Volunteer loophole creates risk of abuse, watchdog group says

OTTAWA — It was one in a seemingly innocuous list of emails Elections Canada received from a member of the public last year.

But the questions put forward by this unidentified voter touched on what some say is a major loophole in the conduct of fair and honest federal election campaigns.

“Is there any way to understand who volunteered on a campaign?” Elections Canada was asked in an email dated Dec. 27 and obtained through access to information by Ottawa researcher Ken Rubin.

“Is there any restriction on the possibility that a corporation could offer paid time off for its employees to engage in political volunteer work,” the voter also asked, “thereby gaining an outsized amount of monetary influence?”

Taken individually the answers are straightforward: No, campaigns do not have to table any information about volunteers. Yes, federal election law forbids companies as well as unions and other organizations from making any contribution to a campaign, including paid time off.

But Tyler Sommers, co-ordinator of advocacy group Democracy Watch, said the fact campaigns don’t have to disclose information about volunteers creates a gaping hole.

In particular, he said it makes it extremely difficult to track — and prevent — corporations and unions from making secret donations by letting their employees or members volunteer using time off with pay, or otherwise reimbursing them.

“Unless someone were to come forward and say ‘Yes, I got paid time off to work on a campaign,’ there’s no way for us to know whether it’s going on,” Sommers said. “It’s one of the many issues with Elections Canada we’ve highlighted a few times.”

Elections Canada spokeswoman Diane Benson said the agency does provide information to parties, candidates and campaign managers that contributions — both monetary and non-monetary — are forbidden from companies and unions.

This includes the use of volunteers whose time is being reimbursed by their employers or any other third party, she said, adding that penalties are in place if such activities are discovered.

Benson added that Elections Canada hasn’t laid any charges on the issue in recent memory — a fact that wasn’t reassuring to University of Toronto political scientist Peter Rosenthal.

“If nobody’s brought it to anyone’s attention, how would Elections Canada or anyone hear about it?” he said.

The issue is not new; thenchief electoral officer JeanPierre Kingsley noted in 2005 that “volunteers” had worked for the Liberals while on the payroll of Quebec advertising company Groupaction during the height of the Sponsorship Scandal.

In an interview Monday, Kingsley said he stood by his belief that some type of reporting on individuals who volunteer for a party or campaign for more than 35 or 40 hours would be a good way of making sure everything is above board. “When it gets to be that major, then people know about it and they can verify it,” he said.