Liberal leadership race raises questions about possible fundraising ‘loophole’

Only two of the candidates in the Liberal leadership race — Mark Carney and Ruby Dhalla — disclosed their fundraising events to Elections Canada.

Only two of the candidates in the Liberal leadership race — Mark Carney and Ruby Dhalla — disclosed their fundraising events to Elections Canada.

A political transparency advocate says this exposes a “loophole” in the rules for funding political campaigns that needs to be closed — since some of the contenders held fundraisers without publicly disclosing them or reporting who attended.

Carney reported eight fundraisers to Elections Canada over the course of the two-month race, while Dhalla — whom the party eventually kicked out of the race — disclosed one.

But Chrystia Freeland — who held several fundraiser events during the race — and candidates Frank Baylis and Karina Gould did not add any information to the public disclosure list.

Leadership candidates and political parties must disclose their fundraisers in advance if they meet certain conditions — if, for example, at least one person had to pay more than $200 to attend a fundraiser. If they break the disclosure rule, they have to return the money.

A fundraiser Freeland held on Feb. 10 listed on Eventbrite in Toronto’s Etobicoke area only states that the “recommended donation amount” was between $500 and $1,750.

“This is a loophole that allows someone to go and lobby (candidates) without it being disclosed,” said Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch.

He said the public has a right to know who is organizing, holding and paying to attend fundraising events so that access to politicians through donations can be tracked. He said this prevents the appearance of a conflict of interest from “tainting politicians’ policy-making decisions.”