Some NDP members call on party to stop clawing back campaign rebate cash

As the federal NDP prepares to spend twice what it did in the 2019 election on the next campaign, some grassroots members saythat spending ishappening at their expense.

New Democrat headquarters in Ottawa is keeping 100 per cent of all Elections Canada campaign expense reimbursements money that usually flows to candidates and benefits electoral district associations or ridings.

Thedecision to keep all rebates was made ahead of the 2019 election and the policy is expectedtoremain in place for the next campaign.

Some New Democrats say the move goes against the party'svalues and leaveslocal operationsin a vulnerable financial position.

Gary Porter, vice president of the Saanich-Gulf Island NDP electoral district association (EDA) and a member of the party'sunofficial "socialist caucus", said hewants to put the brakes on the policy. He calls it centralization without real consultation.

"When the rebate came back from the last federal election, they took it all, which they did not have a right to do," Porter said. "There's a serious democratic deficit."

Elections Canadasayscandidates who receive 10 per cent or more of the votes in their riding in an election are reimbursed 60 percent of their eligible election expenses.

Reimbursement numbers for 2019 have not yet been releasedpublicly. During the 2015 election, NDP candidates collectively received $14,870,600, Liberal Party candidates received $21,559,484and Conservative Party candidates received $20,935,787 in reimbursements, according to Elections Canada.

Porter said his riding associationtypicallyreceived about $10,000 in rebates. The money, he said, helped riding associations become vibrant and integrateinto their communities. Now, he said, riding associations are undergreater pressureto raise money at the local level.

OneNDPelectoral district association in Nova Scotiaproposed a resolution at this weekend's national party policyconvention that would preventthe national party HQfrom absorbing reimbursements.

"This practice leaves the local EDA impoverished," the resolution from the Kings-Hants EDA said.

In an email statement to CBC News, NDP National Director Anne McGrath said that everyone who ran for the NDPinthe last several elections agreed to sendcampaign reimbursements to the party before they becamecandidates.

"National campaigns and the coverage the leader and the campaign get in elections benefits every candidate in every riding," McGrath wrote.

"We're proud of our 2019 campaign, and we look forward to [using] the next campaign to talk to Canadians from coast to coast to coast ... to let them know that [party leaderJagmeetSingh]and New Democrats will keep fighting for them."

How do other parties handle rebates?

McGrath also noted that every political party asks candidates to contribute to national campaigns. Unlike other parties, she said, the NDPdoes not charge candidates for national ad purchases.

During the 2015 election,the NDP and Liberals transferred only40 per cent of the rebates back to thecandidates. The Liberal Party tellsCBC News it still retains 60 per cent of the refunds.In 2019,NDPHQ increased the shareof rebates it kept from 60 to 100 per cent.

The Conservatives say thatcandidatesare allowed to keep all of their refunds, fulfillinga promise party leader ErinO'Toolemade during theleadership campaign.

The Green Party says it does not keep any portion of the rebates.

Ridings should not be dependent on subsidies: former adviser

Karl Belanger, who is a former senior adviser and national director of the federal NDP, said the financial relationship between party central and the EDAs is "never a one-way street."

"The party does provide funds and services to the riding associations when necessary," he said. "They are working together. It's not an us-versus-them attitude that will help anyone."

For riding associations to becompetitive, Belanger said, they need the national party to do well. Hesaid the central party operationneeds a stable revenue source to pay down its debt and save upfor the next election.

"If their [riding associations'] main source of revenue is the rebate from the last election, then they have bigger problems," Belanger said.

Belangersaid that when heran for the party in 1993, hehad to sign a document agreeingto give back some of his campaign reimbursement cashto the national party.

NDP was in dire financial straits

The party says it can spend more on the next campaign because of Singh's growing popularity.

During the last campaign, the party's total election budget was just short of $12 million. This year, the party says it can spend thatsumon ads alone because it has paidoff its $10 million debt.

A member of the NDP's governing body toldCBCthe party was under pressure financiallyafter the 2015 federal election and heading into the 2019 election.

Dirka Prout said that keepingthe rebates helped the partypay down amulti-million dollar debt. The decisioncaused "a lot of angst," Prout said, adding she regrets how it was communicated.

"I was very torn for all the reasons I just cited. Knowing how vulnerable some EDAs are," said Prout, the party's current candidate for London North Centre and co-chair of the NDP's women's commission.

"A decision like that must be predicated on the central party turning around now and supporting EDAs that need help."

Prout said funding for riding associations needs to bediscussed at this week's convention.

Betrayal of the rank and file?

Party member Barry Weisleder, thechairperson of the party's unofficial socialist caucus, callsthe whole situation "a bit of a scandal" and a betrayal of the NDP's rank and file.

Weisleder said EDAs use the money to covera range of expenses renting office space, printing signs, hiring temporary staff.

The party's actions, he said, show that the NDP remains focused on "building up parliamentary careers" and not aworking-class movement.

"We're not talking about misappropriation of funds here. We're talking about misallocation of funds," Weisleder said.

"It shows a preoccupation with polling and with the central campaign dynamics and not with local organizing."