Alberta electoral officer asked to probe robocalls; Wildrose wants all parties to cooperate

EDMONTON – Alberta Premier Alison Redford’s Progressive Conservative party is asking the chief electoral officer to investigate rule-breaking Wildrose robocalls to make sure they didn’t affect last year’s election.

The Opposition party said it would co-operate with any investigation, but urged that the actions of all parties be reviewed along with the issue of push polling.

Tory cabinet minister Doug Griffiths suggested in a letter to the chief electoral officer that it’s critical to determine whether the automated calls changed the result in closely contested ridings won by the Wildrose.

“The most important question that must be asked and investigated is: To what extent did the illegal behaviour affect Albertans’ right to vote or changed the election results in any Wildrose-Alliance-Party-held constituency?” the letter asks.

“The right and ability of Albertans to vote in a manner that is unimpeded and free from illegal activities is critical to ensuring our democratic institutions and processes are respected and trusted.

“Albertans deserve as much and demand no less.”

Last week, Global News revealed the Wildrose party was fined $90,000 by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for making the automated calls in 2011 and 2012. It’s the biggest fine ever levied against a political party by the CRTC.

The Wildrose broke the rules by not identifying who was behind the calls. Federal regulations stipulate that automated phone calls must include the name of the party sponsoring the call, as well as an address and contact telephone number.

The Wildrose has said it trusted the company making the calls to follow the rules.

“We chose a vendor that had worked for other political parties, that had been around a lot longer than we have,” party president David Yager said Thursday.

“We felt that we were using a qualified vendor and that it really wasn’t our fault; what we learned is that it doesn’t really matter who the vendor is, ultimately it’s the sponsor that’s liable.”

But Griffiths asked the electoral officer to dig deeper to ascertain details about the Wildrose party’s involvement.

He wants to know who wrote the script for the calls, how much the party paid for them and how many calls were made.

Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith wrote her own letter to the electoral officer saying her party would co-operate, but asked that the probe be broad.

She took specific aim at so-called push polls she says were done by the Tories.

“Message push polls are a form of advertising masquerading as legitimate electoral research and as such should have identified that it was paid for and authorized by the (Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta) campaign,” Smith said.

“The number of Albertans called during the 2012 election by this type of advertising is currently unknown, but these calls were a significant controversy during the election and may have influenced tens of thousands of voters.”

You can read Smith’s full letter below:

With files from Global News