- Reaction score
- 26
- Points
- 430
Journeyman said:...or leader of both countries - - maybe we could share him ;D
Isn't that what 'Anti-monarchists' are complaining about already?
Journeyman said:...or leader of both countries - - maybe we could share him ;D
GAP said:Interesting comments this morning on CFRA.
1. Dion is a dual citizen (France & Canada)
2. The coverage given the Liberal convention and commentary by the media was approx 4 X the coverage given the Conservatives and Steven Harper, and was far more generous to the Liberals than it was to the Conservatives
rmacqueen said:I like that after two days of almost total coverage they cut of Dion in the middle of his speech to go to Hockey Night in Canada
Journeyman said:...or leader of both countries - - maybe we could share him ;D
The media want the Liberals back in power so bad it's disgusting.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if most Canadians are taking a wait and see approachChawki Bensalem said:What about general opinion about him throughout Canada.
Chawki Bensalem said:What about general opinion about him throughout Canada.
recceguy said:Go read the papers and listen to the news. Do your own research for a change. Google and militaryphotos is a good place for a youngster like you to hang out in your thirsty quest for knowledge. You pose some good questions in your many, but we don't have the time to spoon feed you everything.
Captain Scarlet said:But, did you like her hair?
spud said:Well, I am partial to blondes (the other white meat).
Candidates could get loan relief
NDP says loophole could help erase payments to donor corporations
BILL CURRY
OTTAWA -- Liberal leadership candidates may never have to pay off hundreds of thousands in corporate loans because they may simply be written off, the NDP's ethics critic, Pat Martin, warns.
Now that the party is over, candidates are faced with debts to repay at the same time as the party itself must raise money for the next federal election.
The leadership race was the first contest by a major political party under the campaign finance rules brought in by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.
Those changes amended the Canada Elections Act to ban corporate donations to leadership candidates and limit individual donations to $5,000. Should the Conservatives' Federal Accountability Act become law this month, that limit would drop to $1,000 beginning Jan. 1.
The punishment for violating the donation rules is a summary offence, which normally amounts to either a small fine or a few months in jail.
But when the small Canadian Action Party said this year that it could not pay back the $829,000 debt owed to the party founder, Paul Hellyer, which dated back to 1997, Mr. Hellyer simply wrote it off.
Mr. Martin said if such moves are permitted, it could allow corporations or wealthy individuals to break the donation limits through loans that are then written off.
"It's a massive loophole that you could drive a truck through," Mr. Martin said.
The NDP MP said it does not make sense that leadership candidates believe they will have a better chance of paying off their debts after the race, than during.
"It defies credulity frankly. I don't believe they [the lenders] expect to be paid back," he said.
With the Accountability Act currently before the Liberal-dominated Senate, Mr. Martin said the Liberals have a self interest not to pass the Tory ethics bill.
According to the most recent declarations, the candidates have the following debt levels: Bob Rae: $845,000; Stéphane Dion: $430,000; Ken Dryden: $300,000; Gerard Kennedy: $201,750; Scott Brison: $200,000; Joe Volpe: $180,000; Michael Ignatieff: $170,000 and Martha Hall Findlay: $130,000.
It is expected that the totals will be considerably higher when the final numbers are made public.
The candidates were allowed to spend a maximum of $3.4-million each, but have not yet declared their expenses.
Post-campaign debts have at times produced colourful and unusual developments.
Failed Liberal leadership candidate Donald Johnston took to playing Broadway show tunes in 1985 for $150 a ticket in Montreal. After finishing third in the Conservative leadership race, Tony Clement was helped out in 2005 with a $100,000 donation from second-place finisher Belinda Stronach.
At a meeting on Sunday between the Liberal leadership candidates, sources say the possibility was raised that the Liberal Party may help pay off the candidates' debts, but no conclusion was reached.
Candidates such as Mr. Dryden, Mr. Brison and Maurizio Bevilacqua, who dropped out midway through the campaign and owes more than $100,000, insisted yesterday they intend to pay back all the loans within 18 months.
"The question is for all of us and us as a party, how do we deal with it," Mr. Dryden said. "And I don't know what the answer is."
Mr. Brison said he has a plan in place to pay off all of his debts and has been successful on the fundraising front.
"Many of the people who already supported leadership candidates can probably expect when we get into the new electoral finance year, they will be called on again," he said.
Mr. Bevilacqua, who is well known for his organizing skills, says the money will simply be paid back by holding fundraisers.
"I mean, there's only one option you have and that's to get out there and raise the money," he said. "You have to work very hard."
Candidate debt
Candidates for the Liberal leadership race declared the following amounts of debt:
Bob Rae $845,000
Stéphane Dion $430,000
Ken Dryden $300,000
Gerard Kennedy $201,750
Scott Brison $200,000
Joe Volpe $180,000
Michael Ignatieff $170,000
Martha Hall Findlay $130,000
NOTE: Candidates have not reported spendings.
They were allowed to spend a maximum of $ 3.4-million.
SOURCE: ELECTIONS CANADA
Kirkhill said:So who backed Stephane Dion to that tune?
For the Liberals, its all about power.
recceguy said:Don't be suprised if the finger points back at a number of Power Corporation holdings.