EDMONTON — David Parker's lawyers disputed a media narrative on Tuesday, clarifying that he refused to sign a Statutory Declaration for Elections Alberta, not a cease-and-desist order. "Elections Alberta and certain media outlets are currently circulating a fictional narrative regarding David Parker's legal posture," reads a statement issued by Parker's legal counsel, Chad Williams. "The claim that Mr. Parker is 'refusing to sign a cease and desist order' is factually and legally absurd." .The Globe and Mail published a story Monday outlining allegations that Parker, the leader of The Centurion Project, was non-compliant with Elections Alberta's investigation into whether his group used information extracted from Alberta's List of Electors to help compile its public database. "I can confirm David Parker is not cooperating with the investigation and he has refused to sign a statutory declaration confirming that he will comply with my direction to cease and desist with respect to the list of electors,” reads a statement from Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure found in the article. Elections Alberta is investigating Parker and The Centurion Project after receiving tips that they allegedly misused the electoral list. Parker issued a statement on Wednesday saying he is refusing to sign a Statutory Declaration because he believes doing so would violate his rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "What Elections Alberta actually tried to force me to sign was a bizarre, compelled sworn Statutory Declaration — a signed confession under oath — while threatening me with a court injunction if I refused," wrote Parker in an X post. "That is not a routine regulatory step. That is a state ambush designed to bypass my Charter rights.".Williams said Elections Alberta lost their right to compel such statements once its investigation entered into penal territory. "Asserting fundamental constitutional rights against state overreach is not defiance — it is the bedrock of our justice system" Williams wrote. Parker echoed his counsel's sentiment, saying he will not fall into Elections Alberta's trap. "I will not voluntarily surrender my constitutional protections to an agency that has already tipped its hand on parallel investigations," Parker wrote. "The real question the media should be asking is why Elections Alberta is so desperate to extract sworn answers instead of following normal legal process.".Parker and The Centurion Project have been under public fire from both sides of the independence debate since news of the alleged misuse began circulating on April 29. The Republican Party of Alberta got involved in the scandal after Elections Alberta found fake names in The Centurion Project's database that came from a copy of the electoral list given to the party. Elections Alberta began its investigation on April 27 and made it public on April 30, after Justice John Little issued a court order for The Centurion Project and the Republican Party of Alberta to cease and desist from using or disseminating any information extracted from the electoral list. The Alberta RCMP and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta are also conducting investigations into The Centurion Project's alleged misuse of the electoral list.
