NDP Is Taking 100% Of Campaign Expense Reimbursements From Riding Associations

20 posts / 0 new

Sat, 2021-04-10 21:27

Mighty Middle

As the federal NDP prepares to spend twice what it did in the 2019 election on the next campaign, some grassroots members say that spending is happening at their expense.

New Democrat headquarters in Ottawa is keeping 100 per cent of all Elections Canada campaign expense reimbursements — money that usually flows to candidates and benefits electoral district associations or ridings.

The decision to keep all rebates was made ahead of the 2019 election and the policy is expected to remain in place for the next campaign.

Some New Democrats say the move goes against the party's values and leaves local operations in a vulnerable financial position.

In an email statement to CBC News, NDP National Director Anne McGrath said that everyone who ran for the NDP in the last several elections agreed to send campaign reimbursements to the party before they became candidates.

(they agreed to send campaign reimbursements to the party, but DID NOT agree to 100%)

"National campaigns and the coverage the leader and the campaign get in elections benefits every candidate in every riding," McGrath wrote.

"We're proud of our 2019 campaign, and we look forward to [using] the next campaign to talk to Canadians from coast to coast to coast ... to let them know that [party leader Jagmeet Singh] and New Democrats will keep fighting for them."

Party member Barry Weisleder, the chairperson of the party's unofficial socialist caucus, calls the whole situation "a bit of a scandal" and a betrayal of the NDP's rank and file.

Weisleder said EDAs use the money to cover a range of expenses — renting office space, printing signs, hiring temporary staff.

The party's actions, he said, show that the NDP remains focused on "building up parliamentary careers" and not a working-class movement.

"We're not talking about misappropriation of funds here. We're talking about misallocation of funds," Weisleder said.

"It shows a preoccupation with polling and with the central campaign dynamics and not with local organizing."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/federal-ndp-finances-elections-canada-r...

Sat, 2021-04-10 21:48

JKR

What do the other parties do?

Sun, 2021-04-11 08:25

Pondering

The NDP isn't supposed to be like the other parties. That is the point being made. The NDP is supposed to be a grassroots party.

My fear for the NDP is that as the Conservatives decline and the Liberals become more right wing the NDP will become more centrist and much closer to what the Liberals are now. I thought Singh was a pivot to the left but my feeling is that the party is ruled by the executive, not by elected MPs and certainly not by the grassroots.

Sun, 2021-04-11 09:23

cco

For Singh to be a pivot to the left he would have to have positions. Nothing has convinced me that he has any. He is a brand: shiny centrism sold by a visible minority, using slogans about "daring" and "courage" in the place of policies that are actually daring or courageous. He's the result of Anne McGrath and Hill and Knowlton's attempt to beat Trudeau at his own game. And since it's clear that he's not going to step down voluntarily no matter how many seats he loses and the party is about to debate a motion today that would give the executive the right to postpone conventions indefinitely, today's leadership review might be the last gasp of any semblance of party democracy.

Sun, 2021-04-11 09:48

(Reply to #4) #5

Mighty Middle

JKR wrote:

What do the other parties do?

During the 2015 election, the NDP and Liberals transferred only 40 per cent of the rebates back to the candidates. The Liberal Party tells CBC News it still retains 60 per cent of the refunds (transfering 40 per cent, keping the 2015 policy). In 2019, NDP HQ increased the share of rebates it kept from 60 to 100 per cent.

The Conservatives say that candidates are allowed to keep all of their refunds, fulfilling a promise party leader Erin O'Toole made during the leadership campaign.

The Green Party says it does not keep any portion of the rebates.

Sun, 2021-04-11 10:50

(Reply to #5) #6

Michael Moriarity

cco wrote:
For Singh to be a pivot to the left he would have to have positions. Nothing has convinced me that he has any. He is a brand: shiny centrism sold by a visible minority, using slogans about "daring" and "courage" in the place of policies that are actually daring or courageous. He's the result of Anne McGrath and Hill and Knowlton's attempt to beat Trudeau at his own game. And since it's clear that he's not going to step down voluntarily no matter how many seats he loses and the party is about to debate a motion today that would give the executive the right to postpone conventions indefinitely, today's leadership review might be the last gasp of any semblance of party democracy.

