Your tax dollars at work

My Saturday column deals with the strange similarities between the goings-on that are properly the subject of the Gomery inquiry and the perfectly legal raiding of the public till that is the hallmark of our "reformed" system of campaign finance. For those interested in the numbers alluded to in the column, here they are (courtesy of Elections Canada): 2004 Election Tally

Party	Expenses	Reimbursed @60%	+ Subsidy @1.75/vote	= Total Public $
Liberals	$16.6 mil	$9.9 mil	$8.7 mil	$18.6 mil
Tories	17.3	10.3	7.0	17.3
NDP	12.0	7.2	3.7	10.9
BQ	4.5	2.7	2.9	5.6
Greens	0.5	0.3	1.0	1.3
TOTAL	50.9	30.4	23.3	53.7

As you can see, all parties except the NDP were able to cover the whole cost of their campaign out of public funds -- and then some. The Liberals turned a $2-million profit on the deal. And, as I mention in the piece, that's not counting the cost of the political contributions tax credit. It will be interesting to find out three things: 1) how the cost of campaigns, and the percentage covered out of public funds, has grown over the years, 2) how the rising cost of push-polls, attack ads and other essential features of modern election campaigns correlates with voter turnout (ie inversely), and 3) how Canada compares on both these scores with other countries. POSTSCRIPT: While I'm on the subject, I'd be remiss if I did not link to some fascinating research by Stephen Taylor, blogger, sometime Conservative candidate and master of the political graphic (see his famous Liberal Monopoly Board). Taylor dug up the data on political contributions by the current directors of three of Canada's largest Crown corporations -- Canada Post, Via Rail, and the CBC. Surprise -- Canada Post's ran 95% Liberal, Via Rail's 97% Liberal. The CBC, by contrast, was a relatively fair and balanced 82% Liberal, in the great tradition of our public broadcaster. He's got pie charts, and he knows how to use them. ADDENDUM: Also check out his handy Adscam damage-control strategy flow chart.