EDMONTON—Edmonton police say the RCMP are reviewing a letter sent by Democracy Watch that expressed concerns over the Alberta government’s firing of an elections watchdog who had been investigating the governing United Conservatives.

An Edmonton Police Service letter, released by Democracy Watch on Monday, says the Mounties are reviewing the non-profit’s concerns around Jason Kenney’s cabinet being involved with the firing of Election Commissioner Lorne Gibson in November.

Gibson had been carrying out investigations into allegations of wrongdoing by the United Conservative Party, having levied tens of thousands of dollars in fines already against party faithful. He’d also been probing Kenney’s campaign itself for accusations it had solicited donations in kind and improperly signed up party members.

Kenney’s government terminated Gibson’s contract using a piece of legislation that also folded the election commissioner’s office into the chief electoral officer’s jurisdiction. The move was decried by critics, but the UCP defended it as a cost-savings measure and a bid to streamline services. The government estimated it would save about $200,000 annually.

Democracy Watch asked the RCMP, through the Edmonton Police Service, in December, to probe whether the actions had violated the Criminal Code.

The new letter from police, responding to the organization’s concerns, is dated Jan. 2, 2020.

“The RCMP … is aware of your letter of complaint and will be looking into the matter to determine whether an investigation is warranted,” says the letter, sent by Deputy Chief Kevin Brezinski of the Edmonton Police Service.

“The (Edmonton Police Service) will not initiate an investigation as this matter falls within the RCMP’s mandate.”

The non-profit group, which advocates democratic reform, asked that a special prosecutor also oversee any investigation that might be launched.

“The Kenney cabinet firing the Election Commissioner was like firing a top police investigator and a judge to try to stop trials,” said Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, in a news release at the time of the original complaint.

“Democracy Watch’s opinion is that an obstruction of justice investigation is warranted.”

In an email to the Star, Justice Ministry spokesperson Jonah Mozeson said that neither the premier’s office or the office of the justice minister had been contacted by the RCMP regarding the concerns raised by Democracy Watch.

When asked if a special prosecutor would be appointed should an investigation be launched, Mozeson said he wouldn’t “indulge speculating on hypotheticals merely because of a letter that acknowledges another letter was forwarded on.”

“The non-partisan, independent Chief Electoral Officer was abundantly clear that he has full authority to continue or initiate any relevant investigation as he sees fit.”

All proceedings before the courts that stemmed from election commissioner investigations are also now part of the Chief Electoral Officer’s jurisdiction. All staff that were working in the election commissioner’s office, once a separate investigatory wing for Elections Alberta, are now under Chief Electoral Officer Glen Resler’s watch.

The investigations that were carried out by Gibson’s office include the “kamikaze” probe, which has seen about $200,000 in fines levelled against several party faithful, such as former UCP leadership contestant Jeff Callaway, who has been slapped with about $70,000 in fines since allegations surfaced against him in 2018.

Callaway has applied for a judicial review in court over the fines levelled against him and is set to have his case heard in September.

According to documents leaked to the Star, Callaway ran a kamikaze campaign in the 2017 UCP leadership race on behalf of Kenney’s campaign team in order to act as a proxy — attacking Kenney’s biggest rival, former Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean.

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As part of his court filing, the election commissioner’s investigation findings were available to the Star, and they said Callaway also fuelled his campaign with illicit money from a corporate entity, Agropyron Enterprises Ltd., to the tune of $60,000.

The RCMP has been carrying out a separate investigation into the 2017 UCP leadership race over allegations of identity fraud during the voting process, also levied against Kenney’s camp.

In August, the Star revealed the commissioner’s office had opened an investigation into allegations Kenney and his campaign team may have solicited contributions in kind that amounted to more than $20,000 — accusations which, if true, could violate election laws in the province. The alleged events occurred in 2017 and 2018 when Kenney was campaigning, but the party and Kenney himself have denied any wrongdoing.

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