Decision by Kenney, UCP was an abuse of power

By Letter to the Editor on December 24, 2019.

Re: “Tough words for firing of election commissioner,” Nov. 23

I agree with Mr. Ken Sears who described as corrupt the firing of Mr. Gibson, Alberta’s Election Commissioner.

It is concerning to me that in the 2017 UCP leadership campaign there were, certainly, illegalities. Gibson has already levied $200,000 in fines against UCP members arising from that campaign. He had open, ongoing and unresolved investigations into activities of some UCP members when he was fired by them. Some of those investigations involve Jason Kenney’s 2017 UCP leadership campaign. All Albertans deserve to know if there was other wrongdoing by UCP members and supporters, and perhaps by Kenney himself. Is Kenney lawfully the leader of the UCP? He might not be.

Further, our law has an old saying: Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. One aspect of justice being seen to be done is the following of due process. In our law, due process includes complete abstention by everyone, elected officials included, from any interference in an investigation by an officer duly authorized to investigate something. Further, if charges are laid by the officer, due process requires publication, in due course, of the evidence on which the charges are based, and ultimately, publication of whether the accused is found either guilty or not guilty. We all have a right to know. We often hear a lot from conservatives about transparency, but firing the official investigating them and rushing the legislation through the Legislature with tightly restricted debate shows only UCP scorn and disdain for due process, for transparency, for the rights of Albertans, and for our democracy.

Lastly, let’s examine Kenney’s explanation for firing the Election Commissioner. He has stated they did it to save money, and that there will be saved one million dollars, over five years, by the firing. This is an annual saving of $200,000 to Alberta. Please note that the UCP budget a little more than one month ago had $58.7 billion in expenses. To express those two figures in scaled-down but proportionately accurate numbers, this means that for every $5,870 in government spending this coming year the UCP, by firing Gibson, will save Albertans two cents.

This firing of the Election Commissioner by Kenney and the UCP is corrupt, as Sears said, because it is an abuse of power and an interference in due process. It is a sorry example of why public faith in our institutions of democracy is being eroded by those who have sworn to maintain them. Thanks for your two cents’ worth, Mr. Kenney!

Gregory R. Cote

Irvine, Alta.

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