EDMONTON— The Centurion Project sent an email to members on Thursday night saying they built their elector database using data obtained from outside the group and that they will comply with Elections Alberta's investigation into their alleged misuse of Alberta's List of Electors. "The Centurion Project was established to train volunteers to be better citizens by partaking in the political process," reads the email. "Volunteers utilized the Centurion App database to find people they know. They did not have access to phone numbers or emails.".Their email comes after news broke late Wednesday evening that Elections Alberta had issued a cease-and-desist order to the Centurion Project over allegations that the group had constructed its website and associated database of Alberta electors with information extracted from Alberta's List of Electors.The electors list is heavily restricted: only political parties, elected officials, election candidates, and Elections Alberta officials may access it, and it may be used only under very specific circumstances.The Centurion Project has previously stated that it legally obtained its data from external sources, including scraping it from the internet, gathering information from 411, and purchasing it from Canada Post."The Centurion Project relied on a third party to provide us with datasets for this tool," their email reads."The Centurion Project is aware of recent allegations regarding the app’s data. We have taken action to shutdown the app until we can ensure that the dataset is compliant with Alberta and Federal privacy laws.".Elections Alberta has said its investigation into a tip about the project's potential use of the electoral list revealed suspect information on the website, which they traced back to a copy of the electoral list issued to the Republican Party of Alberta."There has been no breach of Elections Alberta’s databases or systems," reads a statement from Elections Alberta issued on Thursday. "The unfolding situation is believed to involve a third party and to have occurred as a result of the inappropriate use and/or distribution of the list of electors by a registered political party that was a legitimate recipient of the list."Court of King's Bench Justice John Little issued an injunction on Thursday ordering the Centurion Project to remove any information associated with the List of Electors from its website, and for the Centurion Project and the Republican Party of Alberta to stop disseminating any information from the list.Little also gave the Centurion Project and the Republican Party of Alberta four days to provide a list of individuals who may have accessed or received any of the information from the list.While Elections Alberta's investigation into the allegations continues, the Alberta RCMP announced Thursday afternoon that they have initiated a criminal investigation into events involving the Centurion Project and the Republican Party of Alberta."The Centurion Project plan to fully comply with Elections Alberta’s investigation," the Centurion Project's email reads.Individuals found guilty of violating the provisions in the Elections Act are liable to a fine of up to $100,000, and/or, if convicted in court, could face up to one-year in prison.
