Aggressive party fundraising in Ontario needs to be addressed, says Martin Regg Cohn
News that Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne's cabinet is assigned fundraising targets of up to half-a-million-dollars per minister has the provincial Liberals scrambling to explain themselves, even as they hosted one more lavish dinner last night. Tempest in a teapot? Or pork in a barrel?
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has been short on details but says there's change afoot for her province's political fundraising rules.
That promise follows revelations in the Toronto Star that Premier Wynne's cabinet ministers have party fundraising quotas as high as half a million dollars.
Those expectations to raise cash are now a raising concern over whether Ontario's cabinet ministers are under pressure to court corporate money. And, Ontario is not alone in facing this scrutiny.
Guest in this segment:
- Martin Regg Cohn, Ontario political columnist for the Toronto Star.
- John Gerretsen, former attorney general of Ontario, and former mayor of Kingston, Ontario.
- Leslie Seidle, research director with the Institute for Research on Public Policy.
The Current requested an interview with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. She was unavailable.
This segment was produced by The Current's Ines Colabrese, Marc Apollonio and Shannon Higgins.