Trudeau willing to consider reforms to reduce influence of money on politics
OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau says he’s open to considering some dramatic reforms to political financing laws to counter the perception that wealthy Canadians are buying privileged access to him and his cabinet ministers.
The prime minister has been under fire for several weeks over so-called “cash-for-access” fundraisers, where donors have paid up to $1,500 to attend exclusive events featuring a minister.
Trudeau has maintained throughout that federal political financing rules are sufficiently strict to prevent any appearance of preferential access. But on Thursday he did not rule out reforms aimed at further reducing the influence of money on politics and the need for parties to engage in non-stop fundraising.
At a news conference, the prime minister was asked specifically if he’d consider dramatically reducing the $1,500 limit on individual donations, reinstating the per-vote public subsidy for political parties and severely restricting how much money parties can spend between elections.