Accusations are flying in the riding of Edmonton-Centre, with the Liberal candidate saying her Tory rival is distorting her record in the legislature.
In his campaign brochure, Conservative Bill Donahue claims Laurie Blakeman and her party reneged on a promise to help with a major downtown redevelopment project in Edmonton.
Campaign brochure being distributed by Edmonton-Centre Tory candidate Bill Donahue.
(CBC)
"In early 2006 they committed to participate in a multi-party advisory committee to assist and guide redevelopment of the Legislature Grounds ... instead of following through with their commitment, they simply walked away," says the campaign literature for the March 3 provincial election.
"This takes a lot of gall to bald-faced lie in this kind of a manner and print it on cards and distribute it," Blakeman told CBC News Tuesday.
Blakeman, who has represented the riding for the Liberals since 1997, said she attended three meetings of the legislature committee after it was set up by then-Minister of Infrastructure Lyle Oberg.
In early 2006, the minister was promoting a grand design for renovating the 25-hectare site around the Alberta legislature, including tearing down the Terrace Building and the Legislature Annex and restoring the long-vacant Federal Building.
Oberg lost his job a short time later, and his successor Ty Lund, disbanded the committee.
Blakeman said she not only did her job, but returned $3,000 in committee pay she received.
"The people that walked away from this committee was the Tories," she said.
Donahue said Tuesday the information on his campaign literature came from his researchers, but he promised to look into whether the claim is false.
The brochure was still on Donahue's campaign website Wednesday morning.
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- Political observers in Alberta are calling it remarkable and opposition politicians are wondering what hit them after Ed Stelmach guided his Conservative party Monday to one of its biggest majorities ever.
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