CALGARY—Anyone under investigation by the province’s elections commissioner would be in a conflict of interest if they voted on a bill to remove him, according to a letter from Alberta’s ethics commissioner sent Thursday morning.

Just 30 minutes after Opposition Leader Rachel Notley’s office received the letter, the United Conservative government passed Bill 22. Critics and political scientists alike described it as an unprecedented move for a sitting premier, with Notley going so far as to accuse Alberta Premier Jason Kenney of turning the Legislature into a bully pulpit for his own personal partisan and political gain.

“It is the most disgusting abuse of power in the history of Alberta,” she told reporters shortly after Bill 22 completed its third reading. “It proves this premier is corrupt and that his cabinet and his private members are complicit.”

Notley wrote to the ethics commissioner on Wednesday over her concerns about the bill, insisting its removal of the watchdog provides a material benefit to the UCP, given elections commissioner Lorne Gibson’s ongoing investigations.

These include accusations that Kenney ran a “kamikaze candidate” during the UCP’s 2016 leadership race, as well as allegations of bribery and fraud against UCP MLA Peter Singh. Investigators have also interviewed several party members — including Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer, Infrastructure Minister Prasad Panda and MLA Joseph Schow — as part of a probe into allegations of voter fraud during the 2016 race.

Notley asked the ethics commissioner to request the Alberta government delay Bill 22 while she investigated the matter. In her response, commissioner Marguerite Trussler said it would be “improper” for her to interfere with the political process, but warned that any UCP members under investigation by the elections commissioner would be violating a section of the Conflicts of Interest Act if they took part in deliberation.

“Those individuals who are in the process of being investigated by the Elections Commissioner or the RCMP would be in breach … of the Conflicts of Interest Act if they were to discuss the portions of Bill 22 pertaining to the Office of the Elections Commissioner or vote on the bill,” she wrote in her response to Notley.

The section in question states that any MLA who knowingly takes part in a decision that furthers their private interests — or anyone directly associated with them — in the course of their official duties would violate the Act. Trussler also cited another section that forbids influencing decisions to further an MLA or another person’s private interest.

Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon said the party was confident that everyone who voted on Bill 22 was within their responsibilities under the Conflicts of Interest Act after some consultation with the ethics commissioner earlier on Thursday. When asked about Bill 22 votes from several MLAs who had been interviewed by the RCMP — including Schweitzer — Nixon insisted the RCMP told their subjects that they weren’t under investigation.

“That would not be a violation of the Conflict of Interest Act,” he said.

He described the NDP’s concerns as completely out of proportion and insisted the election commissioner will still exist. When Bill 22 was introduced, the UCP suggested they’d simply be folded into the existing office of the Chief Electoral Officer.

Lori Williams, a policy studies professor at Mount Royal University, said one could argue virtually everyone in the party has an interest in whether the election commissioner’s various investigations continue. After all, she said, Gibson is looking into allegations involving the premier.

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“It’s really problematic,” she said.

Notley said the opposition will be assessing all of their options to fight Bill 22, but said it isn’t clear what happens next. Williams suggested a court challenge could overturn the legislation, but could be slow. Another possibility would be for the Lieutenant-Governor to refuse to grant the bill royal assent — an incredibly rare occurrence.

“I’m not going to hold my breath for that,” Williams said. “She was, after all, appointed by this government.”

With files from Kieran Leavitt and Nadine Yousif

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