All 45 prohibited donations flagged by Elections Alberta linked to Tory party
CALGARY — As Elections Alberta revealed a list of 45 illegal political donations uncovered in the last three years, chief electoral officer Brian Fjeldheim said some of the cases could still result in charges against the long-governing Progressive Conservatives.
But his predecessor, Lorne Gibson, said the independent elections watchdog should take a much tougher stance when it comes to prosecutions.
“If there is sufficient evidence to believe that donations were made improperly, there are likely sufficient grounds to warrant prosecution,” Gibson, who in 2009 was not reappointed by a Tory-dominated legislature committee, wrote in an e-mail.
On Thursday, Elections Alberta publicly revealed for the first time details of donations where infractions occurred. Until the law was changed Jan. 1 to allow disclosure of cases dating back to December 2009, Fjeldheim said he could not legally expose the particulars of files.
All of the 45 files posted on the agency’s website involved either the Tory party or one of its constituency associations.
There were 24 cases between April 2010 and June 2011 of direct contributions, where a “prohibited corporation” such as a municipality, school board or post-secondary institution purchased tickets to a PC fundraiser.
There were another 21 cases between March and November 2011 of indirect contributions, where a public body reimbursed a staff member or elected official who had purchased tickets to a political event.
The illegal donations involved more than $20,000 in total, while administrative penalties levelled against the donors amounted to $7,080. In most of the cases, the party either returned the money voluntarily or was ordered to do so by the chief electoral officer.
The chief electoral officer can ask the Crown to lay charges, but Fjeldheim has not recommended prosecution in any cases during his tenure.
However, Fjeldheim said he hasn’t ruled out seeking charges in relation to provisions under the legislation that make it illegal for a political party or constituency to knowingly — or willingly — solicit donations from prohibited corporations.
“I’m not anti-prosecution,” said Fjeldheim, who noted it will be easier to lay charges under the province’s new law.
Opposition parties had called for full disclosure of all election infractions going back to 2004, when the law around prohibited corporations was enacted.
Wildrose MLA Shayne Saskiw said he believes there are many more cases that either occurred before December 2009 or have not yet come to Elections Alberta’s attention.
He urged Fjeldheim to take a harder line.
“We all know it was widespread. We’ve all seen letters, e-mail invitations, before and after 2004 when the law came into effect,” Saskiw told reporters. “If you don’t have prosecutions on type of offences ... there’s going to be virtually no deterrent.”
Liberal Leader Raj Sherman predicted the fines that Fjeldheim levied against the donors, ranging from $18.75 to $850, will make no difference. “That’s not a fine. It’s a slap on the wrist and it’s a joke that kind of fine,” Sherman said.
The largest indirect contribution saw the town of Okotoks provide $2,550 in reimbursements for six tickets to the 2010 Calgary dinner of then-premier Ed Stelmach.
The Municipal District of Foothills provided $1,700 in reimbursement for the same dinner. In 2011, it paid out $1,200 in reimbursement for participants in the Highwood constituency association’s golf tournament.
The largest direct contribution was $1,350 paid by Grande Prairie Regional College for six tickets to the northern Alberta premier’s dinner in 2010. In four separate incidents over 2010, the town of Whitecourt paid $1,845 for MLA golf tournament registrations.
The list also showed 11 occasions where board members with the Calgary-based Foundations for the Future Charter Academy Charter School Society bought tickets for dinners or other PC constituency events, only to be repaid by the taxpayer-funded charter school. In total, the donations cost the school $1,640.
Superintendent Jay Pritchard said Thursday the school didn’t know at the time that Alberta laws forbid organizations such as schools or municipalities from covering the cost of political events.
“We knew it was important for our elected officials to interact with government elected officials to have our needs met,” said Pritchard. “What we didn’t fully recognize is that it wasn’t appropriate to go to a constituency barbecue so you can speak to an MLA.”
“We feel badly about it and I know ignorance is not a suitable explanation for making a mistake, but honestly that’s what happened.”
In a statement, Progressive Conservative president Jim McCormick said the party and its constituency associations have paid back $17,655.
In an interview, he maintained that in cases of indirect contributions, the party had no way of knowing anything untoward was happening. McCormick said there were no cases where the law was intentionally flouted and he was not concerned about potential prosecution.
“I do not believe we knowingly either solicited or received those funds. If we did ... it was something that was done unknowingly, either by the party that made the purchase or received the funds,” he said.
One investigation that did not show up in Thursday’s posting is Elections Alberta’s probe into controversial donations by Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz and his associates to the Tories during last spring’s provincial election campaign.
Fjeldheim said that investigation is ongoing and there is no timeline for its completion.
