Alberta chief electoral officer warns Bill 14 risks 'significant harm' to democratic trust

"The potential harm of perceived partisan influence over electoral processes cannot be overstated," McClure wrote of the government's Bill 14

In a scathing letter to MLAs, Alberta’s chief electoral officer appealed for a last-minute overhaul of coming changes that he says will politicize the approval process of citizen initiative applications.

Gordon McClure wrote on Tuesday directly to Justice Minister Mickey Amery and Speaker Ric McIver outlining concerns with the government’s Bill 14: the Justice Statutes Amendment Act that was introduced last week. He also copied his letter to all other MLAs.

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McClure wrote part of the bill transfers the final say on applications for a citizen initiative from his office to that of Amery’s, a change he wrote eroded a fundamenta