The NDP continue to draw fire for their recommendation to push through election spending rebates in Alberta, and will face more opposition if they try to push the plan through the legislature this fall, critics say.

Edmonton-Ellerslie NDP MLA Rod Loyola's motion for rebates was introduced earlier this month at a meeting of the all-party special ethics and accountability committee.

It was passed despite stiff resistance from opposition members, who continue to argue that the current sluggish economic environment is no time to be introducing rebates for political parties, which could amount to millions of dollars.

Some critics say the NDP is pushing ahead with the plan merely to shore up its political advantage.

Wildrose house leader Nathan Cooper said the introduction of election campaign rebates is ill-timed, considering the economic climate.

"When the government changed, Albertans were really hoping things would be different," Cooper said. "[But] the government choosing to provide rebates to political parties, at a time where we have to borrow money to keep the lights on, is massively out of touch with Albertans and not the direction Albertans were hoping for."

Progressive Conservative MLA Richard Starke, who sits on the committee that passed the motion, also questioned the timing of the motion, considering Alberta's $10-billion government deficit and high unemployment.

Political parties "should be financed from their supporters," Starke said.

Loyola's motion would allow for a 50-per-cent rebate to any political party that receives over 10 per cent of the popular vote in a provincial election. A rebate law exists federally, but parties currently must get only two per cent of the total popular vote, or 10 per cent in each riding they run in, to get a rebate.

Loyola argued the changes will help "level the playing field for all parties."

But critics say the rebates will do the opposite, aiding bigger parties at the expense of smaller ones.

Loyola said the plan should not be looked at in isolation of other changes the NDP is proposing for the electoral system, like banning corporate and union donations.

"When you're considering the rebates, you have to consider all the contribution limits, spending limits, and [the banning of] corporate donations," he said.
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Tom Flanagan, professor emeritus from the University of Calgary and a former campaign manager for the Wildrose party, said rebates generally have a "discriminatory effect amongst parties." In this particular case, Flanagan suggested the 10-per-cent threshold was put in place to damage smaller parties.

If the political landscape stays the same as now during the next election, the PCs, the Wildrose and the NDP will have no problem reaching that 10 per cent threshold. But it's the smaller parties, like the Liberals or the Alberta Party, that will be at a major disadvantage, Flanagan said.

In the 2015 election, the Liberals received just over four per cent of the vote. The Alberta Party received just over two per cent.

"I think this is actually an important part of the NDP plan," Flanagan said. "[They want to] try and secure their long-term position as the only viable party on the left side of the political spectrum by starving potential opponents."

By putting other left-leaning parties at a disadvantage while promoting competition between the two right-leaning parties, the NDP can help improve their chances for re-election, Flanagan suggested.

"It's actually an extremely clever approach," Flanagan said of the NDP moves to gradually introduce changes to the electoral system.

Cooper agreed with Flanagan's analysis that smaller parties will be at a disadvantage..

"This [amendment would] limit ideas and political goals of the smaller political parties," Cooper said. "This sort of thing would be crippling to these organizations."

But Loyola said the 10-per-cent threshold was simply a proposal and the plan will be debated further before any change is implemented.

"It was a number we thought would appeal to Albertans," he said. "If someone wants to propose a lower amount, they can."

Loyola, who admitted the rebate plan faces "fierce resistance," said the critics appear to favour "old outdated election laws" and a return to backroom deals, where decisions were "just political favours to pay off campaign donations."

Loyola said that Flanagan himself made an impassioned pitch for the same type of reforms in an opinion piece he wrote for a national newspaper shortly after the 2012 election, where he argued it would promote better democracy to represent average Albertans. But Flanagan disputed the claim, and said he's not sure how Loyola drew that conclusion from his editorial.

With the NDP majority in the legislature, the party can push the changes through, regardless of the backlash.

"Unilateral changes are always done with partisan advantage in mind," Flanagan said. "It's not possible for politicians to change the rules of the game unilaterally without considering their own advantage. I would regard that as 'squaring the circle."

But reaching a consensus is preferable, Flanagan added, for preventing negative public backlash.



"It's better to get a consensus of all parties, if you're going to make changes," he said. "Even if a change is beneficial, it's going to be suspect."

Loyola insists the NDP government does not plan to push anything through unilaterally without considerable consultation.

"It can be amended," he said. "Our government is committed to doing things differently."