OTTAWA - Liberal Leader Stephane Dion is sharing the spotlight once again with his former rivals at a series of fundraisers aimed at paying off almost $4 million in cumulative leadership debts.
Dion is carrying the steepest individual debt load from last year's leadership contest -- almost $850,000 in loans and unpaid bills, according to campaign financial statements filed recently with Elections Canada.
But, as the come-from-behind winner, Dion is better positioned than most of his erstwhile rivals to raise money to retire his debt. The 10 losers, especially the lower profile ones, are finding it much tougher to pay their bills and pay off loans.
Hence, Dion will lend his cachet as leader to the joint fundraisers, the proceeds of which will be split equally among all the former leadership contenders who take part.
The first took place Wednesday in Halifax. About 60 people paid $250 a pop to rub shoulders with Dion and six of his former rivals at an "intimate'' cocktail reception.
A second fundraiser is set for Thursday in Ottawa, with two more to follow next week in Toronto. Two more fundraisers are planned for Ontario next month and more will be held across the country in the fall.
For some erstwhile contenders, the joint fundraisers will be the best -- and perhaps only -- way to reduce their debts.
According to financial statements filed with Elections Canada, nine of the 11 former candidates are carrying a total of $3.6 million in debt. Two -- Joe Volpe and Hedy Fry -- have not yet filed their statements but party insiders expect the pair will account for at least another $200,000 in debt.
Next to Dion, runner-up Michael Ignatieff is carrying the biggest debt load -- just over $777,000 in loans and unpaid claims. Ignatieff, now deputy leader, is on vacation and will not be attending -- or benefiting from -- the first four joint fundraisers. But he is expected to be a draw in his own right for subsequent events.
Third-place finisher Bob Rae, arguably the most effective fundraiser during the contest, reported no unpaid bills and outstanding loans of only $222,000.
Fourth-place contender Gerard Kennedy, the king-maker who clinched Dion's victory, wound up with debts totalling $567,000, according to his financial statement. However, Kennedy has said that the reporting format required by Elections Canada wound up double-counting some of his loans and that his actual debt is about half what is reported.
As for the bottom tier of candidates, financial statements suggest Ken Dryden wound up with debts totalling $403,000, Scott Brison $150,000, Martha Hall Findlay $261,000, Maurizio Bevilacqua $296,000 and Carolyn Bennett $34,000.
All leadership loans must be paid by June 2008. After that, Elections Canada can agree to extend the repayment period or allow candidates to simply write off unpaid loans, in effect turning them into donations far in excess of the strict $1,100 personal donation limit.
The party is anxious to avoid having any leadership loans written off, which would doubtless prompt opponents to charge that Liberals used a loophole to circumvent political financing laws.
Liberal spokesperson Elizabeth Whiting said the party, the first to conduct a leadership race under strict new financing laws, is committed to fully paying off all leadership debts. But she acknowledged that it's difficult for some one-time contenders to raise funds "after the fact'' and pointed out that there are limits on what they and the party can do to help reduce debt.
For instance, under the law, a donor may only give a maximum of $1,100 to one or more candidates in a leadership race. The party's most enthusiastic and generous activists and each candidate's strongest supporters were likely "tapped out'' long ago and cannot be hit up for more money now, Whiting said.
Moreover, the party cannot assume any portion of a candidate's debt. Elections Canada has even forbidden the party from reimbursing the $50,000 deposit each candidate was required to pay, a ruling that Rae is challenging in court.
