CALGARY — Forever Canadian leader Thomas Lukaszuk claims his group is not required to disclose its fundraising information because it is not campaigning on a referendum question. Lukaszuk made the claim during an interview with Global News, and the video circulated online on Friday as Alberta independence supporters voice frustrations and claim he is breaking election/referendum advertising laws. Forever Canadian registered as a referendum Third Party Advertiser on June 8; however, they have not listed any donations on their weekly financial contributions statements..Lukaszuk and other Forever Canadian leaders regularly travel around Alberta, handing out lawn signs and recruiting individuals to join their pro-Canada group and vote in the October referendum. Alberta independence supporters frequently raise complaints over how Lukaszuk is allowed to travel around Alberta advocating for federalism and distributing lawn signs without disclosing their financial contributions. Elections Alberta released a statement on Wednesday in response to "much confusion and misinformation" about what qualifies as referendum advertising under Alberta's legislation. "Not every advertisement that touches on the issues that are the subject of a referendum will meet the definition of 'referendum advertising,'" reads an Elections Alberta statement. Their interpretation bulletin says "advertisements" must be directly advocating for a referendum question, and simply touching on a topic does not constitute advertising. Lukaszuk's lawn signs, which have garnered much attention from independence supporters, call on individuals to "choose unity" and "join the Forever Canadian movement." While "chose" may be taken to mean "vote," it does not appear to promote a referendum question, since "unity" is not specific to any particular referendum. The bulletin explicitly says that "Celebrate Alberta," "Celebrate Canada," and "send a message to Ottawa" are examples of phrases that, taken on their own, would not be considered referendum advertising. .Alberta independence supporters have also raised concerns over comments made by Lukaszuk, in which he said individuals outside of Alberta can donate to Forever Canadian online. Financial disclosure regulations allow "individuals ordinarily resident in Alberta" to donate to third party advertisers and other political participants. Contention in the debate centres on the word "ordinarily," which is defined as "the place where you normally, habitually, and centrally live out your daily life, typically by choice and for a settled purpose."According to the definition, an individual may live outside Alberta for a period of time, such as spending the winter in Arizona or Florida, and still claim Alberta as their ordinary residence if they normally live there. Lukaszuk told Global News that Forever Canadian will disclose its financial contributions at a later date as a nonprofit group and that it does not accept funds from outside Alberta.
