Set aside partisanship

Calls to have a non-partisan committee consider reform of political fundraising in Ontario have been spurned by Premier Kathleen Wynne, but for no good reason.

The existing system — which Wynne defended for years — is horribly flawed, with political parties selling access to leaders at exclusive dinners and routinely collecting donations far in excess of what’s allowed in other jurisdictions.

Matters came to a head last month when the Star’s Martin Regg Cohn revealed that Wynne’s ministers were being assigned aggressive fundraising targets they met by wringing contributions from the very sectors they were supposed to be overseeing. That’s an obvious conflict of interest.

After attempting to excuse past excesses as the price to be paid for democracy, the premier abruptly switched direction, declared herself a reformer, and promised a number of welcome changes, including a ban on corporate and union donations.

She seems determined to move quickly with reforms to be in place before the 2018 election. Wynne’s sense of urgency is commendable but it’s important that this be done right, as well as fast.

Anon-partisan approach would inspire far more confidence than changes rammed through by a majority government. Yet Wynne insists on doing this the traditional, partisan way — brushing aside opposition requests to have fundraising reforms considered by an independent panel.

In defending her stance, Wynne vowed to tolerate no delay in delivering reform. “I’m not willing to buy into the stalling tactics of the opposition parties,” she told the legislature. But there’s no indication that the opposition is intent on obfuscation.

In a rare display of solidarity, Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and the Greens’ Mike Schreiner came together on Tuesday to push for a special committee to draft reforms. It would have one representative from each party, another four drawn from business, labour, academia and non-government organizations, plus an impartial chair.

Opposition leaders stressed that this need not involve undue delay, and they should be taken at their word. If the committee descends into partisan wrangling and unprincipled self-interest, the opposition will be judged accordingly in the court of public opinion. On the other hand, there’s reason to hope that this approach could generate solid recommendations improving on what Wynne has proposed. On balance, Ontario would be best served by appointing a non-partisan committee.