All 45 prohibited donations flagged by Elections Alberta linked to Tory party
CALGARY — As Elections Alberta revealed a list of 45 illegal political donations uncovered in the last three years, chief electoral officer Brian Fjeldheim said some of the cases could still result in charges against the long-governing Progressive Conservatives.
But his predecessor, Lorne Gibson, said the independent elections watchdog should take a much tougher stance when it comes to prosecutions.
“If there is sufficient evidence to believe that donations were made improperly, there are likely sufficient grounds to warrant prosecution,” Gibson, who in 2009 was not reappointed by a Tory-dominated legislature committee, wrote in an e-mail.
On Thursday, Elections Alberta publicly revealed for the first time details of donations where infractions occurred. Until the law was changed Jan. 1 to allow disclosure of cases dating back to December 2009, Fjeldheim said he could not legally expose the particulars of files.
All of the 45 files posted on the agency’s website involved either the Tory party or one of its constituency associations.
There were 24 cases between April 2010 and June 2011 of direct contributions, where a “prohibited corporation” such as a municipality, school board or post-secondary institution purchased tickets to a PC fundraiser.
There were another 21 cases between March and November 2011 of indirect contributions, where a public body reimbursed a staff member or elected official who had purchased tickets to a political event.
The illegal donations involved more than $20,000 in total, while administrative penalties levelled against the donors amounted to $7,080. In most of the cases, the party either returned the money voluntarily or was ordered to do so by the chief electoral officer.
The chief electoral officer can ask the Crown to lay charges, but Fjeldheim has not recommended prosecution in any cases during his tenure.
However, Fjeldheim said he hasn’t ruled out seeking charges in relation to provisions under the legislation that make it illegal for a political party or constituency to knowingly — or willingly — solicit donations from prohibited corporations.
“I’m not anti-prosecution,” said Fjeldheim, who noted it will be easier to lay charges under the province’s new law.
Opposition parties had called for full disclosure of all election infractions going back to 2004, when the law around prohibited corporations was enacted.
Wildrose MLA Shayne Saskiw said he believes there are many more cases that either occurred before December 2009 or have not yet come to Elections Alberta’s attention.
He urged Fjeldheim to take a harder line.
“We all know it was widespread. We’ve all seen letters, e-mail invitations, before and after 2004 when the law came into effect,” Saskiw told reporters. “If you don’t have prosecutions on type of offences ... there’s going to be virtually no deterrent.”
Liberal Leader Raj Sherman predicted the fines that Fjeldheim levied against the donors, ranging from $18.75 to $850, will make no difference. “That’s not a fine. It’s a slap on the wrist and it’s a joke that kind of fine,” Sherman said.
The largest indirect contribution saw the town of Okotoks provide $2,550 in reimbursements for six tickets to the 2010 Calgary dinner of then-premier Ed Stelmach.
The Municipal District of Foothills provided $1,700 in reimbursement for the same dinner. In 2011, it paid out $1,200 in reimbursement for participants in the Highwood constituency association’s golf tournament.
The largest direct contribution was $1,350 paid by Grande Prairie Regional College for six tickets to the northern Alberta premier’s dinner in 2010. In four separate incidents over 2010, the town of Whitecourt paid $1,845 for MLA golf tournament registrations.
The list also showed 11 occasions where board members with the Calgary-based Foundations for the Future Charter Academy Charter School Society bought tickets for dinners or other PC constituency events, only to be repaid by the taxpayer-funded charter school. In total, the donations cost the school $1,640.
Superintendent Jay Pritchard said Thursday the school didn’t know at the time that Alberta laws forbid organizations such as schools or municipalities from covering the cost of political events.
“We knew it was important for our elected officials to interact with government elected officials to have our needs met,” said Pritchard. “What we didn’t fully recognize is that it wasn’t appropriate to go to a constituency barbecue so you can speak to an MLA.”
“We feel badly about it and I know ignorance is not a suitable explanation for making a mistake, but honestly that’s what happened.”
In a statement, Progressive Conservative president Jim McCormick said the party and its constituency associations have paid back $17,655.
In an interview, he maintained that in cases of indirect contributions, the party had no way of knowing anything untoward was happening. McCormick said there were no cases where the law was intentionally flouted and he was not concerned about potential prosecution.
“I do not believe we knowingly either solicited or received those funds. If we did ... it was something that was done unknowingly, either by the party that made the purchase or received the funds,” he said.
One investigation that did not show up in Thursday’s posting is Elections Alberta’s probe into controversial donations by Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz and his associates to the Tories during last spring’s provincial election campaign.
Fjeldheim said that investigation is ongoing and there is no timeline for its completion.
All 45 prohibited donations flagged by Elections Alberta linked to Tory party
