MORGAN: Inept or biased? Elections Alberta’s refusal to regulate Lukaszuk’s Forever Canadian campaign must end

The continuing farce of Thomas Lukaszuk’s campaign that’s not a campaign must end. Elections Alberta’s continued refusal to apply simple campaign rules to a group that’s clearly campaigning is undermining the credibility of Alberta’s entire democratic system. Either Elections Alberta must end its willful blindness, or the courts must intervene. There isn’t time for a legislative committee to address the issue as the referendum date looms, and having the government meddle directly in the process would set a bad precedent.The game being played has descended into outright absurdity. The rules for third-party advertising in a referendum are clear. They state, “advertising must relate to a specific referendum question, must be advertising … and must attempt to persuade an elector to vote in a particular way with respect to that referendum question.” Any group or person spending more than $1,000 in advertising on a referendum campaign must register with Elections Alberta, must abide by fundraising and spending maximums, and must disclose its funding sources.Thomas Lukaszuk’s Forever Canadian group has been travelling the province campaigning for months, and there is no doubt they are taking a side in the referendum. Lukaszuk has said as much many times himself, and they have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars.Lukaszuk plays cute by saying he is just campaigning on unity in general and not on the unity question itself. It is the political version of a pestering child’s game when they put their finger within a millimetre of your face while repeatedly chanting “I’m not touching you!” He has even opened three campaign offices that literally say “campaign” on the signage outside of them. It’s as if he is going out of his way to give the finger to Albertans who just want transparency in campaigns, and perhaps that’s exactly his intent..The only person in the province who apparently believes Lukasuk’s group isn’t campaigning is the Chief Electoral Officer. Despite what must be thousands of complaints in their email and on their phone lines, he doggedly keeps claiming that Forever Canadian isn’t campaigning in the referendum. He may as well claim the sky isn’t blue. The question Albertans are now asking themselves is whether the Chief Electoral Officer is hopelessly inept, or hopelessly biased. In both cases, it paints an ugly scenario for Alberta’s democratic system.The legitimacy of Elections Alberta rests on the perception of a total lack of bias and even-handedness in the application of electoral regulations. Once that perception cracks, several harms follow.First, public trust erodes. Citizens who already distrust institutions see confirmation that the system is rigged. No matter which way the referendum results lean, the losing side may claim it was due to a biased or inept electoral agency. They may claim the results are illegitimate, and it would be difficult to argue against if things don’t change.Second, a two-tier system invites cynicism and strategic gamesmanship. The campaigns may shift from trying to make their case within the realm of democratic debate to a contest to exploit electoral loopholes. How much longer are groups willing to have their campaigns handicapped before they seek advantages through bending rules? Such a campaign atmosphere erodes public trust further..Third, the absence of disclosure creates real risks of foreign or special-interest influence. There are good reasons for enforced disclosure of funding sources in campaigns. Who is funding Lukaszuk’s group? Unions? China? Martians? We have no way to know, and the lack of disclosure invites speculation which may or may not be fair. Supporters of Lukaszuk are being poorly treated as they don’t know where the money is going. How much goes to the campaign, and how much is compensating people at the head of it?Fourth and of the most concern, it damages the long-term authority of the institution itself. Future elections and referendums inherit the distrust. Alberta faces a general election in 2027, and how will citizens be able to feel confident when Elections Alberta appears to have compromised its mandate of impartiality? When people lose faith in democracy, the democracy will fail. And the mechanism for change can then become ugly.Right now, the handling of Forever Canadian is undermining trust. Equal rules, transparent application, and a willingness to correct course are the only reliable path back to respect. The Chief Electoral Officer in Alberta appears to have a beef with the premier or the process for referenda and is taking out that beef through selective application of the rules. Democracy is too important to leave in the hands of a senior bureaucrat with a vendetta. If the Chief Electoral Officer continues to refuse to apply the rules equally, he must be replaced immediately through court intervention if need be. Enough is enough.

MORGAN: Inept or biased? Elections Alberta’s refusal to regulate Lukaszuk’s Forever Canadian campaign must end

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