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Alberta Committee Approves Election Spending Cap Motion

Aug 16, 2016 | 6:15 AM

EDMONTON:  A committee of the Alberta legislature has passed a motion to put a spending cap on how much political parties can spend during election campaigns.

The Ethics and Accountability Committee voted to set a limit for each party of 80 cents per voter, or just over $2 million.

The motion must still be voted on by the legislature before it becomes law, perhaps later this year.

Progressive Conservative and Wildrose members of the committee opposed the restriction, calling it unfair.

PC member Glenn van Dijken says the cost of elections are rising and Nathan Cooper of the Wildrose says the spending limit gives the governing party an advantage.

However, NDP member Marie Renaud says parties that pull in too much cash can drown out other viewpoints.