Bill aims to curb clout of political action committees
Alberta’s government is attempting to walk the tightrope between free speech and cracking down on dark money flowing into politics.
New rules introduced Monday restrict the activities of so-called political action committees, or PACs. There will be no more selling party memberships, giving mailing lists to a political party or promoting a candidate.
Political collusion between PACs and parties, candidates or leadership contestants will also be stamped out, and a $150,000 spending limit will be imposed starting in the December prior to an election year.
But the government’s bill contains no definition of PACs, nor does it address online communication via social media or websites.
Corporations and unions can also continue to donate to PACs under the bill.
Corporate and union donations to political parties were outlawed under the NDP government’s first piece of legislation.
Christina Gray, the minister responsible for democratic renewal, said Monday there’s a difference between donating to a party and to a group that speaks out about what it doesn’t like about government policy.
“What we are trying to do is making sure our political system is balancing the rights of freedom of expression, and freedom of association, with transparency,” Gray said.
Gray said leaving a PAC definition out of Bill 32 was a deliberate way to focus on the behaviours of outside political influencers. Officials said making it too narrow ran the risk of PACs rejigging themselves to sidestep the law.
Bill 32 also creates an election commissioner, who will have an estimated $1-million budget and be tasked with investigating PACs and recommending prosecutions.
The Alberta Liberals, who introduced their own anti-PAC legislation last week, call Bill 32 a “halfmeasure” that’s nowhere near comprehensive enough to “get dark money out of Alberta politics.”
Last year, government lowered donation limits and imposed spending caps. But an all-party committee tasked with overhauling the system was so plagued by political infighting it was dissolved.
Alberta has seen a proliferation of political action committees over the past year or so.
The groups face no donation limits or restrictions on union, corporate and out-of-province contributions, and only limited disclosure rules.
Critics say PACs can be used to get around existing donation rules. The issue was also raised by the chief electoral officer, Glen Resler.
Resler warned in his annual report last month that PAC activities could skirt provincial law and “create an uneven playing field” in the next provincial election. Bill 32 also makes a range of changes to the Elections Act intended to make voting more accessible.
It removes the minimum residency requirement to vote in an Alberta election (it’s currently six months) and bans government advertising during an election or byelection.
Bill 32 adds a fifth day of advance polls and allows Albertans to vote in advance outside their electoral division, meaning you’ll be able to vote on your lunch hour downtown, rather than having to head home. The change also expands the ability of people to set up mobile polls at emergency shelters and support centres, post-secondary institutions, work camps, correctional centres and other public buildings.
It will also allow Albertans to use their health-care card as a validation tool when updating their information on the electoral register.