortunate to have the Reform Party filling the role of Her Majesty's Official Opposition, and we will not let the government pull the wool over the eyes and the rug out from under the feet of the Canadian public. We will remain true to our democratic roots and true to Canadians.
In spite of repealing the current legislation, this new legislation repeats many of the same mistakes of the Canada Elections Act, doing nothing to address serious public concerns involving campaign financing, party registration requirements, the timing of byelections, third party spending issues and patronage appointments within Elections Canada. It should come as no surprise then when one discovers that these flaws were retained because of the advantage they give to the ruling party.
I want to speak to the issue of third party spending, which I believe goes beyond the context of this legislation and addresses the broader issue of free speech.
The government appears to be basing its tenuous position on a controversial decision made by the supreme court in Libman v Quebec which struck down the Quebec referendum act's third party spending limit as too restrictive, but left the door open to legislatures and parliament to determine reasonable spending limits that were not only desirable but constitutional.
However, this decision was not made in the context of a federal election where voters are faced with a multitude of issues, but in the context of a provincial referendum where the answer is either yes or no. This difference is very obvious to members of Canada's legal community, no matter what their politics are.
This issue has been before the courts on several occasions in Alberta and in both cases the court ruled that imposing spending limits on third parties is unconstitutional. A recent court case in British Columbia also addressed the issue of third party spending and decided that there were certain circumstances in which the goal of fairness in elections would support an argument for third party advertising.
If in a future election campaign all of the political parties were to agree on a significant policy point then the lack of third party advertising would mean that the people would be limited to the views of the major political parties and media commentators. The third party spending limits would effectively silence citizens who wish to express contrary views.
The Liberals must know that the bill does not have a chance of withstanding a constitutional challenge but I believe they have an ulterior motive in introducing the bill.
It is not a secret that the previous Liberal and Tory regimes have felt the sting of third party spending. The National Citizens' Coalition has publicly criticized the generous MP pension plan during election times and the Canadian Police Association paid for billboards that pilloried Liberal candidates for being soft on crime.
The government feels that the legislation is a way to level the playing field at election time, saying that if candidates have spending limits, lobby groups should also be limited. What is level about limiting lobby groups to a mere $150,000, of which only $3,000 can be targeted to any single riding, when the total election spending limit for the federal Liberal Party is close to $30 million?
Far from levelling the playing field, the legislation gives a huge advantage to the Liberal government. Not only can the Liberals outspend their nearest political party opponents by a margin of nearly three to one, they can spend tens of millions of federal taxpayers' dollars to pat themselves on the back in the months preceding the election.
Restricting the ability of third parties to counter the barrage of government propaganda is an affront to the democratic traditions upon which this country was built.
Notwithstanding the fact that these limits are a clear attempt to muzzle free speech, there is not even evidence to prove that limiting campaign expenses influences the outcome of elections.
Let us consider the following: In 1993 Canadians were suffering under a bloated and arrogant government, one devoid of any new ideas and fundamentally out of touch with the electorate. This party had the highest spending limit of any political party, spending tens of millions of dollars only to return just two MPs to the House of Commons.
On the other hand, a young and vibrant new political party was offering common sense solutions to many challenging issues. It advocated such things as fiscal responsibility, social responsibility, reform of the federation and democratic accountability. This grassroots movement, funded by the $10 and $20 contributions of grassroots Canadians, sent 52 MPs to Ottawa.
Another example is the Charlottetown accord where the yes side outspent the no side by a margin of 10 to 1 and still lost.
These examples illustrate very clearly that there is absolutely no evidence at all that spending more money than an opponent guarantees a win.
Therefore, I submit that this is nothing but a bald-faced attempt by the governing party to curtail the freedom of expression of private citizens so that their views cannot be advanced forcefully enough to compete with the views of the media moguls and political parties. The government simply does not want to be reminded of its failures, weaknesses and broken promises during an election campaign, and that is enough reason for this bill to be scrapped.
In drafting this bill, the government virtually ignored the work of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. The government also ignored several decisions of various appeal courts and the Supreme Court of Canada. The government is very inconsistent in its approach to court rulings. Given its past reluctance to act against court decisions, by introducing this bill the government is saying that it is okay for the courts to make child pornography legal and to allocate access to fisheries according to race, but do not touch the provisions of the election act that favour the ruling party.
The government refused to hold committee meetings in cities across Canada. The public must know more about this bill.