Monday 1 April 2019

Integrity and Alberta Politics: the Kamikaze/above the law edition - Alberta Votes 2019 part 5

They were just talking on the radio news about how Jeff Calloway's lawyer is going to try to get an injunction today (April 1) to stop the investigations into irregular funding around the kamikaze campaign during the UCP leadership race. And all I can think is "The unmitigated gall of these people!" They say there is no urgency to the investigation, and people should be left alone during the campaign. NO! There is extreme urgency BECAUSE of the campaign.

Albertans have right to know if the leader of one of the major parties and his team have been up to unethical and illegal things BEFORE we decide who to vote for. They seem to think they are above the law. That a Kenney win eclipses any moral or legal considerations.

But it is the legal and moral considerations that should be front and centre here. Quite apart from his "make the rich richer and to hell with everyone else" platform, can we trust Kenney?

I seem to recall backroom deals with car dealerships to suppress consumer protection and stop sales of certain kinds of inexpensive cars.

Then there is the proposed sell-off of crown land. Who would benefit from this? Not First Nations. In fact, apart from car dealers, we don't know who has paid to play with Kenney because he has not released his donor list.

The people who are backing Kenney's campaign are not looking for the UCP to do things that benefit regular Albertans. They want to roll back worker protections and wages, reduce the regulations that keep up safe, and ignore climate change so they can become even richer. In what possible universe does any of this improve life for average Albertans?

Looking at the UCP platform one can get an idea of who has been giving money to their campaign. Oil and gas, of course, private insurers, private schools, anti-choice groups like the Wilberforce Project and RightNow, possibly large-scale agribusiness, car dealers, and the UCP "tough on crime" agenda has me wondering if someone in the business of building and running prisons hasn't paid for a bit of Jason's attention. But, of course, we don't know, do we?

We do know Kenney is being investigated for claiming a secondary housing allowance for while he allegedly lived in his Mom's basement in a retirement community that doesn't allow sublets. His leadership campaign is under investigation. Some of his candidates and campaign team are under investigation for financial issues as well as the alleged identity theft and fake votes using VPNs and offshore servers. Then there is the kamikaze campaign ploy...

There is so much shade over the UCP campaign right now. And Callaway has the nerve to suggest this should all be swept under the rug? Albertans need to know what's been going on. This election is about integrity. Who do you trust?


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