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As self-styled political action committees pop up in Alberta, new Liberal Leader David Khan is calling for a crackdown on the organizations.

Khan said Thursday the provincial government should introduce strict regulations, including the banning of union and corporate donations to political action committees, setting donation limits and requiring donations above $250 to be publicly disclosed.

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Khan suggested that unregulated third-party fundraising and spending in Alberta politics, are “corrupting the democratic process.”

“These PACS are simply a way to skirt or get around election financing laws and allow people, corporations and even foreign money to do what they’re not allowed to do directly through political parties. It’s very concerning,” said the Calgary lawyer, who does not hold a seat in the legislature.

There is no specific legislation in Alberta defining what political action committees are, but groups calling themselves by that term have been proliferating over the past year. Many of the groups have been connected to conservative politics, taking action around the cause of uniting Alberta’s right, the Progressive Conservative leadership race and the leadership contest to come if the new United Conservative Party goes ahead.