FELDSTED: Ethical, honest and principled people come from every economic level, and we need them now as never before. Electoral districts are where campaigns should be fought, not on national TV
Winnipeg Free Press ~~ 03/8/2019
The Manitoba government is eliminating a
public subsidy for political campaign expenses such as advertising, office
rent, transportation and staff wages.
An omnibus budget bill introduced in the
legislature would do away with a rebate that reimburses provincial parties and
individual candidates 50 per cent of their general campaign expenses. The
rebate has been available to any party or candidate that receives at least 10
per cent of the popular vote.
Premier Brian Pallister
said Friday ... he considers the subsidy one of the most generous among the
provinces.
We need similar changes to the Federal Elections
Act. Subsidizing political parties from the public purse has to end, and we are
already providing a tax break to donors, which means less tax revenue to the
federal and provincial governments.
I am not, however, in agreement with removal of the
rebates for election expenses to electoral districts and candidates. Electoral
districts are where campaigns should be fought, not on national TV.
Removing the subsidy to candidates will limit
competent people of modest means from running for office. We must not limit our
selection to the well-heeled. Ethical, honest and principled people come from
every economic level and we need them now as never before.
It is the person we elect in your electoral
district, and in mine, who will represent us in Ottawa. No political party will, and neither will the
Prime Minister’s Office.
We need
candidates and representatives who will stand up for us and the spine to tell
the Party Whip ‘no’ if they are told how to vote and it is not in the interests
of his or her constituents.
Democracy works from the bottom up, and governance
from the top down does not work for us. The notion that an MP gains 20 points
in IQ by being elected is hilarious. They are still the same people with the
same failings, flaws and shortcomings we all share. Like us, they have to bend
themselves to the task they have taken on, roll up their sleeves and do the
best they can with what they have.
MPs are elected to represent us, not the
government, or the opposition or a political party.
We have grown complacent, hoping a new government
will govern better or cynical, expecting the same tired platitudes in place of
change.
The cynics are right -- governments change
occasionally but roll on and over us instead of heeding our voices and
responding to our concerns.
Government attention has to change from focusing on
lobbyists and various ‘groups’ and protestors -- to the general public.
These are the people who they are elected to
serve ... and who pay the bills for governance.
John Feldsted
Political Consultant
& Strategist
Winnipeg, Manitoba
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