Banning cash payments for memberships was meant to rebuild trust and signal that concerns over improper sales dogging the United Conservative Party (UCP) were addressed..Some support this decision leading into the leadership election to find a replacement for Premier Jason Kenney..Others claim it doesn’t address the real problem and blocks some from having a say in party politics..The UCP announced Friday that to “secure the integrity” of the voting process, cash payments won’t be accepted after June 1 at 5 p.m. Only credit card, money order, or cheque payments will be allowed..However, allegations under Elections Alberta investigation about improper bulk membership purchases with credit cards are what cast a shadow on the integrity of the process..“This smacks to me of virtue signalling. ‘Look at the wonderful job we’re doing to protect this particular race.’ But in fact, it’s not going to do any of that,” said Vulcan County Coun. Jodie Gateman..“They are saying they want to make it no-cash sales so that you can’t have abuses with credit cards.”.Why would you ban cash if your abuse happened with credit cards? That’s like saying we’re going to ban streetlights because somebody didn’t mow their grass.” .Gateman was disqualified from challenging MLA Joseph Schow in the Cardston-Siksika nomination. She’s in the process of preparing to challenge this in court..Several names are being bandied about as contenders to replace Kenney, who said he’d resign after receiving 51.4% support in his leadership review. He’s staying on until a new leader is chosen..Finance Minister and Grande Prairie-Wapiti MLA Travis Toews is in..Fort McMurray-Lac-La Biche MLA Brian Jean, and former MLA Danielle Smith who’s seeking the nomination in Livingstone-Macleod, announced intentions to run. Both are former Wildrose Party leaders.."I am happy to see the United Conservative Party work at solving some of the membership issues we have raised in the past,” said Jean..“I have two questions. Why is this rule only going into effect on Wednesday? And who in the UCP have access to portals and white-listed credit cards (and can therefore process “cash” memberships) till end of day Wednesday?” .Refusing cash purchases may cause hardship, he said..“There are many individuals who don't have access to credit cards, be they seniors or new Canadians, or individuals hurt by the financial impacts of COVID and lockdowns,” said Jean..“Surely we can find a way that allows for legitimate membership cash sales at certain events under the supervision of the party, while simultaneously preventing the wholesale signing up of people without their knowledge or consent.”.Allowing cash purchases until June 1 was necessary, said UCP spokesman Dave Prisco..“There are a few nomination contests that were already underway when the new rule was made. This gives those candidates a few days to drop off at the office any memberships they had already sold before the new rule takes effect,” he said..“Membership portals exist simply to help candidates track their sales. A portal was created for Brian Jean at his request, and they are available to any nomination candidate or constituency association that requests one. They are literally just a carbon copy of the membership page on our website with a unique URL.”.Smith doesn’t have a problem with the rationale behind the cash ban, but noted some prefer cash payments..“It would be nice if they found a way to securely allow real people to buy real memberships with their own cash, but we’ve seen so many problems in the past, I don’t really object,” said Smith..“I wish there was still a way for people to pay cash through party headquarters.”.Smith doesn’t share Jean’s concerns about white-listed credit cards..“What I was perceiving ... is they want to end the practice of white-listed credit cards. I’m not one of the ones with a white-listed credit card. I don’t know if any of the other candidates are organized enough to take advantage of that.”.“I Iook at this as a security measure to make sure we don’t have bulk buying of memberships that we’ve seen now through two leadership contests.”.The status is unknown of an RCMP investigation into alleged voter fraud in the 2107 leadership race..Elections Alberta was asked to investigate complaints about 4,000-plus bulk purchases using eight credit cards leading up to Kenney’s leadership review..Meanwhile, Gateman said no cash raises a legal question..“How do we say to people you can’t use a legal tender to have a say in politics? Nobody thought about the fact that cash is a legal tender,” said Gateman..“And now we have a political party saying if you want to use cash you are not able to have your say. They’re penalized because they have cash in their wallets?”.Gateman disagrees that credit cards provide a better paper trail..“If someone pays $10 for a membership, that $10 cash is deposited and allotted to that person’s membership name… You now have a paper trail.”.“If you said the correct accounting paperwork must accompany every membership, you don’t have a problem. It’s very difficult to cheat that way.”.Banning cash is “very elitist,” she said. .“What if I just got out of the pandemic and my credit card is maxed out because I was trying to save my business and make sure there was food on the table? But I’ve got 10 bucks cash because I sold something on Kijiji.”.A 12-member Leadership Election Committee will oversee rules and establish procedures including entry requirements, the contest timeline of, and how members will vote..“Renewing the UCP and uniting all of Alberta's conservatives against the NDP next year will require that our party has clear, transparent rules that are enforced equally. As conservatives we believe in the rule of law, and we should govern our party affairs according to that principle,” said Jean.
