“The big banks can afford to do much more to help during this crisis, and must be required by law to disclose much more information about how they treat customers and borrowers, and about their profits in every part of their business, to ensure they don’t gouge, discriminate against or abuse anyone and to ensure they are effectively required to serve everyone fairly and well with fair interest rates and fees,” said Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch. government referred similar proposed third-party restrictions to the B.C. Bill 254 also proposes to extend and increase the annual per-vote funding for parties. “The federal lobbying ethics code prohibits anyone from lobbying a Cabinet minister or their officials for four years after helping them get elected or assisting them in a significant way, and so Lobbying Commissioner Bélanger should have found Minister Freeland’s former election campaign managers guilty of violating the code given they lobbied many senior officials in Minister Freeland’s former department,” said Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch. Posted in News Democracy Watch calls on Commissioner of Canada Elections to issue public update or ruling on investigation into RightNow anti-abortion group collusion with Conservative Party candidates during 2019 election. News Release Democracy Watch will challenge Ethics Commissioner’s ruling that ignored PM Trudeau’s clear violation in WE Charity grant approval, Democracy Watch (May 11, 2021) Given this, and that the ties between the families have only increased since then, again including that Trudeau’s spouse is a WE Ambassador, the Ethics Commissioner was wrong to conclude that that they are not friends (paragraphs 239-241 of his ruling). In the table of “Legislative Measures” in the Budget, under the heading “Amendments to the Canada Elections Act” it says: “Budget 2021 proposes to introduce amendments to the Canada Elections Act to specify that making or publishing a false statement in relation to a candidate, prospective candidate, or party leader would be an offence only if the person or entity knows that the statement is false.”. To see summaries of past media coverage, click here. In his ruling on the WE Charity grant, he concluded that the grant definitely benefited WE’s private interests but ignored the fact that the grant would very likely, by helping WE financially and deepening the relationship between WE and the PM’s government and family, also benefit the social interests of his WE-ambassador spouse and his family members who spoke at WE events, and the PM’s political interests as WE continues to promote the PM as it has for more than a decade (paragraphs 233-238 and 243-244). After making 763 secret rulings since 2018, including rulings letting dozens of unethical lobbyists off, Integrity Commissioner Wake ruled for the first time publicly last June in three cases that the conflict of interest created by a lobbyist’s assistance disappears after one year. “Commissioner Dion contradicts himself, ties himself into knots, and cuts the federal ethics law into pieces in his ruling letting Prime Minister Trudeau off even though he clearly violated the law,” said Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch. For more than twenty years, the Journal of Democracy has been a leading voice in the conversation about government by consent and its place in the world. is a 501(c)3 non-profit news organization. We rely … Democracy Watch has challenged those rulings in court because every other commissioner in Canada has ruled that the conflict of interest lasts several years. OTTAWA – Today, in response to the Trudeau Liberal budget’s weak proposal to amend the rule in the Canada Elections Act (CEA) that was struck down in a recent court ruling to ensure it again prohibits some false claims during elections about candidates, party leaders and party associates, Democracy Watch called for a broader false claims rule, and also for a rule prohibiting false claims by candidates, leaders and parties that bait voters to vote for them, and also for a new enforcement commission. The hearing is being held online on Zoom starting at 9:30 am Eastern time through to the end of today. “Doubling the donation limit as the Ford government’s Bill 254 proposes will allow wealthy donors to buy even more unethical influence over parties and politicians, especially given that the full identity and associations of donors is not disclosed, and will likely benefit Ford’s party the most,” said Conacher. The federal government did not restrict spending on issue ads during the pre-election period of 2-3 months when it changed Canada’s election law with Bill C-76 in 2018-2019. Big 6 Banks gouged out still very high $41 billion+ in profits in 2020 – 4 of Big 6 are among top 50 most profitable banks in the world! Incredibly, Bill C-76 actually weakened the rule in the CEA prohibiting false claims about candidates, even though the CEO and Commissioner warned that the Bill would have that bad effect. Democracy Watch’s analysis shows that the median donation to provincial parties of donations of more than $100, which is the most accurate indication of the amount an average voter can afford to donate, is: PCs ($200), Liberals ($50); NDP ($25); Greens ($25). Doubling the restrictions so they apply to a 12-month