Political parties comparing election year highs to pandemic lows to justify getting wage subsidy

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OTTAWA – Some of the political parties claiming the federal government’s wage subsidy are comparing their lows of 2020 to election-year highs of 2019 in order to justify getting the taxpayer cash to pay their employees.

The Liberals, Conservatives, Greens and NDP all claimed the Canada Emergency Wage subsidy (CEWS), citing major drops in donations due to the pandemic. But financial reports released last week show the drops aren’t that unusual, as parties often take in less money when an election isn’t on the horizon.

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According to the Elections Canada filings, the NDP took in $1.3 million in donations in the second quarter of 2020, which encompasses April, May and June, the same time frame as the initial federal wage subsidy. In 2019, the party took in $1.4 million, meaning their revenues were only slightly lower than they were a year ago.

The federal wage subsidy requires employers to show a 30 per cent drop in revenues to qualify for the taxpayer money to supplement up to 75 per cent of their payroll.

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The NDP’s national director Anne McGrath said the wage subsidy is about helping workers stay employed, which is exactly what they are doing with it.

“This program isn’t about any one business or organization. It’s about making sure that workers are able to keep their jobs during these tough times,” she said in an email to the National Post. “Our numbers are still clearly down from where they would otherwise have been and all of our staff have been able to keep their jobs and keep providing for their families.”

Party officials said despite the results for the end of the quarter, donations dropped considerably in the early months of the pandemic, but rebounded later, which they attribute to the party’s performance in the House of Commons.

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Parties normally take in more money in an election year and the NDP is no different. The $1.3 million they brought in during the pandemic in 2020 is actually higher than the roughly $872,000 they collected in the same time frame in 2018.

The Liberals saw their revenues fall by roughly half this year after bringing in $5 million in the second quarter of 2019, just ahead of the fall campaign. They brought in $2.6 million this year.

But when that $2.6 million is compared with the $3.1 million they received in 2018, a non-election year, it’s a much smaller drop, not enough to qualify for the wage subsidy.

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According to the party, the Liberals have received $842,856 in financial assistance, helping cover the salaries of more than 80 people.

“The party has not been forced to lay anyone off due to the impacts of COVID-19 at this time, which ensures that team members like translators, IT professionals, and local field organizers can continue to support vital democratic engagement work and their own families through this difficult time,” said Braeden Caley in an email to the Post.

I don’t think anyone envisioned when they came up with this program that it was for political parties

The party has suspended in-person events and said March and April were its lowest months for donations since 2014.

The Green Party would also be unlikely to qualify for the wage subsidy if their 2020 totals were compared against a normal year instead of an election year. The party raised $626,000 in the second quarter of 2020, down from the same time in 2019 when they raised $1.4 million, but actually higher than the $572,000 they garnered in 2018.

Rosie Emery, the party’s press secretary, said they stopped taking the subsidy in July, but the party intends to keep an eye on donations in case there is a drop.

“We will continue to monitor our revenues from month to month, and are open to applying again if we are eligible.”

The Conservatives are the only party who would have been eligible for the subsidy if their donations were compared to a non-election year. The party took in $3.5 million in the second quarter of this year, compared with $8.5 million in 2019 and $6 million in 2018.

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The Conservatives are currently in a leadership race, an event that normally siphons funds away from a party’s main operations, with dollars now going to leadership contenders Peter MacKay, Erin O’Toole, Leslyn Lewis and Derek Sloan.

In the second quarter of 2017, when the party’s last leadership race was underway it raised $4 million.

This year’s total is a historic low for the Conservative party, and spokesperson Cory Hann said the wage subsidy has allowed them to cover approximately 60 full-time and part-time total staff across Canada during a difficult time.

The eligibility spanned from March 15th until July 4th, and Hann said the party hasn’t yet decided if it will apply again.

“No decision has been taken yet whether we will re-apply – the timing of the next application isn’t for several more weeks.”

Aaron Wudrick, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said this is further proof political parties should not have been eligible for the wage subsidy.

“I don’t think anyone envisioned when they came up with this program that it was for political parties,” he said.

He said they also shouldn’t be basing their eligibility by comparing revenue declines this year to 2019.

“Everyone knows, and it has always been historically the case, that parties raise more money in an election year.”

Parties receive rebates on election campaign expenses and political donations are eligible for generous tax write-offs, Wudrick said.

“They are already subsidized up the wazoo and yet now they are coming back for another form of subsidy,” he said. “It does not seem reasonable to me that they wouldn’t have the resources to tie themselves over for six months.”

• Email: rtumilty@postmedia.com | Twitter: ryantumilty

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