Too little, and too slow
Stung by disclosure of secret fundraising targets assigned to Liberal cabinet ministers, Premier Kathleen Wynne is promising “significant reforms” in a plan to be released this fall.
But what she proposes looks more like a rearguard effort to maintain an unconscionable practice than a bold initiative to end it. According to Wynne, full reform of political fundraising will “probably not” be in place even before the next election, more than two and a half years away.
Preserving an opportunity to cash in, quite literally, for years to come appears to be her priority, rather than protecting the public interest. That’s both ethically wrong and politically short-sighted.
At the very least, Wynne could announce — without further discussion, consultation or “transition” — an immediate end to the repugnant practice of assigning cabinet ministers secret fundraising targets. Such goals are typically met by attracting donations from the very sectors they are supposed to be overseeing.
There’s an inescapable perception here that ministers are being instructed to cash in on their public office in order to fund the Liberal party. It’s an obvious conflict of interest. But that hasn’t prompted Wynne to take decisive action. There’s just too much money at stake to stop it right away.
Precisely how much became clear only on Tuesday, when the Star’s Martin Regg Cohn revealed that some ministers in major portfolios are assigned yearly targets of as much as $500,000. That’s the goal set for Finance Minster Charles Sousa and Health Minister Eric Hoskins, who is in charge of Ontario’s $52-billion health budget.
If just those two met their target, it would mean up to $4 million landing in Liberal coffers over a typical government term. But the windfall doesn’t end there. Other ministers are assigned by the Ontario Liberal Fund to collect $300,000, or $250,000 or $150,000 yearly, depending on the sector they oversee.
It’s telling that these targets are held in close secrecy, with even colleagues around the cabinet table unaware of what each has been told to raise. Former Liberal attorney general John Gerretsen told the Star he “hated” this system. Former finance minister Dwight Duncan said he was “sick of it” and described the unsavory practice as one of the reasons he quit Queen’s Park.
Wynne admitted that Gerretsen had expressed his displeasure directly to her. Yet even now, amid a storm of well-deserved outrage over party fundraising, Wynne is opting for slow change and half-measures.
Just hours after the Star revealed her ministers’ fundraising targets, Wynne told reporters new restrictions were on the way. “We’re working on significant reforms right now,” she said.
A plan is to be released this fall that will include new rules on political advertising by outside groups and a “transitioning away” from corporate and union donations.
Wynne has repeatedly been urged to clean up election financing, especially by banning contributions from corporations and unions. The federal government has already done so, along with the City of Toronto and provinces including Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta. Wynne finally appears willing to move in this direction but insists on allowing years of transition.
To be fair, there was a transition period when the federal government banned corporate and union donations. But it’s not clear why Ontario’s should last as far as the next election.
Furthermore, there’s no excuse to continue the secret fundraising targets imposed on cabinet ministers. The premier could immediately end this reprehensible practice. The fact that Wynne refuses to do so does her no credit and risks further damaging her party’s reputation with voters.
Premier Kathleen Wynne should move quickly to fix the province’s fundraising rules