The Ontario PC Party and friends excelled at voter suppression during 2022 provincial election, getting Doug a second term
Shortly after the provincial election in 2018, the Ford government quickly introduced Bill 57, called, with deep irony, the Restoring Trust, Transparency and Accountability Act. The sweeping bill made changes to a long list of existing Acts including alcohol and gaming regulation, the lobbyist registry, Metrolinx, the ombudsman, Ontarians with disabilities, and dozens more. The bill received Royal Assent in December of 2018.
The bill included key changes to the Election Finances Act. As outlined by Cassels, the bill increased the maximum contribution that an individual person can make, and repealed a section governing the maximum amount a person could contribute at a fundraising event. It also repealed a requirement that donors certify the funds being donated are theirs and not from a third party.
The bill also repealed restrictions on attendance at fundraising events, meaning members and party leaders were now permitted to attend them. (This change kicked off a lucrative flurry of fundraising dinners and events which has seen MPPs, cabinet members and the Premier holding fundraisers frequently, sometimes in ridings they don’t even represent.)
Having made party and candidate fundraising more lucrative, with fewer restrictions, the Ford government made additional changes related to Ontario elections in April of 2021. Bill 254, titled Protecting Ontario Elections Act, contained amendments designed to further restrict and limit political advertising and advocacy by anyone other than candidates and parties. Additionally, the Act further increased the amount individuals could donate to $9,900 annually, making it the highest limit in any Canadian jurisdiction.
This change in legislation super-charged PC party fundraising for over a year prior to election day. Indeed, a few months later the party was caught sending fundraising letters disguised as fake invoices, a move that prompted Essex MPP and NDP ethics critic, Taras Natyshak, to make a complaint to Elections Ontario for what she called “a phishing scam.” (more...)
No comments:
Post a Comment