Alberta NDP is miffed by its own PAC rules
Given that the NDP’s recent attempt to unleash the ethics commissioner on the UCP ended in abject failure, they’d better hope the same doesn’t happen with their latest complaint to the election commissioner.
The NDP had filed a complaint regarding UCP Leader Jason Kenney’s recent trip to India, but unfortunately for the NDP, the ethics commissioner wasn’t having any of it. She noted the UCP cleared the trip in advance and she scolded the NDP for publicizing their complaint letter before she had even received it and for using her office as a means to score political points.
Undeterred, the NDP has asked the election commissioner for an investigation into the UCP’s dealing with a political action committee, or PAC, known as Shaping Alberta’s Future. The group has been running ads in heavy rotation targeting the NDP.
There is nothing illegal about this, mind you. Whatever angst exists concerning the operations or the mere existence of PACs, it’s worth remembering that they exist and operate under rules put in place by the very same Alberta NDP that has filed this complaint.
The NDP alleges, though, that the UCP has run afoul of the rules by improperly colluding with Shaping Alberta’s Future. They point to a letter that surfaced last week from the Motor Dealers’ Association of Alberta that cited some encouraging promises in a recent speech by Kenney and urged their members to donate to this PAC.
The UCP and the MDA both maintain that nothing specific was promised and the president of the MDA has also suggested that the letter in question was badly worded.
It would certainly reflect poorly on Kenney if he were tailoring his promises in order to elicit donations to a friendly PAC. It would be even worse if the UCP was co-ordinating all of this with Shaping Alberta’s Future.
However, there’s no evidence to suggest that any of that has occurred or is occurring. The MDA clearly
has concerns with a wide array of NDP policies and dealers would like to see a change in government. The current rules allow them to donate to a PAC that happens to be advancing the same cause. The mere fact that the UCP, the MDA, and Shaping Alberta’s Future all share the objective of defeating the NDP is not evidence of any wrongdoing.
One can simply go to the website of Elections Alberta to see a list of registered PACs (“Political Third Party Advertisers” is what Elections Alberta calls them). Alongside Shaping Alberta’s Future, you’ll see other groups such as the Alberta Federation of Labour, CUPE and Project Alberta.
Project Alberta is run by a former communications director for the Alberta NDP and former managing director of the Public Affairs Bureau. The Alberta Federation of Labour also has deep ties to the NDP. Its president was recently co-chair of the government’s Energy Diversification Advisory Committee. The premier’s own husband works as a communications officer for CUPE. Are they all advancing the same political cause? Obviously. Are these cosy
relationships? Clearly. But are they illegal? No. The NDP’s rules overseeing PACs are not unreasonable. These groups must register and file financial disclosure statements. This information is easily accessible on the Elections Alberta website. After Dec. 1, election campaign rules kick in as do much tighter restrictions on these groups.
Tighter rules are an option, if Albertans are uncomfortable with all of this. However, there are important free speech issues that come into play when it comes to thirdparty groups and their ability to speak out on issues.
We don’t want parties spinning off their own PACs so as to skirt election donation laws. We don’t want PACs having undue influence either, although it’s unclear how much influence they currently have anyway.
In the meantime, this latest complaint from the NDP looks like yet another attempt to score political points.
If they’re unhappy with the rules, then change them.