KNOX — Taxpayers on hook for longer election campaign

Former Kamloopsian Jack Knox writes for the Times Colonist in Victoria, where they know a thing or two about politics.

COLUMN — It’s not just the extra $60 million being scooped straight out of taxpayers’ wallets.

Really, we can handle that. From Jean Chrétien’s sponsorship scandal, to Bev Oda’s $16 glass of orange juice, to Nancy Ruth’s ice cold Camembert, to Mike Duffy’s oh lord, where to start, we’re used to federal politicians treating us like the Bank of Mom and Dad.

But an election campaign that begins on the August long weekend? That would be like getting a phone call this Monday saying they’re starting the school year early and you have to have the kids in class Tuesday. Aborting a glorious summer like this would be like ending Christmas Day at noon.

The rumour mill says Stephen Harper will call the federal election this weekend. The vote would still be Oct. 19, as per Canada’s newish fixed-date election law, but the campaign would be more than twice as long as usual. That’s due to election law changes that the Conservatives brought in last year, changes that give them a significant advantage over the other parties — while also increasing the burden on taxpayers.

In the past, election spending limits were the same no matter how long the campaign lasted. Under the old rules, a party running candidates in every riding would be allowed to spend a little over $25 million this year.

That would still be the limit in a 37-day campaign — the minimum duration allowed by law. But the new Fair Elections Act allows spending to rise by 1/37th of the limit for each extra day of the campaign, which works out to $685,000 a day. If Harper calls the election this weekend, the ceiling for the 11-week campaign — the longest in Canada since 1926 — would top $50 million. That’s a big advantage for the Conservatives, who have banked much more than their opponents and would be free to outspend them.

It’s also significant to taxpayers, because they’re on the hook for much of the extra costs. When a party advertises outside the campaign period, it foots the entire bill itself. But once the writ is dropped, parties are eligible to have 50 per cent of their campaign costs reimbursed by the taxpayer. The figure rises to 60 per cent for individual candidates, whose spending limits vary by riding.

After the 2011 federal election, taxpayers reimbursed the parties $33 million and candidates $27 million for their campaign expenses.

Doubling the length of the campaign would double the spending limits and, in theory, double the amount of the reimbursements — though it’s unlikely the less well-heeled will be able to spend to the ceiling.

(Think in terms of the NHL salary cap, with the wealthy parties being the Maple Leafs and the poor ones the Arizona Coyotes.) That’s not even calculating Elections Canada’s added expenses: longer leases for returning offices, key staff hired for an extra six weeks, phones, supplies….

Now, there’s an alternative way to look at all this. It could be that an early election call will actually mean less politicking during the summer, as dropping the writ will force an end to the unofficial campaign already being waged.

There will be no more government funding announcements, which should be a relief to North Island MP John Duncan, who must be exhausted from a month of sprinting around Vancouver Island handing out well over $100 million in tax dollars.

(For those keeping score at home, Friday’s big announcement was a grant of up to $3 million for a Rugby Canada training centre in Langford. Thursday, Duncan promised $30,300 for a clock and benches in Port McNeill, $162,000 for a Campbell River soccer field, $200,000 for Fanny Bay’s water supply, $100,000 for the Courtenay Fish and Game clubhouse, $11,200 for a monument in Sayward — and $30 million for the Comox air force base.)

There will also be a severe curtailment of the third-party ads currently filling (fouling?) the airwaves. Prior to the campaign, groups such as Engage Canada, which has been paying for anti-Conservative attack ads, have been able to spend whatever they want, and to do so without revealing the identity of their donors. Once the campaign begins, their national spending will be limited ($205,000 for a 37-day campaign, topping $400,000 if the vote is called Sunday) and they must be more transparent.

Also, we might see a bit of a Phony War, an interregnum between the official launch of the campaign and the actual outbreak of hostilities. If Harper’s intention in calling an early campaign is just to raise the spending limits, we might still get summer holidays after all.

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