Tory Leader Tim Hudak says unlimited spending by third parties, such as the Working Families Coalition, during provincial elections is warping the democratic process and borders on anarchy.

The coalition, which includes the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association, and the Ontario Nurses’ Association, spent $2.1 million on ads attacking PC Leader Tim Hudak during the 2011 election campaign.

“Democratic elections should not be for sale to the highest bidder. But that’s exactly what is happening in the province of Ontario. Under a loopholes in the Election Act, special interest groups like the Working Families Coalition can basically buy election campaigns,” Hudak told reporters Wednesday.

“In short it is a licence for anarchy in our democratic system and it warps the process,” he said.

The legislature is expected to debate Progressive Conservative MPP Rick Nicholls’ private member’s bill that calls for closing this so-called loophole in the election laws that allows special interest groups to spend freely. His bill asks for a limit of $150,000 third party organizations.

Hudak, whose party has unsuccessfully tried in the courts to bring the coalition to heel, says such groups “raise havoc and they buy governments.”

Last year the Tories lost a major legal battle in their long-running war with Working Families. The party’s claims that the group is a Liberal front were rejected by the Ontario Court of Appeal.

“The problem here to is that this loophole gives extraordinary fire power to the special interest groups like the Working Families Coalition, and they bombard those who disagree with them with American-style negative ads to help the Liberals or the NDP get elected,” Hudak said.

Meanwhile Ontario's chief electoral officer earlier this year recommended there be limits on advertising by interest groups such as Working Families.

Noting that such “third-party” ad spending tripled to $6.7 million between the 2007 and 2011 provincial elections, Greg Essensa urged the legislature to set up an independent body to study a cap on spending and contributions.

Ottawa limits spending at $188,000 per group, but Ontario has no caps. The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association and Working Families were the highest spenders in 2011, laying out $2.6 million, $1.9 million and $1.6 million respectively.

Hudak, however, did not mention corporate donations.

Currently the Tories have a private member’s bill before the legislature with support from the Liberals that would aid generous political donor EllisDon by giving it relief from a deal signed back in 1958 requiring it to use unionized labour only on its construction projects.