Elections watchdog called on to investigate donations by Liberal Leader Raj Sherman

[Locutus]

uh oh.

Alberta Liberal leader Raj Sherman (right), Justin Trudeau (centre), and Sherman’s partner Sharon (left) at the Calgary Stampede. (Photo from Raj Sherman’s Facebook Page).


EDMONTON — Elections Alberta has been asked to investigate political contributions Liberal Leader Raj Sherman made to his own party in possible violation of the provincial elections laws.

Documents obtained by the Herald suggest Sherman exceeded the $15,000 limit for donations three times in the past four years and donated double the limit this year through corporations he controls, but Sherman says the rules are “fuzzy” and if he broke any, it wasn’t done deliberately.

The donations were brought to the attention of Alberta’s chief electoral officer Glen Resler on Thursday by researcher Tony Clark, a former NDP staff member with an interest in provincial politics.

Clark said disclosure statements posted on the Elections Alberta website this year show Sherman made $15,000 donations to his party through the Rajnish Sherman Professional Corp. and Empress Group Ltd.

Corporate registry documents show Sherman is the lone shareholder of both corporations.


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Elections watchdog called on to investigate donations by Liberal Leader Raj Sherman

 

[Corduroy]

The existence of an Alberta Liberal party seems pretty suspicious. The RCMP should definitely investigate it.

 

[Goober]

Ahem, cough, choke, choke again.
Daryl Katz’s $430,000 bulk donation makes a mockery of Alberta’s election finance laws: opposition | National Post
Daryl Katz's $430,000 bulk donation makes a mockery of Alberta’s election finance laws: opposition

ANALYSIS

One can’t help but wonder if the Alberta Progressive Conservatives could have spared themselves an enormous amount of trouble if the party had just asked billionaire Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz to re-cut a few cheques.

But, of course, in the final weeks of last year’s contentious election campaign, facing an aggressive upstart party and a dwindling war chest, the long-ruling party can hardly be blamed for opting for the faster solution.

A report released Wednesday by Elections Alberta found a donation scandal that has consumed a lot of political oxygen in Alberta began when the business mogul reached out to PC party volunteer Barry Heck to offer his help during the election, which saw the long-ruling PCs struggling against the surging Wildrose party.