Taxpayer group calls on Ford to scrap political welfare
A taxpayer watchdog is calling on Premier Doug Ford to uphold his promise to scrap political welfare as the Ontario government continues to borrow money.
A taxpayer watchdog is calling on Premier Doug Ford to uphold his promise to scrap political welfare as the Ontario government continues to borrow money.
As the province’s debt mounts, the Ford government plans to make its “political welfare scheme permanent.”
According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, more than $12.3 million in subsidies for political parties will be billed to taxpayers this year alone.
“Taxpayers should never be on the hook for financing political attack ads and lawn signs,” said CTF Ontario director Noah Jarvis. “Ford has turned his back on taxpayers by breaking his promise to end the per-vote subsidy scheme for political parties.”
Ontario’s per-vote subsidy provides $2.54 per vote to the province’s leading political parties, with Ford’s Progressive Conservatives receiving the most.
However, the Liberals, New Democrats, Green Party, New Blue Party and Ontario Party also receive the per-vote subsidy.
“A quarterly allowance is assigned to each electoral district, which is shared among registered constituency associations based on the percentage of valid votes their party’s candidate received in the last election,” Elections Canada writes.
The Progressive Conservative party will collect $5.3 million this year from taxpayers, while the Liberal Party will take nearly $3.6 million and the NDP will receive $2.5 million.
According to Elections Ontario, “The Quarterly Allowances are paid to registered constituency associations if they meet the following eligibility criteria: A party’s candidate must have received at least 2 per cent of the valid votes cast for that party’s constituency association to qualify for the allowance.”
Or when “allowance is only payable to a registered constituency association for a quarter if all documents that it was required to file with Elections Ontario in the four-year period immediately before the quarter have been filed and are complete.”
The program was implemented by the previous Liberal government in 2017 as a temporary measure.
The following year, then-Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford vowed to scrap “political welfare” if elected, by allowing the program to lapse while on the campaign trail in 2018.
“When I am elected premier, I will stand up for all Ontario taxpayers and eliminate the per-vote subsidy given to political parties in Ontario,” wrote Ford at the time.
However, the Ford government would ultimately extend the program in both 2021 and 2024.
Ontario’s debt currently stands at $461 billion, and the Ford government is borrowing $14.6 billion. The CTF believes there is no more opportune time for Ford to fulfil his 2018 campaign promise.
“Ford’s flip-flop is a betrayal to taxpayers who are concerned with the rising cost of living and the government’s ballooning debt,” said Jarvis.
“If Ford truly wants to run a ‘fiscally responsible’ government, the premier needs to reverse his plan to extend Ontario’s political welfare scheme now.”
 | A guest post by
|
If Ford does scrap political welfare, his auto industry will dissappear quicker than it already is.
Looking more and more that Ontario might be wise to scrap Ford.
On a lot of fronts now.
YES... I realize Ontario has a big problem at so many levels now but Ford is not helping.
Indeed the opposite seems to be the case these days.
Have to wonder if anybody in the back rooms of the OPC are paying attention.