A court hearing about allegations Take Back Alberta (TBA) founder David Parker engaged in contempt of court will be held on Monday, with Elections Alberta saying he has not complied with its investigation into it. Court records obtained by Postmedia on Monday reveal the details of Parker allegedly blocking Elections Alberta’s investigation into TBA after learning about it in November. The Western Standard learned in November Elections Alberta had opened an investigation into the activities and financial filings of TBA. READ MORE: Elections Alberta initiates investigation into Take Back AlbertaElections Alberta received multiple complaints about its activities and finances.Some of these allegations include an affiliation between it and the Alberta United Conservative Party, engaging in activities supporting the work of politicians, and accepting contributions in a manner not complying with the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act. To carry out an investigation to the fullest, Elections Alberta wants to obtain 19 sets of documents such as donor lists, bank statements, and expense reports for TBA’s advertising and events. Since Parker has not given it all the documents it wants, it filed a contempt of court application on June 10, saying he did not comply with an order to give it the documents it wants. The case will be heading back to court on Monday, where Parker or his representative will argue why an arrest warrant should not be issued against him and why he should be found innocent of contempt of court. The Alberta Rules of Court state contempt of court in civil cases can see penalties such as two years in jail and fines. Elections Alberta interviewed Parker in March, where he confirmed he had the records it wanted and would not be providing them to it. Elections Alberta Election Commissioner Paula Hale issued him a notice to produce in April, saying he had to provide the records or face contempt of court charges. Hale declined his lawyer Leighton Grey's offer to push back the deadline in May and gave him until the end of the month. He failed to meet the deadline.“You have not provided a reason for this request,” said Hale in a letter to Grey obtained by Postmedia. “This does not appear to be a request made in good faith.” She pointed out Parker “stated that he had records that related to the activities of Take Back Alberta and also had records of financial deposits; some of them he stated he had in his possession on the day of the interview.” However, she confirmed he would not be handing over these records for its investigation. Parker had said part of the investigation “is a ludicrous claim that I have personally been embezzling funds from Take Back Alberta.”“Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said. “In the coming weeks, I will be releasing Take Back Alberta’s full financials to the public for the sake of transparency.”.While he would be releasing the full financials, he said he would not be providing donor names. TBA garnered about $1.4 million in donations in 2022 and 2023. Certain public figures have said TBA holds major power over the Alberta UCP. TBA and the UCP agree on several policies, including bans on gender transitions in minors, preventing public health officials from having too much power during pandemics, and creating municipal political parties. UCP members with close ties to TBA control the party’s board, and it has said it was behind taking out former Alberta premier Jason Kenney. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and the UCP have said they do not take orders from it. Parker said in an interview with the Western Standard Elections Alberta is on a witch hunt against him. “I don’t believe that any of the activities I’ve participated in are elections advertising,” he said. “If Elections Alberta has rules that some of those activities are elections advertising, they need to present that ruling before they ask for documentation.” He questioned why it thinks he has blocked its investigation. This is because he did a two-hour interview with it, gave it 38 documents, and answered any questions he could. Grey declined to comment. Elections Alberta could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
