Ontario MPP fundraising ban to include candidates, nomination contestants

TORONTO — Ontario's Liberal government says not only will it prohibit all elected provincial politicians from fundraising, the ban will extend to anyone seeking office or a party leadership.

Election finance reform legislation is the second bill the government has reintroduced, after prorogation prompted a new legislative session.

A committee spent the summer studying the bill, which would ban corporate and union donations, significantly lower individual donation limits and introduce a per-vote subsidy.

Both opposition parties proposed amendments to ban so-called cash-for-access fundraising, accusing the Liberals of selling access to cabinet ministers, but until recently the Liberals said they wanted to deal with the issue through a code of conduct, not legislation.

The Liberals dropped a surprise announcement late last month that they will go further and ban MPPs from attending political fundraising events.

Today, they say in a news release announcing the reintroduction of the bill that MPPs, candidates, party leaders, nomination contestants and leadership contestants would all be barred from attending political fundraising events.

The Canadian Press