OTTAWA - NDP leadership hopeful Paul Dewar wants to bring back the per-vote subsidy for federal parties — but only for those that involve significantly more women in politics.
Over the next three years, the Harper government will phase out the subsidy, under which parties currently receive just over $2 for each vote obtained in the last election.
But Dewar is proposing to bring the subsidy back as an incentive to improve the participation of women in politics.
Under his plan, a party would get no subsidy if it didn't ensure at least 30 per cent of its candidates were women.
A party would get $1.50 per vote if it ran 30-39 per cent female candidates, $1.75 for 40-49.9 per cent women and the full $2 only when it reached at least 50 per cent women.
Dewar's proposal is aimed at improving the proportion of women in Parliament, which currently stands at just under 25 per cent.
"This is a national disgrace," Dewar says in a written statement.
"My vision for a stronger and more caring Canada includes immediate action to encourage women's equal participation in politics."
Based on the roster of candidates in last May's election, no party would have qualified for the full subsidy under Dewar's plan, which he says would cost $10 million annually.
The NDP, which nominated 40 per cent female candidates, would have been entitled to $1.75 per vote. The Bloc Quebecois and Greens, which nominated just over 30 per cent women, would each have qualified for $1.50, while the Conservatives and Liberals would not have been entitled to anything, having failed to reach the 30 per cent threshold.
Dewar says 30 per cent is "the minimum benchmark" set by the United Nations for achieving a "critical mass" of women in Parliament.
The current per-vote subsidy is worth an estimated $30 million annually.
