Canada's Campaign Finance Reform Bill

Statement by Ralph Nader on Bill C-24,
An Act to amend Canada's federal political fundraising rules:

Bill C-24 has the potential to be a precedent-setting law for Canada and a model for other countries, including the United States.

Big corporations and wealthy individuals have influence in politics, and campaign donations are a major avenue of influence. Limiting donations and reducing election spending is a moral imperative for our political leaders.

In the United States, we have runaway election costs that corrupt. Running for office is simply too expensive for all but a very few, and decisions are too often influenced by campaign donations and high-paid lobbyists.

Canada has the opportunity to avoid this corrupt route, and they should take advantage of this opportunity by closing the loopholes that remain in Bill C-24, and making sure it passes before politicians leave for their summer break in June. If the bill doesn't pass, the law will continue to allow secret donations into MPs' trust funds, there will continue to be no limits whatsoever on how much money companies can give to try to influence the political process, and much of what goes on in politics, like nomination and leadership races, will continue to be hidden.

Canadians have waited 29 years for a new law on political fundraising. If politicians leave Ottawa this summer before passing this bill, it will probably die in the fall, and Canadians will have to wait years for another reform effort, simply because some members of parliament, party fundraisers and backroom operatives are too greedy and self-interested to turn off the tap of campaign cash.

Democracy Watch is the only citizen group in Canada working on the issue of campaign finance reform. Anyone seeking more information about the bill will find it on Democracy Watch's Money in Politics Campaign webpage.

• 106 Money & Politics