Only two candidates in the Liberal leadership race, Mark Carney and Ruby Dhalla, disclosed their fundraising events to Elections Canada. This lack of transparency has raised concerns among political transparency advocates who believe that there is a loophole in the rules for funding political campaigns that needs to be addressed. Candidates such as Chrystia Freeland, Frank Baylis, and Karina Gould did not disclose any information about their fundraising events, despite holding several during the race. The disclosure rule requires candidates to report their fundraisers in advance if they meet certain conditions, such as if at least one person had to pay more than $200 to attend.
Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, stated that the public has a right to know who is organizing, holding, and paying to attend fundraising events in order to track access to politicians through donations. This level of transparency is essential to prevent any appearance of a conflict of interest that could influence politicians’ policy-making decisions. The Liberal government passed Bill C-50 in 2018 to address the criticisms of opaque, pricey fundraisers featuring Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other cabinet ministers. The aim of this legislation was to track fundraising events and attendees to ensure accountability in the political fundraising process.
While some see this lack of disclosure as a loophole, Ottawa-based lawyer Scott Thurlow believes that the rules were deliberately designed this way by Parliament. The rules require parties and candidates to disclose the names of attendees within a month of holding a fundraiser that meets the regulated event criteria. Thurlow does not believe that anyone is breaking the rules currently. Despite concerns raised by transparency advocates, Freeland’s campaign spokesperson confirmed that they followed all the rules set out by the party and Elections Canada.
The Baylis campaign held numerous events across several provinces during the race, but did not officially label any of them as fundraisers. Attendees were able to make a donation if they chose to do so, but the campaign did not require it. Karina Gould’s campaign did not hold any fundraiser events during the race, and as the democratic institutions minister who pushed for Bill C-50, she likely wanted to set an example of transparency. Mark Carney’s campaign has disclosed the attendance at one fundraiser event in Ottawa but will need to disclose more in the coming days.
Sachit Mehra, the Liberal party’s president, announced that the party has experienced its greatest first quarter grassroots fundraising result ever. This highlights the importance of transparency in the fundraising process to ensure that the public can trust in the integrity of the political system. While some candidates may not have fully disclosed their fundraising events, it is crucial for all leadership candidates and political parties to adhere to the regulations set out by Elections Canada to maintain the public’s trust in the political process. Transparency and accountability are essential aspects of a healthy and functioning democracy.