period, while keeping the same ad spending limits, will likely make the restrictions even more clearly unconstitutional. Democracy Watch’s analysis of 2020 party donations shows the PCs received almost 50% of their donations of more than $100 from only 20% of their donors who donated $1,000 or more. Section 362 of Budget Bill C-30 only proposes to add the word “knowingly” to the offence provisions in the CEA that relate to section 91. #DemocracyNowDemocracy Now! Based on the donation patterns in 2020, Democracy Watch and the Money in Politics Coalition (made up of 50 groups with a total of more than 3 million members), joined by thousands of Ontario voters who support the call for these changes, called on Ontario’s political parties to make the following changes to Bill 254 to get big money out of Ontario politics finally: Democracy Watch also called on Elections Ontario to conduct an audit to ensure that businesses were not funneling donations through their executives and family members, and to ensure that lobbyists are not holding fundraising events to be “bundlers” of donations as a way of having undue influence over parties or politicians. is a 501(c)3 non-profit news organization. The Post article states that the letter from the Commissioner’s investigations director raised the question of whether the recruitment, training and coordination by RightNow was a non-monetary donation of services to Conservative candidates, which is a violation of the Canada Elections Act (CEA) because only individuals are allowed to contribute to parties, riding associations and candidates (see subsection 363(1) and definition of “non-monetary contribution” in subsection 2(1)). “Canada’s big banks have also gouged out record high profits for the past decade, and are among the most profitable banks in the world, so measures are needed to stop the gouging,” said Conacher. In addition, the Ethics Commissioner ignored evidence that Trudeau and his spouse are friends of the Kielburger brothers who head up WE. Democracy Watch’s Money in Politics Campaign, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:Wednesday, April 21, 2021. Doing the right thing is not always easy. Democracy Watch News gathers and links you to stories and commentaries informing our global dialogue in over 190 countries around the Earth. set an individual donation limit of $100 per year (as in Quebec); set a limit of what candidates can give to their own campaign of $100 per year; prohibit loans to parties except from a public fund; review the per-vote annual public funding and, if the parties can actually prove they need it, set it at most $1 per vote (and instead use annual donation-matching public funding if parties prove it is needed as that is a better system), and; strengthen enforcement and penalties for violations. Lobbying Commissioner’s rulings letting off lobbyists who helped Chrystia Freeland win election, then lobbied her officials and staff, Democracy Watch (April 27, 2021) Democracy Watch’s analysis also shows that the median donation to provincial parties of donations of more than $100, which is the most accurate indication of the amount an average voter can afford, is: PCs ($200), Liberals ($50); NDP ($25); Greens ($30). Fourthly, Commissioner Dion’s ruling ignores the real meaning of the second part of section 4 of the Act that prohibits taking part in a decision if it offers an opportunity to “improperly further” another person’s or entity’s interests. Many of the 8 key changes were enacted in the U.S. decades ago, and apply to the U.S. banks that 4 of Canada’s Big 6 Banks own, including the Community Reinvestment Act that requires disclosure of bank lending by race, gender, income level and neighbourhood, and corrective action if a bank is discriminating against borrowers. Democracy Watch recently filed a submission with Finance Canada’s pre-budget consultation process calling for 8 key changes (set out further below) needed to make Canada’s banks help more, stop racism and discrimination in lending and services, and stop gouging and other abuses. Democracy Watch is arguing that the cases should be allowed to continue. A rule is also needed to prohibit false claims by candidates because, in a March 2018 ruling on Democracy Watch’s complaint about Trudeau’s false promise during the 2015 election that he would change the electoral system, the Commissioner of Canada Elections refused to enforce the rule in the CEA that prohibits using a false claim to bait a voter to vote for a candidate (subsection 282.8(b)) – formerly 482(b)). To register to watch/listen to the hearing on Zoom, send an email to the Federal Court Registry re: the hearing for court case file numbers T-915-20 and T-916-20, at: Hearings-Audiences@fct-cf.ca. The only good parts in Bill 254 are the measures allowing independent candidates to raise money before election campaigns begins (however, more disclosure must be required of donations and spending of such candidates), and the measures giving the Chief Electoral Officer to fine violators of Ontario’s election law (however, the CEO must be required to have a reasonable belief of a violation, and an appeal to the courts of the CEO’s ruling must be allowed). “Restricting massive ad campaigns by wealthy interest groups and individuals in the few months leading up to an election is a