From our archives: Quebec's chief electoral officer weighs in


Increase penalties for breaking laws governing contributions, Quebec's chief electoral officer urges as a provincial committee reviews the rules


This story was published Oct. 3, 2005.

With the spectre of the Gomery Commission hanging over politics, Quebec's chief electoral officer says it's time to rethink the rules for financing political parties that operate on his turf.

Marcel Blanchet, who is in charge of enforcing the election rules at the provincial, municipal and school board levels, said in an interview he'd like to see fines for infractions raised to "dissuasive" levels.

Under Quebec's municipal election and referendum law, fines for illegal contributions generally run between $500 and $2,000 for a first offence by an individual and $1,500 to $6,000 for a first offence committed by a company.

Under the law, an eligible voter can give up to $1,000 a year per party in their municipality. All contributions over $100 must be made by personal cheque. It is illegal for anyone to give money to another individual to make a contribution or reimburse another person for their contribution.

"We should increase the fines to effectively demonstrate how serious the rules in the law are and the penalties that a person could face if they ever contravene them," said Blanchet, who spoke to The Gazette before a series of stories this weekend revealed the directors or partners of at least 302 companies - most of which received city contracts - contributed to Mayor Gerald Tremblay's party during the last four years.

All but 18 of the 302 firms got city contracts or had real-estate deals involving the city.

The investigation also found directors or partners of dozens of the same companies contributed to the party of opposition leader Pierre Bourque, most of them during the 2001 election year.

When interviewed separately about The Gazette's findings, Blanchet expressed surprise at the number of companies that had directors, partners and sometimes their family members making contributions.

But what sparked his reflection on financing rules were media reports this year on testimony before the Gomery commission looking into the federal sponsorship scandal. The testimony suggested a system of federal contracts in exchange for contributions to parties.

"It leads me to say that if there were rules (at the federal level) that are as strict as the ones that exist in Quebec, possibly the sponsorship problem would not have been as big as what we saw," Blanchet said.

Quebec introduced its innovative financing law for provincial parties in 1977 and for municipal politics in 1987.

While he expressed confidence that the majority of contributions to parties in Quebec are made legally, the Gomery testimony prompted Blanchet to summon representatives of the provincial parties to form a committee, which began meeting in September, to review the rules.

Changes that would be made to the provincial law would have a trickle-down effect on the rules at the municipal and school board levels, he said. Committee recommendations are expected early next year.

Everything's on the table, Blanchet said: whether to raise the personal contribution limit to provincial parties, what penalties to levy to make them more formidable and even whether to lift a prohibition on political contributions from businesses.

"There's a lot of pressure," Blanchet said of lifting the ban. "Every time the question of political financing is on the table, people ask 'Why do we prohibit companies from contributing? Even if they don't have the right to vote, they're taxpayers, they pay a lot of taxes.' "

The pressure comes from companies, political parties and MNAs, he said.

Politicians at the municipal level are also grappling with the fallout from the Gomery commission hearings.

"Obviously, the perception is that because somebody does business with the city, they feel they need to make a political contribution," Frank Zampino, chairperson of Montreal's executive committee, said in an interview last week when informed of The Gazette's findings.

He denied there's any link between who contributes and who gets contracts.

But, he said, "the real question is ... do we need electoral reform?" A member of Tremblay's Montreal Island Citizens Union party, Zampino said he would welcome a public debate.

The city currently provides an annual allocation to each party that wins a minimum threshold of votes based on the number of votes they obtain, as well as a research and secretarial budget. Next year, Bourque's and Tremblay's party can expect $1.5 million to collect $1.8 million combined from the city, he said.

If the election campaign spending limit were lowered at the municipal level, Zampino suggested, then government grants to fund parties might not have to cost much more than what the public pays now.

However, Jean-Jacques Rainville, a lawyer at Dunton Rainville in Montreal, said he doesn't think it's wise to replace party's contributions with government grants because it would move parties toward government control, he said.

"In a democracy, it's natural that citizens contribute on a voluntary basis to political parties."

Meanwhile, independent city councillor Ivon Le Duc said he wonders whether the public has even the will to force change. "The Gomery inquiry had wide exposure, it was televised and today who talks about the Gomery commission? No one."

He said he would eliminate the right of parties to collect "anonymous" donations, collected at fundraisers by passing the hat.

Quebec law allows municipal parties to collect up to 20 per cent of the value of their annual contributions in the form of anonymous donations.

Tremblay's party collected $233,488 in anonymous donations in the last four years, the Montreal Island Citizens Union financial reports show.

Le Duc said it provides parties a legal way to account for a large under-the-table contribution.

In the meantime, some Quebec municipalities are not even subject to political financing rules.

Blanchet has recommended the province extend the application of the municipal election and referendum law, which covers financing, to municipalities of 5,000 people and less. The rules don't apply to these smaller municipalities right now.

Blanchet said he is also seeking more means to investigate suspicious contributions. He has proposed the government allow his office to share information with other departments.

For instance, Blanchet said he would like the ability to check records with the Revenue Department.

"If one party receives more contributions than another through illegal contributions," Blanchet said, "it can distort the rules of fairness in elections."



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