’The most democratic part of the federal political finance system’

With the end of the per-vote subsidy now in plain sight—hailed via a raving action alert—Duff Conacher mounts another defence of the measure in a note to reporters.

The per-vote annual funding for federal political parties is the most democratic part of the federal political finance system because the funding is handed out based on the actual support from voters each party receives in the election.

Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Québec all have per-vote funding of political parties for this reason.

By cutting the per-vote funding, the Conservatives are making the most undemocratic change they could make to the federal political finance system

As well, the Conservatives are currently enjoying the most undemocratic political finance subsidy because they have 24 MPs more than they deserved in the recent election (they received 39.6 percent of the vote, but 54 percent of the MPs).  Each of those MPs receives about $440,000 annually in salary and for their offices, so the Conservatives will receive an undemocratic subsidy of $10.5 million every year until the next election.

In addition, by stuffing the Senate with Conservatives, Prime Minister Harper has further subsidized his party with the public’s money.

P.S. See details about how the federal per-vote subsidy and the political finance system should be changed to actually make it more
democratic at: http://dwatch.ca/camp/OpEdJun0711.html