WHY KEVIN O’LEARY IS BACKING A LEGAL CHALLENGE TO ELECTIONS ACT.
Wants to see another system devised to level playing field
Kevin O’leary has become one of America’s biggest reality TV stars, thanks to his hit show Shark Tank. But he’s also been involved in Canadian politics and is underwriting a legal challenge against Canada’s Elections Act to clean up the system.
“I came to the realization, after running to become leader of the ( Conservative Party of Canada), that this act is a cancer in our democracy,” he said in an interview. “Why, in the last quarter century, is a country so wealthy with natural resources in such a state of disarray? Why have we become so indebted? Because we have an act that is punitive, discriminates against new entrants and can even send people to jail for the crime of running for office.”
O’leary’s experience as a Conservative leadership candidate in 2017 illustrates how the act works. He spent $ 1.9 million on his campaign and, when it was over, still owed $ 529,184.38 to his suppliers and workers. After he left politics, he was forbidden from paying this debt off himself, had no help from the party and had to disband his private fundraising infrastructure because he was not a sitting politician. He had 36 months to pay off the total or face jail time.
“All the suppliers I used, I couldn’t pay them back myself. You have to raise it $ 1,625 at a time from Canadian donors who can only give that amount per year to you. And it’s hard to raise donations if you have lost and without party help,” he said.
Fortunately, O’leary paid off his debts by the May 2020 deadline, through creative events and thanks to friends and his television fame. But he noted that Tory leadership candidate Kellie Leitch, who’s now working as a physician in the United States, did not meet her deadline, and now Peter Mackay, the recently defeated Tory leadership candidate, owes a record $1 million in debts and has 36 months to pay it off.
This means that Mackay must “get back in the fold by running for Parliament so he can raise money — all that money — or he’s in trouble. If he cannot, he goes to jail and his life will be ruined,” said O’leary. “We’re the only G7 country that would send someone to jail for this.”
O’leary said his court case is not about raising campaign limits but about knocking down a discriminatory and punitive act so that another system can be devised that will level the playing field.
“A sitting MP who loses a leadership race can fundraise to pay off debts or sometimes obtain support from the party in fundraising. But an outsider can have none of that, which means that for anyone who loses a campaign, it’s very difficult to go to the public and say, ' I’m a loser but can you give me money anyway?'” said O’leary.
In an affidavit filed in court by O’leary, University of Calgary political science Prof. Tom Flanagan explained the negative consequences of the Elections Act. “The net effect is to
THE ONLY G7 COUNTRY THAT WOULD SEND SOMEONE TO JAIL FOR THIS.
render political parties more insular and by discouraging talented outsiders from running. This imposes costs upon the whole political system as well as upon individuals whose opportunity to engage in politics and communicate with the public is hampered,” he wrote.
O’leary says laws that impede new people and new ideas in politics have damaged the country and affect all levels of government.
“We are one of the richest countries in the world, with the worst management. We need better talent, but instead we end up with premiers, a prime minister or ministers of finance without fiduciary skills. Look at Kathleen Wynne or Rachel Notley, total disasters who were incompetent in terms of running a province or a complex business,” he said.
“There are lots of smart Canadians who could do a better job but they won’t take a chance if it means going to jail. That has to change.”