Thanks, But No Thanks!

Last week Premier Gary Doer and the NDP government voted to take $1 million from taxpayers’ and put it into the bank account of their political party.

Together with Manitoba Liberal representatives, the NDP government passed into law Bill 37. While this legislation was trumpeted by Premier Doer as being all about setting fixed election dates, in the end, it was really all about the money. Contained within the legislation is a provision that will see political parties receive $1.25 every year for each vote they received in the last election. For the NDP, that amounts to getting $1 million directly from taxpayers’ every four years. The Manitoba Liberals will pocket about $200,000 every four years.

Members of the Progressive Conservative Party voted against the legislation. We do not believe that, especially at a time when Manitobans are worried about their jobs, their retirement savings and their homes, that the NDP government should be bringing in what amounts to a “vote-tax” to fund political parties. We believe that political parties should be primarily funded through voluntary donations made by people who believe in and want to support a particular political party or a particular representative.

When Bill 37 passed in the Manitoba Legislature last week, it meant Manitoba Progressive Conservatives were faced with a choice. Under the law, the PC Party would also be eligible for $800,000 of taxpayer funded support over a four year period.

The day after the legislation passed, PC Leader Hugh McFadyen held a news conference where he said “thanks, but not thanks” and made it clear that the PC Party would not be taking the $800,000.

Since Gary Doer and the NDP have said that they will be taking the $1 million from taxpayers’, it means that we will be starting $1 million behind in fundraising for the next election. While that made turning down the funding a difficult decision, it was the right decision.

At the same time that Manitobans are struggling with the rising cost of fuel and food and worried about the economy, Gary Doer and the NDP were standing up and voting themselves a $1 million subsidy for their political party. It’s out of touch with the priorities of Manitobans and Manitoba Progressive Conservatives knew that the right thing to do was simply to say, ‘no’ and not take the money.

While this will mean that we will have to work extra hard to make up for the $1 million head start in fundraising that Gary Doer has given himself though the vote-tax, we believe that in the long-run Manitobans will support a political party that backs up its words with actions and that stands up for the interests of all Manitobans. Gary Doer and the NDP Party, by taking $1 million from taxpayers, have clearly shown that the only interest they are willing to stand up for is their own.