Sad but true. I intend to continue supporting my local NDP MP, Matthew Green, but I'm quite disinclined to give any form of support, financial or otherwise, to the federal party.

Sun, 2021-04-11 19:08

(Reply to #6) #7

kropotkin1951

Michael Moriarity wrote:

cco wrote:
For Singh to be a pivot to the left he would have to have positions. Nothing has convinced me that he has any. He is a brand: shiny centrism sold by a visible minority, using slogans about "daring" and "courage" in the place of policies that are actually daring or courageous. He's the result of Anne McGrath and Hill and Knowlton's attempt to beat Trudeau at his own game. And since it's clear that he's not going to step down voluntarily no matter how many seats he loses and the party is about to debate a motion today that would give the executive the right to postpone conventions indefinitely, today's leadership review might be the last gasp of any semblance of party democracy.

Sad but true. I intend to continue supporting my local NDP MP, Matthew Green, but I'm quite disinclined to give any form of support, financial or otherwise, to the federal party.

The reason why the NDP still exists is they have always fielded and elected a few extremely dedicated left wing MP's who work hard on the right issues. My MP Gord Johns is another example however I make sure I donate to his campaign during the window when the local riding gets the funds and as little as possible goes to the central office. I found it depressing to hear that he voted to condemn China based on regime change propaganda that was debunked prior to the Common's committee meetings.

Sun, 2021-04-11 19:24

(Reply to #7) #8

Left Turn

cco wrote:
For Singh to be a pivot to the left he would have to have positions. Nothing has convinced me that he has any. He is a brand: shiny centrism sold by a visible minority, using slogans about "daring" and "courage" in the place of policies that are actually daring or courageous. He's the result of Anne McGrath and Hill and Knowlton's attempt to beat Trudeau at his own game. And since it's clear that he's not going to step down voluntarily no matter how many seats he loses and the party is about to debate a motion today that would give the executive the right to postpone conventions indefinitely, today's leadership review might be the last gasp of any semblance of party democracy.

Three factors contributed to Singh's win in the 2017 NDP leadership race:
1) The mainstream media and party brass anointing Singh as the "only" possible choice, before he'd even declared his intention to run for the leadership.
2) NDP members wanting to "send a message" in the wake of Trump's racist Muslim ban.
3) Mass signups of new South Asian NDP members in communities such as Brampton and Surrey.

Sun, 2021-04-11 19:50

(Reply to #8) #9

kropotkin1951

Left Turn wrote:

Three factors contributed to Singh's win in the 2017 NDP leadership race:
1) The mainstream media and party brass anointing Singh as the "only" possible choice, before he'd even declared his intention to run for the leadership.
2) NDP members wanting to "send a message" in the wake of Trump's racist Muslim ban.
3) Mass signups of new South Asian NDP members in communities such as Brampton and Surrey.

Number three was the main reason Ujjal Dosanjh became Premier of BC. I went to the convention and voted for Corky Evans. For a little nostalgia I am posting his campaign song, by one of Canada's great singer song writers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgx_fVAkuiw&list=PL_okj8qyFT9smlgOEtqb-B...

Tue, 2021-09-21 20:15

#10

Mighty Middle

Former NDP candidate tweet is going viral on social media - accusing the party of starving local riding associations & candidates of money -

Instead of having money to run local campaigns - all of the money instead went to Jagmeet Singh to promote his "image"

Tue, 2021-09-21 21:08

#11

josh

Skateboarding and suits. That's what sells the product.

Wed, 2021-09-22 02:05

#12

Ken Burch

So...what percentage of campaign expense reimbursements do the Liberals take from YOUR riding associations, MM?

Are you seriously going to argue that the LPC is entitled to lecture other parties on ethics?

Wed, 2021-09-22 03:14

#13

Left Turn

Elections Canada's campaign expense reimbursements program needs to be overhauled so that reimbursement for campaign expenses incurred by local riding associations go directly to the local riding associations. Supposedly this would prevent political parties from diverting such funds to their national coffers, where they don't belong.

Wed, 2021-09-22 03:32

#14

JKR

What do the other political parties do?

