Harper government moving to end party subsidies

Althia Raj, Postmedia NewsMay 20, 2011
 OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government will move quickly to cut the financial legs of its political opponents by moving to end the per-vote party subsidy in its June budget, Postmedia News has learned.  "We want political parties to raise funds directly from their supporters and not the taxpayers. So as soon as we can get that passed, that process will begin," Democratic Minister Tim Uppal told Postmedia news.  Uppal said he couldn't discuss whether the government planned a weaning off process for political parties. He said ministers were "still finalizing all these things."  It is, however, expected that the subsidy will be phased out over time.  Political parties currently receive $2 annually for every vote they received in the last federal election. Payments for the next quarter, which include the May 2 election, are due on July 1st.