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May 8, 2007 - Government House
Leader Peter Van Loan
introduces the 'Accountability
with Respect to Loans' bill as
part of the government's
broader democratic reform
agenda. The bill closes a
loophole left open by the
government's Accountability
Act which imposes new limitsmore

Visit
http://canuckpolitics.com for
more.

May 8, 2007 - Government House
Leader Peter Van Loan
introduces the 'Accountability
with Respect to Loans' bill as
part of the government's
broader democratic reform
agenda. The bill closes a
loophole left open by the
government's Accountability
Act which imposes new limits
on contributions to political
parties by allowing only
contributions from individuals
donating up to $1100 per year
to each political party.

Both measures are designed to
remove the influence of
corporations, trade unions,
special interests and wealthy
individuals on the political
process in favour of broad
financial support from
individual Canadians. The new
bill closes a loophole where
private loans can be made to
political parties with no
expectation of repayment.
The bill:

* Establishes a reporting
regime for all loans to
political parties,
associations, and candidates,
including mandatory disclosure
of terms such as interest
rates, and the identity of all
lenders and loan guarantors;
* Bans unions and corporations
from making loans to political
parties;
* Limiting total loans, loan
guarantees, and contributions
by individuals to $1100 per
year as established in the
Federal Accountability Act;
* Permits only registered
Canadian financial
institutions and other
political entities to give
loans beyond the $1100 limit;
* Makes riding associations
responsible for unpaid loans
to prevent candidates from
avoiding payment.

The Liberal Party's
fundraising ability has been
dramatically reduced by the
current limits imposed by the
Accountability Act, and they
oppose this new bill to close
the lending loophole. Despite
this, the bill is expected to
pass the House of Commons with
the support of all the other
political parties, but is
expected to be blocked by the
Liberal dominated Senate.

Category People & Blogs

Tags Canada, politics, Liberal, Conservative, van, loan, accountability, donations, contributions, financing, political, party, limits