Alberta towns given 30 days to come clean on pork-barrelling
CBC News
Posted: Oct 27, 2011 12:41 PM MT
Last Updated: Oct 27, 2011 5:43 PM MT
Chief Electoral Officer Brian Fjeldheim will be sending letters to six Alberta municipalities asking for more details about allegations they used public funds for partisan activities. (CBC)
Elections Alberta has given the province's towns and counties 30 days to respond to allegations of so-called pork barrel politics.
"We're going to be following up with that and sending a letter this week, asking some questions of those municipalities and then getting detailed information on maybe what transpired," said Chief Electoral Officer Brian Fjeldheim.
A CBC investigation revealed earlier this month that several municipal councils have contributed to the Alberta Progressive Conservative party, despite laws against it. Alberta's Election Finances Contributions Disclosure Act prohibits the use of public money for partisan politics.
CBC reported that the Town of St. Paul helped organize a golf tournament in June to raise campaign funds for Tory MLA Ray Danyluk.
St. Paul's mayor, councillors and staff also participated in the tournament at the town's expense.
CBC later learned other towns similarly contributed to Tory fundraisers.
Fjeldheim said letters will be sent to Hardisty, Tofield, Didsbury, St. Paul, Smoky Lake and Cardston.
After 30 days, the responses will be assessed before Alberta Elections decides whether to open an investigation. Fjeldheim also plans to send letters to every other municipality in the province to remind them about the rules.
Share Tools
Latest Edmonton News Headlines
- Fire ban announced for Edmonton
- A fire ban was issued Tuesday in the city of Edmonton, with officials rating the current level of fire danger as "extreme." more »
- Driver too drunk to stand, says mom of toddler killed on patio
- The driver who crashed into a southwest Edmonton patio Sunday, killing a two-year-old as he dined with his family, was too drunk to stand, the boy's mother said in a Facebook posting. more »
- Edmonton's Mayor Stephen Mandel bows out
- Stephen Mandel will not run for a fourth consecutive term as Edmonton mayor. more »
- Stunt victim was about to be married, attend U of A
- A 20-year-old woman killed when a stunt went awry at an Edmonton parking lot Saturday has been identified as Melinda Green. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Senate to debate expense audits amid greater scrutiny
- The expenses scandal is dominating the first Senate session since the audits on senators Mike Duffy, Mac Harb and Patrick Brazeau were released and it was revealed Duffy's questionable expenses were repaid by a personal cheque from the prime minister's chief of staff. Follow our live blog. more »
- Search for deadly Oklahoma tornado survivors nears end
- The search for survivors and bodies following the most powerful type of tornado in an Oklahoma City suburb that levelled a school and killed at least nine children on Monday is almost over. more »
- Deadly Oklahoma tornado confirmed as most powerful type

- Emergency workers neared the end of their search Tuesday afternoon for survivors in Moore, Okla., following a deadly tornado that weather officials said was now classified among the most powerful type of twister. more »
- Only 1 set of human remains found at Millard farm, police say
- Hamilton police have confirmed that they are dealing with only a single set of human remains at the Waterloo region farm of Dellen Millard. more »
- Rob Ford faces more calls to address crack allegations
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford went back to work after a holiday weekend, but he kept his mouth shut about an alleged video that two published reports say shows him smoking what appears to be a crack pipe. more »
- Edmonton driver, 62, charged in boy's patio death
- Stunt victim was about to be married, attend U of A
- Edmonton's Mayor Stephen Mandel bows out
- Jeep driver apologizes after stunt kills Edmonton woman
- Edmonton man runs into traffic, killed by car
- Driver too drunk to stand, says mom of toddler killed on patio
- Unlicensed teen ticketed for high-speed drive
- Abducted woman found
- Alberta's beef industry: 10 years after mad cow crisis

