NDP seeks to ban cash-for-access fundraisers

OTTAWA – Today, NDP Ethics Critic, Alexandre Boulerice announced that he would be tabling a bill that would put Liberal ethics rules into law, giving the Ethics Commissioner the authority to investigate exclusive fundraising activities that offer access to Ministers and the Prime Minister in exchange for donations to a political party.

“After promising Canadians that they would do better than the Conservatives, the Liberals are now saying that their controversial fundraising tactics are acceptable because the Conservatives did it too,” said Boulerice. “However, their own rules ban this type of exclusive cash-for-access fundraising but they seem to have conveniently forgot about those rules,“ added Boulerice.

The NDP’s bill would add the principles set out by the Prime Minister himself in his plan for an Open and Accountable Government to the Conflict of interest Act, giving the Ethics Commissioner the powers that she has stated that she needs to investigate these cash-for-access fundraisers.

“The Prime Minister is violating his own rules, “added Boulerice. “My bill will do what he should have done in the first place: put these rules into law and give the ethics watchdog the powers she needs to investigate. These Liberal government cash-for-access events must be banned.” he concluded.