Canadians finance federal political parties in three different ways: First, with tax deductions for donations to parties, up to 75% of the amount donated. Second, with direct refunds of some campaign expenses for candidates receiving over 10% of the vote. Third, with a per-vote subsidy of presently $1.95 per vote. There are other methods as well. Some provinces offer tax credits, refunded even if you have no taxable income; Municipalities offer direct refunds in cash even if you do not fire a provincial or federal tax return. In the US, matching grants are usually used: amounts raised by candidates or parties are matched by the government, without requiring the donor to pay four times as much and wait for refunds, and without requiring the candidates to explain to their donors (the matching grant system was recently authorized for municipalities in Ontario to replace costly direct refund systems).

The Conservative government's November 2008 "economic update" contained a proposal to cut off only the per-vote subsidy. While they received more money than any other party under this measure than any other, it was a smaller percentage of their overall public financing. Other parties do not have as many donors who qualify for tax deductions and accordingly cannot raise as much from their base. When per-vote financing was instituted in 2003 it was seen as a substitute for banned corporate and union financing, and as a stopgap measure until some kind of electoral reform could be considered. Small parties are grossly disadvantaged under Canada's antique first-past-the-post voting system, and per-vote funds were intended in part to let their voice reflect their actual support. So the move to cut off only per-vote funding while doing nothing to replace deductions with credits or with matching grants, without bringing back other avenues of funding that per-vote replaced, is a simple political trick.

Because the Conservatives rely mostly on tax deductions for those with taxable income more, and because the other parties mostly on per-vote funding for more than half their funding, the move is obviously prejudicial against those parties. But all parties are in debt after the surprise snap October 2008 election, which was held eleven months earlier than specified in the fixed-election-date law. The only way parties can borrow is to rely on the per-vote subsidy as a guaranteed source of income - the only kind banks will be able to lend against. So the Conservatives' move is grossly disadvantageous to all other parties because it removes the credit they need to fight elections credibly on short notice. This is accordingly a direct attack on democracy, one of many by the Conservative government: suing the Opposition in a SLAPP suit, ignoring Elections Canada rulings on their illegal financing schemes, pro-roguing parliament to avoid bills that embarass them coming to a vote, ignoring the will of the House and the law of the land on greenhouse gases (Kyoto), lying in campaign ads and trying to keep a leader they dislike out of television debates. Not to mention possible bribery and perjury to deny that the evidence is real.

The Conservatives are cutting the funding from which they benefit least in relative terms, while leaving alone that which they benefit from most. They are making one more attempt to disable democracy in this country. The public financing methods they use most, tax deductions, systematically favour rich donors and probably explains why Conservatives are better at direct fund raising. They're seeking a permanent advantage by cutting other funding and not replacing it with tax credits or matching grants. If Canadians don't act, they may lose their political choices. (read less)

Canadians finance federal political parties in three different ways: First, with tax deductions for donations to parties, up to 75% of the amount donated. Second, with direct refunds of some campaign expenses for candidates receiving over 10% of the vote. Third, with a per-vote subsidy of presently $1.95 per vote. There are other methods as well. Some provinces offer tax credits, refunded even if you have no taxable income; Municipalities offer direct refunds in cash even if you do not... (read more)