Broadcasting industry players major contributors to federal Liberals

Members of the broadcast community were generous in donating to Canada's major political parties, particularly the ruling Liberals, in 2001. Figures released this month by Elections Canada reveal that Craig Broadcast Systems Inc. has recently become a major donor to the Liberal Party of Canada, with Craig Broadcast Alberta Inc. donating $32,769.38, Craig Broadcast Systems Inc. giving $26,000, Craig Wireless International Inc. donating $3,998.50, and Craig Wireless executive Boyd Craig giving $761.66. "We saw the top 100 (donors to the Liberal party) and the usual suspects were there," comments Ian Morrison, spokesperson for the lobby group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. "One thing that we found interesting was that Craig's donations have gotten a lot bigger. We have historical data for Craig and they used to be small. So they've become more interested in making political contributions." Friends has tracked political donations from 1993 to 2000 in a report entitled Follow the Money, but has yet to update it with 2001 figures. A Cabinet appeal of the Toronto broadcast licence granted to Craig was unsuccessful this year (CCR, June 7/02). Multivan Broadcast Corp., another company that had an appeal against its receipt of a broadcast licence dismissed (CCR, May 9/02), is also on the list of Liberal donors. Multivan gave the Liberal party $3,808.30. Because of the broadcast industry's dependence on federal regulatory decisions, Morrison says that Friends will continue to press for an amendment to the Broadcasting Act that would prohibit contributions from broadcast licensees or their controlling shareholders to federal political parties, leadership campaigns and federal candidates. Morrison adds that such an amendment would contribute to public confidence in the integrity of decisions on Cabinet appeals in the broadcast arena and in the regulatory process. Other big donors to the Liberal party were the Rogers Group of Companies with a $49,822.60 contribution, CanWest Global Communications Corp. with a $46,602.80 donation, and Bell Globemedia Inc. with a $20,611.14 contribution. The latter's contribution was supplemented by $25,000 given by Bell Globemedia CEO Ivan Fecan, $4,806 from CTV Inc., and $908.14 from Bell ExpressVu LP. The CanWest contribution was also supplemented by $6,883.52 from Global Television Network Inc., $1,253.64 from the CanWest-owned Calgary Herald, $1,000 from Gail Asper, $1,000 from David Asper, and $1,000 from CanWest Media Inc. Vidéotron Communications Inc. was also among the top 100 contributors to the Liberals with its $14,346.30 donation. Although it didn't make the top 100 because it made contributions through its various entities, Shaw Communications Inc. was also a healthy donor. Shaw Cablesystems Ltd. gave the Liberals $4,798.35, Shaw Communications contributed $9,187.32 and Shaw-affiliate Corus Entertainment Inc. donated $4,806. Other contributors included Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. with a $5,005.20 contribution, supplemented by a donation of $457.25 by chair and CEO Michael MacMillan. Astral Media donated $4,346.30 and sister company Groupe de radiodiffusion Astral contributed $871.50. CHUM Ltd. gave $1,560.32, CHIN Radio/International contributed $1,001.04, Société Télémedia gave $5,346.30, and Maritime Broadcasting Ltd. donated $2,459.30. Industry associations were also on the list: Cable Television Standards Foundation ($761.20), Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters ($1,434.63), Canadian Cable Television Association ($4,806), Canadian Film and Television Production Association ($4,567.66), Directors Guild of Canada ($3,808.30), Canadian Association of Broadcasters ($3,806), and the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association ($1,454.07). Another interesting contributor to the Liberal coffers is CRTC commissioner Barbara Cram, whose three-year term was extended last year until Oct. 31, 2004 (CCR, Oct. 11/01). She gave $1,240. The Progressive Conservative Party didn't fare as well as the Liberals, with Rogers being its biggest broadcast donor. The Rogers Group of Companies gave $4,759.30, Rogers Communications Inc. donated $303.26, Ted Rogers made two donations - one of $26,000 and a second of $800 - and executive Phil Lind contributed $1,000. Bell Globemedia donated $4,759.30, Cogeco Inc. gave $367.24, and the CCTA put in $3,636.60. The Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (Canadian Alliance) got contributions from Winnipeg-based CanWest Global Communications to the tune of $2,564.50, plus $1,812 from Global Television Alberta. Rogers spread the wealth around, also donating to the Alliance with a $10,000-contribution from Rogers Communications. Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm, the Quebec-based film distribution arm of Alliance Atlantis, donated $250 dollars to the Bloc Québecois, while the New Democratic Party was left high and dry by the broadcast industry. The Liberals were the big winners, with about half of all donors listed having a broadcast connection. Morrison cautions that the figures released are probably much smaller than what was actually donated. "The numbers are probably too small, rather than being too big in terms of contributions," he says. "You might miss something. For example, they only report contributions over $200. Some employee on behalf of a company may have made a smaller donation…and the figures don't take into account donations to members of the Cabinet rather than to the political party. We have noticed in the past that CanWest led in giving most of their money to members of the Cabinet rather than to the political party."

Broadcasting industry players major contributors to federal Liberals

Broadcast | August 29, 2002

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