Brendan Steven
RIGHT MINDED - Guest columnist

"Bob Rae is back." A robotic narrator speaks into the mike. "First he was the job killing Premier who threw Ontario into the worst recession since the Dirty 30's." An image of a young Premier Rae appears, smiling, flickering in and out of the shot as the narrator drones on. "Now, he's plotting to take over the Liberal Party." The screen darkens.

These are the opening scenes of a video produced by the National Citizens Coalition. It is short, no more than 50 seconds long. Yet this 50 second clip has produced a small uproar from the opposition benches.

These 50 seconds have drawn sharp criticism from the likes of Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis, who says the ads mean to indirectly support Stephen Harper. He says this despite openly supporting Bob Rae for the leadership of the Liberal Party. Never mind that the ad does not say a word about Stephen Harper. "If it quacks like a duck, if it walks like a duck, if it smells like a duck, it is a duck," in Karygiannis' own sophisticated words.

Both Karygiannis and NDP MP Joe Comartin believe that the release of this simple 50 second ad justifies a rewrite of Canada's third party election advertising laws. In Karygiannis' words, "This is where we need legislation that says that anything spent in order to do character assassination, to portray, to move a particular leader before a campaign should be accountable for them during the campaign."

I can understand the fear gripping both Comartin and Karygiannis. One is supporting Rae for the Liberal leadership, and the other undoubtably seeks to defend Ontario's only NDP premiership. Both men are scared that Canadians will be reminded of Bob Rae's record.

There is no way to sugar coat Bob Rae's disastrous term as Ontario's premier. From 1991-1993, he raised income taxes for Ontarians by a total of 7%. Every income bracket had their taxes increase.  Those making more than $67 000 a year had the highest marginal tax rates in North America. He left Ontario with more than 60 billion dollars in debt, two separate credit downgrades, the doubling of social assistance rolls, and a loss of 122 000 jobs.

Liberals know that the "Rae days" are not on the minds of Canadian voters. Non-partisan memories do not go back that far. Liberals are terrified that an enterprising group may come along to remind Canadians of their leader's record.

Enter the National Citizens Coalition.

The Liberal Party has "drifted" so far that they are now seriously considering a former NDP premier as permanent leader. Beyond that, they are considering a man Ontario Liberals once saw as an unmitigated political disaster.

Now that same provincial disaster has landed squarely on their federal shoulders. Rae's NDP past is the subject of much sensitivity for Canada's Liberals. The NCC has only made that wound more sensitive.

How else to explain the backlash against the ad? Neither of the opposition parties have cared much for the third party spending of other organizations. The NCC is hardly the only third party election advertiser in the country. AVAAZ, the progressive online activist community,  was registered as a third party in the last federal election. Elections Canada records show that AVAAZ received more than $226 000 in campaign contributions over the course of the election, which translated into $152 000 in election spending. They placed ads with CTV, Omni, and CKCO, amongst a host of other election expenses.

The political left should hardly be scared of third party election advertising. Their allies have been doing plenty of it. The Canadian Union of Public Employees spent approximately $20 000 in the last election. The Canadian Wheat Board Alliance spent $18 426.53. In total, 54 groups registered as third party advertisers in the last election, many of which were unfriendly to conservative causes.

This is one of the great characteristics of Canadian democracy. A group of concerned citizens can come together, pool their resources, and fundraise to launch election advertisements of their own. They can promote their message to the Canadian public without having to go through the filter of political parties. These groups serve a vital role in our politics. They bring issues to the attention of the public, and scrutinize the records of candidates. They make our political culture a more diverse, energetic forum.

If there is any third party election advertising political parties should be concerned about, it is the sort that comes from mandatory dues rather than voluntary contributions. Many union members in Ontario were forced to sit by while their unions participated in brutal attack ads against Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak in the last provincial election whether they supported the ads or not.

We need to make election advertising laws fairer. That certainly does not mean we should make them any less free.