The Q4 numbers were released today detailing the allowances given to the four federal parties funded by the federal treasury. The allowances are calculated via the per-vote subsidy and are paid towards a party’s operating expenses and are paid quarterly at the same rate each year between elections.
I’ve argued before that we should stop this form of welfare and force political parties to appeal to their support base for donations rather than receive a handout from voters who often picked the party as the lesser of the other evils. You can read about how I think we should reform the system here.
If we made politics about the positive (Yes), responsibility of self (We) and enablement (Can) rather than the negative (No), what one’s opponent would do (They) and a need to stop them (Can’t), perhaps we could reduce voter apathy both at the ballot box and when parties pass the hat. If we gave voters more power to finance those they support rather than sustain those they least detest we could shift Canadian politics for the better.
But, as it stands Canadians gave the Bloc Quebecois $691,289 in the last quarter of 2010. Yes, we’ve been funding our own demise. If the Bloc had to appeal to their base of support for survival would they find that there’s little interest in funding separatism? The rest of Canada certainly has little interest in throwing money in that direction.
Here are the breakdowns:
BQ: $691,289
CPC; $2,609,418
Greens; $469,686
LPC: $1,819,999
NDP: $1,260,002