Alberta PC party dismisses complaint against leadership candidate Jason Kenney

“I want to take this opportunity to reiterate the party’s sole agenda during this leadership election is to ensure a fair, open, honest and transparent election.”

Kenney said he was glad the committee dismissed the complaint.

“Thank-you to the thousands of Albertans who expressed support for democracy in the face of this effort to quash the leadership election,” Kenney said in a post on social media.

Last week, Rath said Kenney was violating the party’s constitution and the leadership contest’s code of ethics, which forbids candidates from doing anything that harms or brings into disrepute the party or its brand.

He said Kenney appears to be planning to either destroy the party and create a one in its place or leave the party in such a state that the right can unite under the Opposition Wildrose party.

Rath was volunteering for one of Kenney’s leadership rivals, legislature member Richard Starke, but said he filed the complaint on his own.

Starke, along with candidate Byron Nelson, is running to rejuvenate the PCs as a stand-alone party to take on Premier Rachel Notley’s NDP in the next election.

Starke has said he would entertain a joint working relationship with the Wildrose, but has not said what that would look like.

Kenney has promised that, should he win the delegate vote on March 18, he will seek to dissolve the party and join it with the Wildrose to form a conservative coalition he believes is critical to avoid vote splitting.

Provincial rules forbid parties from merging. They must first disband and surrender their finances.

The party also said it is concerned about how Rath made his complaint.

“The committee also noted its concern over the public nature of the complaint and will be reminding all campaigns to engage in a more respectful discourse,” the party said in a release.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Alberta PC party dismisses complaint against leadership candidate Jason Kenney

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