EDMONTON – An Alberta judge has found six people in contempt for not attending interviews as part of an investigation into alleged irregular political donations made to the United Conservative Party in 2023.
A decision by Justice Peter Michalyshyn says for the past year the provincial elections commissioner has been investigating donations made to the party by people allegedly using money that wasn’t their own.
It says the commissioner’s investigation began in the spring of last year, but it’s not clear if the individuals cited for contempt were the targets of the investigation.
It says the commissioner sought to interview individual donors, as it was believed they had relevant information and evidence.
The decision says the donors argued they didn’t need to participate in the investigation due to recent changes to provincial election financing rules.
It says those changes might affect outcomes of the investigation but don’t reduce the commissioner’s power to compel people for interviews and donors had no legal reason not to participate.
Among other things, the legislated changes prevent the commissioner from imposing penalties and sanctions on those who break election financing rules if one year has passed since the commissioner received a complaint.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2025.
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