Low rate of Tory donations stirs displeasure

by DANIEL LEBLANC — August 1, 2007

Sixty per cent of Conservative MPs and cabinet ministers are not included on Elections Canada's list of people who donated money to their party in 2006. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and 48 other MPs each donated more than $200 - the sum that triggers public disclosure - to the national party, a riding association or a candidate for election. But the other 76 MPs, including 18 cabinet ministers, are not on the list.OTTAWA -- Sixty per cent of Conservative MPs and cabinet ministers are not included on Elections Canada's list of people who donated money to their party in 2006.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and 48 other MPs each donated more than $200 - the sum that triggers public disclosure - to the national party, a riding association or a candidate for election. But the other 76 MPs, including 18 cabinet ministers, are not on the list.

The low rate of donations is being met with displeasure at party headquarters, even though the Conservatives are flush with cash.

New figures released yesterday show they raised more than double all the other parties combined in the second quarter of the year.

Yet they still want elected officials and senior political workers in Ottawa to contribute to the fundraising efforts that depend on tens of thousands of individual donations every year.

As The Globe and Mail reported last week, chiefs of staff and other senior political workers in cabinet ministers' offices have been asked to donate $1,000 to the party, a request that met with some resentment.

While party officials point out that donations are personal matters, they also note they have expectations for MPs.

"As a grassroots party that receives donations from Canadians all over the country, we'd like to receive donations from all kinds of Canadians," a Conservative official said.

The official added the party has a "good idea of who gives and who doesn't."

In 2006, Mr. Harper gave $1,000 to the national office and $342 to his riding association.

His chief of staff, Ian Brodie, gave $1,000 in monthly instalments to the party.

James Moore, the MP for Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, B.C., appears to have given more than any other Conservative MP - $2,500.

But a number of senior Conservatives are not listed as donors in 2006 by Elections Canada, which publicly releases information on donations over $200.

The Globe sent an e-mail to all Conservative MPs who did not appear to have made donations in 2006, either to correct the record or allow them to provide an explanation.

Conservative Party officials urged MPs not to reply to The Globe if they did not give more than $200 or to point out that they donate to many charities and organizations every year.

Guy Lauzon, the MP for Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry, Ont., who is not listed as a donor by Elections Canada, used the proposed lines.

"I make dozens of donations over the course of a year to many organizations. I feel the details of these donations are a personal, private matter," he said in an e-mail.

In his answer, Conservative MP Ed Fast of Abbotsford, B.C., referred to a large donation made in 2005, when he gave $2,600 to his election campaign.

"I don't discuss my personal donations with others. You may, however, want to check donations in the previous year," Mr. Fast said.

The Elections Canada databases include donations made directly to the Conservative Party, to Conservative riding associations and to the individual campaigns established for the 2006 election.

Conservatives on top

The Conservatives continued to dominate the political fundraising scene in the second quarter of the year, raising more money from April to June than all other parties combined. Here are the figures released yesterday by Elections Canada:

Conservative Party: $3.8-million from 36,800 contributors

Liberal Party: $1.3-million from 10,000 contributors

New Democratic Party: $720,000 from 11,800 contributors

Green Party: $200,000 from 2,800 contributors

Bloc Québécois: $27,900 from 360 contributors

Sixty per cent of Conservative MPs and cabinet ministers are not included on Elections Canada's list of people who donated money to their party in 2006. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and 48 other MPs each donated more than $200 - the sum that triggers public disclosure - to the national party, a riding association or a candidate for election. But the other 76 MPs, including 18 cabinet ministers, are not on the list.

Source:The Globe and Mail