Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to stand today and speak to the bill. If you could indulge me for just a moment, I would like to say that this is a great opportunity today in the House to have this legislation come forward, but it also is the first time I have been able to speak in the House as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister.
I would like to take a moment to pass on my greatest thanks to the many people who phoned and offered notes of congratulations on the position. It is a great honour. I am very proud. The fact that the Prime Minister was so gracious in acknowledging me and selecting me as his parliamentary secretary is a significant acknowledgement of the respect that he holds for the people of Cape Breton and the people of Bras d'Or—Cape Breton.
I also want to make reference to the Prime Minister's speech today in the House. I think it is significant to see just how committed he is, in his final months in the House, to bringing back the integrity of elected officials and of the House into the backyards of Canadians. It is not that often that he takes the opportunity to speak to legislation in the House, and certainly today, having presented the bill, it is a great honour and a pleasure to come in behind him and support the bill.
Canadians are rightly proud of their country. They are proud of its reputation for honesty and good government which has made us model for many democracies around the world.
However, this did not just happen by itself. Rather, it was the result of hard work and self-sacrifice of ordinary Canadians who educated themselves about the issues of the day. They became involved and they made a difference.
Canadians today are no different. They too want to get involved. They want to make a difference but to do this they need information on how the system works.
One area where Canadians do not have all the information they need, involves the funding of political activity. In the Canada Election study of 2000, it was reported that 94.2% of Canadians felt that they had the right to know how political participants financed their election campaigns. And they do.
In polling results released last summer, close to 80% of respondents were in favour of increased disclosure measures. This fact was abundantly clear when the Leader of the Government in the House consulted experts, provincial leaders and ordinary Canadians on how we could improve our current system.
Time and time again they said that Canadians did not have enough information on how political activity was financed and that what they did know, they did not always like. Canadians have a perception that donations by corporations, unions and rich individuals sometimes give government undue influence in decision-making processes.
This of course is mistaken. However, as we know, perceptions matter, especially in politics, and we must do everything in our power to ensure that all Canadians have complete confidence in our democratic process.
Probably the best way to counteract such misconceptions would be to give Canadians the fullest possible information on where donations come from, who gets them and how the money is spent. That would mean better disclosure and would require all the players to divulge their finances.
The recommendations from Lortie and the Chief Electoral Officer are significant. As I mentioned, in the development of the bill, the government consulted with experts and stakeholders. It also reviewed past studies of the electoral system, including the recommendations of the Lortie commission and the Chief Electoral Officer.
The Lortie commission came out with a series of recommendations on electoral issues in 1991, including on the issue of disclosure. As stated in the Lortie commission report:
Full disclosure of information on financial contributions and expenditures is an integral component of an electoral system that inspires public confidence. Essential to enhancing the integrity of the political system are the principles of transparency and public accountability. Full and timely disclosure requirements help remove suspicion about the financial activities of candidates and parties by opening the process to public scrutiny.
In that regard, the Lortie commission recommended extending disclosure requirements to electoral district associations, leadership contestants and nomination contestants.
The Chief Electoral Officer also studied the issue of disclosure extensively, including it in his recommendations following the 37th general election.
The CEO mentioned in his report that financial disclosure requirements had been part of the Canada Elections Act since its inception in 1874, and that “the history of the Canada Elections Act is a history of the growing realization of the importance of disclosure”. As he has been famously quoted as saying, “the absence of full disclosure requirements for political participants, other than parties and candidates, is the 'black hole' of political financing”.
As such, in his last report he recommended the extension of disclosure requirements to electoral district association, nomination contestants and leadership contestants.
Many provincial jurisdictions have already acted to extend measures in ways similar to that proposed in the bill. For example, in my home province of Nova Scotia, in New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec all have requirements for disclosure for electoral district associations.
The provinces of Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia have disclosure requirements for leadership contestants. Both the United States and Britain have extensive disclosure requirements for political participants.
At a conference last summer, attended by the chief electoral officers of several countries, all the CEOs agreed that disclosure was a key part of an effective political financing system which complements other important measures, such as contribution limits and public funding.
What does that tell us? Many studies have pointed to the importance of full disclosure. Canadians have made it very clear that disclosure is very important to them. Disclosure is widely viewed in the provinces and other countries as a key element of an effectively functioning political system. The bill reflects all this.
I will now review the key elements relating to disclosure. To begin with, the bill contains measures designed to open up the system, make it more transparent and remove the air of mystery that obscures some areas. This makes a lot of sense, for the system is, after all, honest and above board. Why not let the public see everything and judge for itself? At present, only candidates and political parties are required to disclose to the Chief Electoral Officer the sources and amounts of contributions received. This clearly does not go far enough since it misses a number of important players.
To address this, the bill would extend reporting obligations to all the political participants, including electoral district associations, leadership contestants and nomination contestants. All political participants would have to disclose all contributions, including the name and address of the person or organization making donations of more than $200. Electoral district associations would report contributions and expenses on an annual basis. They would also be allowed to issue tax receipts for contributions in between elections.
Upon registration with the Chief Electoral Officer, leadership contestants would have to disclose the amounts and sources of contributions received prior to the date of registration. In each of the four weeks immediately preceding leadership conventions, they would be required to submit information on amounts and sources of donations.
Finally, six months following the leadership contest, they would be required to submit information on all contributions received, as well as all expenses incurred to the chief electoral officer. Nomination contestants also would be required to report on finances and would have to disclose amounts and sources of contributions, as well as expenses incurred, four months following the nomination contest.
These measures, once passed into law, will go a long way toward enhancing public confidence in the way we fund political activity in Canada. They will reassure Canadians of the basic honesty of the system by giving them a better idea of what money is being contributed, who receives it and how it is being spent.
In addition, the bill would fundamentally improve the way we fund political activity at the national level, which would send a powerful message to Canadians and the world that our political and governmental systems are based on the highest possible ethical standards and will continue to do so in the future.
Clearly, this is a situation where everyone wins. Canada's electoral law and political financing provisions are already the envy of the world. When these measures are put into full force, Canada's disclosure requirements will be unparalleled and Canadians will enjoy the highest standards of information about political participants.
For those reasons I will be supporting the bill and I encourage other members in the House to do likewise.
