The Pretext to
Make Political Parties
Appendages of the State
- Geneviève Royer -
During the Charbonneau Commission, the illegal
financing
of political parties by SNC-Lavalin and others was the subject of
lengthy testimony. The Commission examined every detail and those
details revealed the extent of the illegal funding. And yet, no
representative of SNC-Lavalin or of other companies has been
prosecuted for this illegal financing of the parties in Quebec.
None of the targeted parties or their candidates who solicited or
accepted these illegal donations has been charged or disciplined
or prevented from running for election.
The illegal financing of political parties in Quebec
has
instead been used to further increase state control of political
parties to make them appendages of the state.
On June 10, 2016, the National Assembly unanimously
adopted
Bill 101, an Act to give effect to the Charbonneau Commission
recommendations on political financing. This law claims to
address the serious problem of corruption in the party system
that was revealed by the Charbonneau Commission. It claims to do
so by establishing mechanisms by which citizens can hold elected
officials to account.
But the opposite is the case. The "fight against
corruption"
expressed in this law subjects the activities of political
parties to state control and gives increased police powers to the
Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec (DGEQ), allowing him to
interfere in the affairs of political parties, to make life more
difficult for political parties, especially emerging parties, and
to institutionalize the intimidation of individuals who want to
participate in politics.
By way of example, in the name of "countering false
volunteering," the law has added control measures
whereby parties must ensure that volunteer work is done without
compensation or other reward. From now on, official
representatives, delegates, official agents and deputies must
undergo training prepared by the DGEQ within a prescribed
timeline. In the name of accountability, financial reports and
expense returns must be signed by the party leader, candidate,
deputy or, as applicable, the highest ranking official
designated by the party. These must also be accompanied by a
declaration on the rules regarding financing and election
expenses. The Act also makes it a criminal offence for electors
to make a false declaration regarding a loan or surety. Such an
offence is considered a corrupt electoral practice. In the wake
of this legislation, harassment of donors has increased,
sometimes even with visits to their homes, which is very
intimidating for ordinary people who want to participate in
political affairs by making a donation to a party. The
Charbonneau Commission even recommended that the donor must
indicate on the contribution slip the name of his or her
employer, a most intimidating measure. The government
incorporated this measure into the bill and then withdrew it in
the face of opposition from voters. These are police measures
that have nothing to do with the mobilization of voters in
politics, according to their conscience, to solve the problems of
society in favour of the people.
Making political parties appendages of the state does
not solve the problem of corruption that occurs at the highest level,
with the usurpation of the power of the state and governments by global
private interests. The ruling elite itself corrupts all organs of state
power and government institutions so that only police powers remain. It
is only the struggle of the workers and people for the democratic
renewal of institutions by vesting power in the people that can get rid
of corruption.
This article was published in
Volume 49 Number 7 - March 2, 2019
Article Link:
The Pretext to
Make Political Parties
Appendages of the State - Geneviève Royer
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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