NDP leadership candidate Erin Weir is calling for a ban on corporate and union financial contributions to Saskatchewan political parties. Former MLA and Regina mayor Doreen Hamilton has endorsed Erin’s candidacy and his democratic renewal plan.
“We need to free Saskatchewan politics from big money and the influence that goes with it,” said Weir. “Our democracy should represent citizens rather than corporate interests.”
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Last year, corporations gave the Sask. Party more than $3 million, a majority of the governing party’s funding. Corporations and unions together gave almost $1 million to the provincial NDP. (Source: Elections Saskatchewan)
Weir has long advocated getting big money out of politics. Saskatchewan newspapers quoted him speaking for a resolution at the 1998 provincial NDP convention to prohibit donations from big business. (Source: StarPhoenix, Nov. 16, 1998, page A5)
“Since then, New Democrat governments in Manitoba and Nova Scotia have banned corporate and union donations,” noted Weir. “The federal and Quebec governments have also rightly done so.”
In addition, Weir’s plan for democratic renewal includes practical measures for the Saskatchewan NDP to elect more women candidates: make contributions to the Bessie Ellis Fund eligible for a tax credit, adopt the federal NDP policy of not holding nomination meetings until a member of an equity-seeking group runs for the nomination, and mandate a provincial party organizer to recruit female candidates.
“Erin’s plan to have more women elected is one of the reasons I support him for the leadership,” said Doreen Hamilton, the former MLA for Regina Wascana Plains. “Today, he is expressing concrete ideas for democratic reform. He has been a credible voice on issues that matter to all people in Saskatchewan.”
For More Information, Please Contact:
media@erinweir.ca
