Brian Jean’s campaign wants Elections Alberta to investigate UCP memberships bought enmasse just prior to the cut-off date for the leadership review..Vitor Marciano said there were about 16,000 UCP members at the beginning of 2022, surging to 55,000 at last count. He was joined by David Parker, founder of Take Back Alberta (TBA), Friday in Edmonton to discuss their mounting concerns over the legitimacy of Premier Jason Kenney’s confidence vote..“In 2017, Jason Kenney signed up thousands of members in new Canadian communities, communities attached to his old file as the Immigration minister for Canada. And we in the Jean campaign believe that he signed up somewhere between 15 and 17,000,” said Marciano..Marciano alleged people attached to Kenney’s campaign have repeated history, signing up “thousands of people … most of which without their knowledge,” just prior to the March 19 cut-off date..In response, Jean’s campaign and TBA will be writing to Elections Alberta to investigate..Marciano provided media with Election Alberta’s 2021 interim interpretation that “only individuals can buy annual political party and constituency association memberships and individuals can only buy membership for themselves.”.The UCP drew criticism late last year for Bill 81, the Election Statutes Amendment Act, which allows individuals to buy party memberships on behalf of other people..Marciano wasn’t initially concerned about $10 memberships being used in a “surreptitious way … because in the end, how are they going to get that person to spend their own $99 to go to Red Deer?”.Things quickly changed on Tuesday, however, when UCP Board President Cynthia Moore announced the party would be moving the vote online..Marciano said a whistleblower in the UCP party office provided him with a copy of a 2021 party accounting spreadsheet, detailing all 12,921 membership transactions. He said current records could easily prove any malfeasance..“We’re going to be calling on the party to supply that type of a spreadsheet to the auditors and to Elections Alberta because that can allow you to figure out if something bad is happening. And we believe something has,” said Marciano..The Western Standard asked Parker what he would say to rural Albertans who feel they’ve been removed from the democratic process..“That’s what (Kenney) wants you to feel. He wants you to feel despair, that no matter what you do, he is going to change the rules. You don’t have to feel that way. We can continue to show up,” said Parker..“Authority is given by the people, period. And he doesn’t seem to recognize that anymore. We’re not going to lose this. He will not be the premier eventually. It’s just going to be a matter of time. We are dealing with someone who refuses to obey the rule of law.”.TBA is an organization “dedicated to educating the population on what their civic rights are and how they can get involved in politics.”.Amber Gosselin is a Western Standard reporter..agosselin@westernstandardonline.com
