Blog | September 06, 2012

Public Interest Alberta wants the chief electoral officer to investigate three Progressive Conservative MLAs for possible breaches of the province's campaign finance laws.Fort McMurray MLAs Don Scott and Mike Allen contributed the maximum of $2,000 to their own campaigns. PIA claims the two men then donated the same amount to each other's campaign.The group says Allen also received $2,000 from both Scott's wife and his holding company.PIA is also concerned that Calgary MLA and Service Alberta minister Manmeet Bhullar received $12,000 in contributions from six different liquor stores that are all owned by the same company, Solo Liquor Holdings Ltd.The maximum amount a corporation can donate to a party's campaign is $10,000."We don't want to see people with massive amounts of money just being able to buy their positions into provincial government," said PIA executive director Bill Moore-Kilgannon."It costs a lot of money to run for politics and it shouldn't just be one or two individuals or a couple of corporations who can, with their very deep pockets, determine who gets in and who doesn't."Moore-Kilgannon has sent a letter to Chief Electoral Officer Brian Fjeldheim asking him to investigate. He hopes Fjeldheim will clarify finance laws to make sure candidates understand what isn't acceptable.A spokesperson with Elections Alberta says they will look into the allegations before determining whether a full-scale investigation is required.So far, none of the MLAs have been available for comment.This article was published by CBC news on September 6, 2012. Read the full article on CBC's website.