Wed, 2021-09-22 04:23

#15

NDPP

Re: #12 Trudeau's people: Liberal Party 'Chief Revenue Officer'

Blast from the past. The Guardian 2017, 'mistakes' are not impossible or even unusual in such cases.

Stephen Bronfman: Justin Trudeau's close adviser helped move huge sums offshore

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/05/justin-trudeau-adviser-step...

"Stephen Bronfman, heir to the Seagram fortune, who was instrumental in Trudeau's successful bid for the leadership of the Canadian Liberal Party in 2013 and the premiership, 2 years later, engaged through his family investment business in a complex web of entities in the US, Israel and the Cayman Islands. Multimillion dollar cashflows between the three jurisdictions, might legally have avoided taxes in the US, Canada and Israel.

The disclosures are likely to generate political heat for the Canadian prime minister, who swept to power in October 2015 party on his promise to tackle economic inequality and take on tax avoidance. Last year, Trudeau came under pressure in the fallout from the Panama Papers, the trove of leaked documents from the offshore lawfirm Mossack Fonseca, during which his family inheritance was scrutinised. "

Wed, 2021-09-22 09:42

#16

Pondering

Two wrongs don't make a right.

Wed, 2021-09-22 09:56

(Reply to #16) #17

Mighty Middle

Ken Burch wrote:

So...what percentage of campaign expense reimbursements do the Liberals take from YOUR riding associations, MM?

Are you seriously going to argue that the LPC is entitled to lecture other parties on ethics?

As stated earlier in this thread (link below)

https://rabble.ca/comment/5690230#comment-5690230

The Liberal Party tells CBC News it still retains 60 per cent of the refunds (transfering 40 per cent, keping the 2015 policy). In 2019, NDP HQ increased the share of rebates it kept from 60 to 100 per cent.

Wed, 2021-09-22 10:01

(Reply to #17) #18

KarlL

Ken Burch wrote:

So...what percentage of campaign expense reimbursements do the Liberals take from YOUR riding associations, MM?

Are you seriously going to argue that the LPC is entitled to lecture other parties on ethics?

I think it is 60% retained by the Liberal Party with 40% going back from the Party to the riding. I don't pretend to be any sort of expert in this but I don't think that that is particularly crazy.

A typical riding has an in-writ expense limit of around $100K. In a riding campaign that spends its limit, that means that Elections Canada will rebate around $60K (60% rebate being the level on eligible expenses), so the party gets that $60K and gives the riding association back $24K. The riding then has several years to raise another $76K to replenish its bank account to the $100K level.

I do OK financially, so do not have a problem donating about $1000 (typically split between four or five candidates I like) in each election cycle (or about $1 day cost to me on a long run basis and of course I get a tax credit on that that reduces it to around 50 cents/day if I do it efficiently, i.e,, not all in one year).

In competitive ridings, an association/candidate should be able to raise $76K over the course of an average period of three years between elections. On one of those check-off automatic withdrawals of say $20 a month, you'd basically need 100 donors, although realistically, you are going to get your funds from a combination of one-time and ongoing donations from $5 to $1000+ but the auto check-off systems are critical for the association and most candidates can then drum up at least some support from family, friends and supporters.

Obviously there are lower income areas in which this may not be feasible, or ridings with weak support (typically non-competitve ones) but if they are plausibly competitive, the central Party or better-off local ridings wil usually step in and help.

Wed, 2021-09-22 10:04

#19

Mighty Middle

One candidate says she was ripped off of money from her campaign in 2019

Another NDP supporter says the site where people could donate directly to BIPOC candidates, the page went straight to the normal NDP donation page. When he asked about it to NDP HQ - he got no response.

Wed, 2021-09-22 10:10

#20

Mighty Middle

Jessa McLean

York Simcoe NDP Riding Prez, Former Federal NDP Candidate, Community Organizer, Socialist.

Is alleging so much corruption and misuse of funds at NDP HQ - it is impossible for me to copy and paste all of her allegations

and her fellow NDPers are getting on board on her twitter feed, and sharing similar experiences and stories about being denied funds and getting ripped off by NDP HQ

So go to her twitter feed and read all of her accuastions against NDP HQ below

https://twitter.com/JessaMcLeanNDP