Premier Rachel Notley is demanding UCP leader Jason Kenney “come clean” amid a news report RCMP are probing allegations a candidate in that party’s leadership race was illegally funded.
On Friday, the CBC reported Alberta’s Election Commissioner Lorne Gibson had handed an investigation into alleged funding irregularities to the RCMP because its seriousness transcended his purview.
The report stated letters had been sent by the election commissioner to witnesses in the case, telling them they can expect to be contacted by the RCMP.
An RCMP spokesman confirmed to Postmedia Friday the force was following up the accusations.
“We are aware of the allegations and are looking into the information that was provided to us,” said Fraser Logan.
“No further information will be provided on this matter unless there are criminal charges laid.”
It’s been alleged by one-time UCP insiders, including former MLA Prab Gill, that party operative Jeff Callaway ran as a so-called kamikaze candidate during the 2017 leadership race to undermine Kenney’s main rival, former Wildrose leader Brian Jean.
Those insiders insist Callaway’s campaign was illegally funded by people who pushed money through others who falsely claimed to be the actual donors, which is illegal under Alberta election laws.
Callaway exited the race just before the vote and endorsed Kenney.
On Friday, Notley said Kenney’s insistence on a quicker election call reflect the UCP leader’s attempt to outrun more revelations in the controversy.
“He was hoping the election would be done and dusted before this stuff started to come out,” said Notley, while questioning Kenney’s qualification to be premier.
“If the shoe was on the other foot and a politician seeking to lead the province were under investigation by the RCMP, he’d likely say that person is unfit to be premier and he’d be right.”
“We need Mr. Kenney to come clean on all the different elements of this.”
Earlier in the day, Health Minister Sarah Hoffman accused the UCP leader of “ducking criminal investigations into dark money, fraud, vote theft and an illegal campaign to attack Brian Jean.”
Hoffman was also referring to unproven allegations the Kenney campaign in 2017 misused a computer voting system to its advantage.
On Friday, Jean expressed his frustration on Twitter and Facebook, claiming he’d warned the UCP and former prime minister Stephen Harper about the kamikaze campaign issue, but to no avail.
“This is what I was afraid of. I wrote to @Jkenney twice about this in last 3 months. Sent Harper a note.” he said on Twitter.
“No one called me back. Nothing was done. People involved in this mess were kept on payroll and remained candidates.”
Kenney has denied all of the allegations adding he hasn’t been contacted by the RCMP.
And he said the controversy is a distraction from issues important to Albertans, adding his 2017 campaign isn’t the target of the investigation.
“This is not about our campaign. This is about someone else’s leadership campaign from 18 months ago. Albertans want to focus on jobs and the economy,” he said in Edmonton.
As for Jean’s Friday social media posts, Kenney said his office was alerted by the former Wildrose leader to concerns last November and that he raised them with his staff.
“The result of those inquiries was that nobody was aware of, had heard anything about, or in anyway participated in such activity,” said Kenney
On Wednesday he decried what he called the character assassination tactics of a panic-stricken NDP.
“The more desperate they get, the signs are there that they’ve lost the confidence of Albertans,” he said.
“This stuff seems more like U.S.-style negative campaigning.”
Last month, the election commissioner fined former Callaway campaign manager Cameron Davies $15,000 for obstructing the investigation, though Davies’ lawyer said he’s appealing the penalty.
Also fined by the commissioner’s office was UCP member Karen Brown, who was cited for donating money that came from other people to Callaway’s campaign.
And on March 6, the UCP dumped its Calgary-Beddington candidate Randy Kerr for failing to inform the party about a $4,000 contribution he’d made to the Callaway campaign.
The UCP said there was nothing improper about the donation itself and wasn’t related to Kenney’s campaign.
Gill, who lodged complaints about the leadership race, left the UCP caucus following accusations he was linked to ballot stuffing at a meeting last June.
with files from Clare Clancy
on Twitter: @BillKaufmann