good, democratic idea, as the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled, as is prohibiting huge interest group ad campaigns all the time, but an independent commission should be set up to study the actual costs of reaching voters to ensure the ad spending limits are realistic,” said Conacher. Please click here to support democracy now. As mentioned above, the WE Charity grant could benefit Trudeau and his relatives’ interests. However, the Ethics Commissioner’s ruling first claims, wrongly, that Trudeau was not in a real or potential conflict of interest. These requirements should apply only to third parties that spend thousands of dollars on ads. The Big 6 Banks also paid their CEOs a total of $75 million in 2019 in salary and bonuses (an average of $12.5 million each), and a total of $66.4 million in 2020 ($11 million each on average). Democracy Watch’s opinion is that the only way RightNow could have legally provided those services to candidates is if the candidates paid it market value for the services. RightNow confirmed that it was under investigation in a May 2020 National Post article, and that it had received a letter from the Commissioner’s Director of Investigations in February 2020. June 10, 2020. Measures in the current Election Finances Act also impose onerous banking, tracking and disclosure requirements on groups that spend only $500 on ads, instead of applying those requirements only to big money ad campaigns. Thirdly, the CofI Act prohibits politicians furthering not only their own interests but also “those of his or her relatives or friends or to improperly further another person’s private interests” (sections 4 and 6). News Release Trudeau Liberal budget fails to make Big Banks pay their fair share in taxes, and stop lending discrimination, Democracy Watch (April 13, 2021) Democracy Watch’s analysis, contained in its submission, reveals that the provincial per-vote funding system provides on average half to two-thirds of each of the four main parties’ annual funding. At the very least, before enacting the restrictions, the Ford Cabinet should refer them to the Court of Appeal for a ruling for a ruling on whether the restrictions are constitutional (which the Cabinet can do under section 8 of the Courts of Justice Act), and should set up an independent commission to study the costs of reaching voters so that realistic limits can be set. “The restrictions should be cut from Bill 254 or, at the very least, the Ford Cabinet should refer them to the courts for a ruling on whether they are constitutional.”. To cut all their interest rates and fees in half now, and cut loan payments entirely for anyone who needs it, without requiring payment or extra interest later; To disclose detailed profit reports after fully independent audits and keep rates and fees at reasonably low levels in the future (for example, To empower consumers and increase consumer protection by supporting the creation of an independent, consumer-run, To disclose approval rates for credit, loans and account services by neighbourhood and type of borrower, and require corrective actions by any bank that discriminates (as the, To re-open basic banking branches in neighbourhoods (where they closed them in the 1990s) to help get rid of predatory pay-day loan companies (and, To cut bank executive pay down to a reasonable level (as, To pay their fair share of taxes now, and in the future, by, Finally, enforcement measures and penalties also need to be strengthened to ensure banks, and other financial institutions, serve everyone fairly and well at fair prices (. Given this, and that the ties between the families have only increased since then, again including that Trudeau’s spouse is a WE Ambassador, the Ethics Commissioner was wrong to conclude that that they are not friends (paragraphs 239-241 of his ruling). Democracy Watch (April 6, 2021) News Release 100,000+ call on Finance Minister Freeland to Make the Big Banks Help more during the coronavirus crisis, and after. Many of the 8 key changes were enacted in the U.S. decades ago, and apply to the U.S. banks that 4 of Canada’s Big 6 Banks own. News Release Ford government’s Bill 254 makes undemocratic, unethical and likely unconstitutional changes that will make Ontario elections unfair, Democracy Watch (March 29, 2021) Democracy Watch calls on the current administration to stop appeasing China and refrain from the habitual understatement of China’s obvious mal-intent in the West Philippine Sea. Will Liberals continue to protect their social media company friends, or will they also work with other parties to stop false online election posts? Connected to these calls for honesty in politics measures are Democracy Watch’s calls to stop big money interest group ad campaigns that amplify false claims, and to stop data mining by parties to target false claim ads at specific voters. “Unfortunately the commissioner has rolled over like a lapdog and let RightNow off, and as a result the donation and anti-collusion rules remain somewhat vague which will likely lead to more abuses in the next election.”