Should political contributions from corporations and unions be curtailed in Saskatchewan?

The Opposition NDP claimed recently that we should follow Alberta's lead in banning big money in political campaigns.

Golden West Radio Business commentator, Paul Martin, says the nature of contributions actually works to narrow the field of candidates to those that have the best chance of being elected.

"This is part of a staged process, you have to go out and get supporters, than you have to get financial backing. Ultimately, you ask the electorate for their support, but there are stages here. If a politician can't get through to the first two gates, what are the chances of them making it to the third one and do we even want them at the third starting gate?"

They advocate moving to a system similar to that adopted by the Alberta government, which now outlaws political donations from corporations and unions.

"A straight up fact of the matter is, it costs money to run campaigns. If you're going to have a democracy, you have to have some kind of vibrancy in the campaign and that has to get funded."

Martin says be careful what you wish for, saying it's in our best interests to hear campaign advertising from all sides - and if private organizations can't donate, he wonders who would be stuck with the bill.

"Do we expect that to come out of the hands of real people? Probably not. Where you end up is governments, the tax payer, the public purse ends up funding political campaigns."

Premier Wall has defended the province's policy on donations, including those that have come from out-of-province companies.