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If Kenney intended to create a contender for the title he previously gave to the NDP carbon levy, he certainly succeeded — but not just for the political self-interest at play here.

When a government charges ahead with a move as seemingly brazen as this, it can indicate only one thing. Alberta is now being governed by those who have lost any fear of political fallout, a machine that has come to interpret its election mandate as a blank cheque to do whatever it wants, no matter the optics, the cost to accountability, or the threat to democracy itself.

For those still gamely trying to keep up with the government’s agenda, the election commissioner at the centre of this — Lorne Gibson — is the same one who in just 16 months of work, has imposed 30 letters of reprimand, punished nearly 90 instances of political over-contributions, and issued more $200,000 in fines to people connected with Jeff Callaway’s UCP leadership campaign.

The same commissioner who is responsible, in part, for what little the Alberta public knows about that scandal, and who may well be investigating further alleged malfeasance connected to the UCP race, including what role Kenney may have played.

In short, if there was ever an independent officer of the legislature who proved his or her worth in such a short time, it is this commissioner.

Still, the UCP government says it has two legitimate reasons for firing Gibson mid investigation and placing the responsibilities of his office under the control of the Chief Electoral Officer.