. And as CTV also detailed in that article, and also Maclean’s magazine detailed in October 2017, Mr. Pitfield also heads up the think tank Canada 2020, which had Google as a partner until recently, and an executive from Google Canada as an adviser, and still has Facebook as a partner (see logo at bottom of page) and still has an executive from Facebook Canada as an adviser. OTTAWA – Today, Democracy Watch, along with the more than 110,000 people from across Canada who have joined its letter-writing campaign and/or signed its Change.org petition, criticized Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland budget for failing to make Canada’s big banks to pay their fair share of taxes, as England and Australia have, and failing to enact measures, like the U.S. did 40 years ago, to stop discrimination in lending by the big banks. Of course we will never give your details to third parties as defined in our privacy policy. See Democracy Watch’s February 25, 2021 news release and letter for more details about: its July 2019 complaint; the connections between Minister LeBlanc and the judges appointed in New Brunswick; how LeBlanc’s participation in the decision-making process to appoint the judges would be a clear violation of the Conflict of Interest Act, and; “The only way to stop the unethical, undemocratic influence of big money on Ontario politics is to limit donations to $100 or less, which is an amount an average voter can afford.”. As well, the current restrictions are likely unconstitutional because they impose excessive requirements on any third party that spends more than $500 on ads of setting up a separate ad bank account, and issuing reports on donors and spending. Democracy Watch News, Salem, Oregon. OTTAWA – Today, Democracy Watch, along with the more than 100,000 people from across Canada who have joined its letter-writing campaign and/or signed its Change.org petition, called on Prime Minister Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to work together with all federal parties in this minority government situation to make Canada’s big banks do more to help Canadians and small businesses, and pay their fair share of taxes, now and after the coronavirus crisis. is an independent global news hour that airs on nearly 1,400 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. News Release Democracy Watch calls on Integrity Commissioner to rule lobbyist who chaired Caroline Mulroney’s leadership campaign, and served in PC Party position, violating lobbying law, Democracy Watch (April 6, 2021) Montague-Reinholdt and Amanda Le of Nelligan O’Brien Payne LLP. Cleaning up and making governments and corporations more accountable to you, and making Canada the world’s leading democracy, Without your support, Democracy Watch can't win key changes to stop governments and big businesses from abusing their power and hurting you and your family. The other main parties’ top donors also provided disproportionate amount of funding. Democracy Watch videos and latest news articles; GlobalNews.ca your source for the latest news on Democracy Watch . our mission is to promote ethical journalism around the world. The Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly is holding hearings on Bill 254 today and Tuesday (Democracy Watch is testifying Tuesday at 9 am). In contrast, in the Aga Khan case, the Commissioner refused to investigate under subsection 10.4(1) of the Act. “Ontario’s too-high donation limit is also likely encouraging funneling of donations from businesses through their executives and employees and their families, and bundling of donations by lobbyists, both of which happened in Quebec and at the federal level, and Elections Ontario must conduct an audit to ensure these things are not happening,” said Conacher. Cleaning up and making governments and corporations more accountable to you, and making Canada the world’s leading democracy, Without your support, Democracy Watch can't win key changes to stop governments and big businesses from abusing their power and hurting you and your family. “The banks are also the biggest business tax evaders in Canada, so measures are needed like England and Australia have to close tax loopholes and ensure they pay their fair share of taxes.”. 287 media appearances in 2021 (including 27 national appearances) Democracy Watch News gathers and links you to stories and commentaries informing our global dialogue in over 190 countries around the Earth. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:Friday, March 26, 2021. is an independent, global weekday news hour anchored by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Democracy Watch’s submission to Finance Canada’s pre-budget consultation process called for key bank accountability changes needed to make Canada’s banks to pay their fair share in taxes, to stop racism and discrimination in lending and services, and to stop gouging and other abuses. ... Democracy Now! Democracy Watch has also asked for an ethics probe into Finance Minister Bill Morneau, who did not recuse himself from cabinet discussions about the contract to WE Charity even though it … Court of Appeal (although the restricted pre-election period was only for a few weeks before the election campaign, not 12 months as Bill 254 proposes). According to the Commissioner, “improper” includes a violation of any of the PM’s Code rules, and that Code’s Annex B rule prohibits the PM and ministers from being in an appearance of conflict of interest. Democracy Now! Wizzair planes at Kutaisi Int. 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