Hat's off to a Conservative

From the Globe and Mail's Letters to the editor:

In the case of the Conservatives, party HQ keeps 90 per cent of the money it receives, sharing only 10 per cent with the riding in which the donor resides. This, together with the vote subsidy and a core belief that any local candidate without “star quality” can influence the vote by only 5 per cent, ensures local party supporters’ wishes are marginalized. So it’s not surprising most Liberal and Conservative candidates are chosen by acclamation, rather than through open nomination contests. A better approach to “improve democracy” would be to amend the Elections Act to require all parties to hold nomination contests as a precondition of running candidates.

Peter Jack, past president, Mississauga South Electoral District Association, Federal Conservative Party

Thank you Peter for being practical, pragmatic and practical. The Elections Act should be amended so all political parties are required to have transparent nomination races prior to supporting any candidate.