Can We Trust Elections Alberta to Give Voters the Truth on Pensions?

There is much heated debate in Alberta these days over whether the United Conservative government of Premier Danielle Smith should hold a referendum on leaving the Canada Pension Plan to form its own Alberta pension plan.

Smith, during the 2023 election, categorically stated that “no one is touching anybody’s pension.” Now, she and her government are blithely ignoring that promise and seem intent on pushing ahead with a referendum, even though polls show a significant majority of Albertans want to keep the CPP.

But another critical question has yet to be asked. Can Elections Alberta be trusted to facilitate an objective, apolitical referendum, given its well-documented record of failure to provide unbiased information to voters during the 2021 municipal election and the 2023 provincial election?

Doubts about a ‘free and fair’ campaign

“We really do need a well-resourced and independent election authority in order to prevent the premier’s office from putting its finger on the scale,” University of Alberta political scientist Jared Wesley told The Tyee.

“And we have seen little evidence that Elections Alberta is well positioned to run a free and fair campaign this time around — if we have one.”

Wesley has first-hand knowledge. He was one of several academics who had tried — in some cases repeatedly — to warn Elections Alberta that information it had provided to Alberta voters for an October 2021 referendum on removing equalization from the Constitution was false and misleading.

Anyone else worried about this? We know when Kenney commissioned the The Fair Deal Panel, that people in the premiers office re-wrote some of the material submitted by Janice MacKinnon. This means the questions asked in the report, were answered in a manner to Kenney’s liking and expectations. Since Elections Alberta has delivered “false and misleading” information on one referendum in the past, can we expect this time to hear the true results? I don’t think so…. Read more https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2023/10/25/Can-We-Trust-Elections-Alberta/ thetyee.ca/Analysis/2023/10/25…

#referendum #credibility #ucp #ElectionsAlberta #lies #misleading #abpoli