PC’s don’t want to pay fine for illegal donations
Posted Jan 31, 2013 11:21 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Alberta’s Elections Officer has found the Progressive Conservatives accepted thousands of dollars in illegal donations but the party does not want to pay the incurring fine.
In fact the party asked for the electoral officer to reverse his order, claiming they had no idea the money given was done so illegally.
The total number of illegal contributions was $20,280 and $7,060 in fines were issued.
Chief Electoral Officer Brian Fjeldheim says most came from towns, counties, and school boards and used to pay for tickets to fundraisers and golf tournaments for Premier Alison Redford’s party.
He says while all parties involved may not have realized what they were doing was wrong, the law is the law and the PC party must pay back the money.
“The purpose of the act is to ensure integrity and transparency in election finances and I think that can only be achieved if contributions made or accepted in contravened of the act, even though unknowingly, that money should be returned,” said Fjeldheim.
The Wildrose party is not buying the PC excuse, instead is demanding they pay back the money.
“The problem goes much, much deeper than what Elections Alberta revealed today,” Saskiw said. “Make no mistake, the PCs have collected tens of thousands of dollars illegally over the years, and this has been going on for decades. Elections Alberta has only scratched the surface of what is a deep rooted practice.”
