Better Way Alberta campaign site will be shuttered to comply with law that 'undermines free speech'

Edmonton – The Alberta Federation of Labour will be forced to shut down its Better Way Alberta website once the writ is dropped to start the provincial election campaign, which is widely expected to happen tomorrow.

The decision is the result of an opinion provided to the Federation by Alberta's Chief Electoral Officer, Glen Resler, over the weekend.

"Basically, they've ruled that the videos that act as the cornerstone of the BWA website need to be deemed as third-party advertisements," AFL president Gil McGowan said.

"But, it's absurd to put websites in the same category as paid TV, radio or social media advertisements. They're passive; they're only viewed by people who want to view them. It's like telling people what they can and cannot read," Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said. "Imagine if the government went into a library and started pulling books off the shelf that they said shouldn't be read during an election campaign. People would be outraged. But that's exactly what they're doing in this case."

The Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act (EFCDA), which regulates third-party spending during elections, imposes heavy fines on groups that disobey the act's overly complicated and onerous rules.

The Alberta Federation of Labour, which is not allowed to register as a third-party advertiser under the rules, is complying with the legislation. The Federation will, however, consider legal recourses such as launching a Charter challenge against the Elections Act on the grounds that it violates the right to free speech guaranteed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"We are not necessarily opposed to restrictions on third-party advertising during elections. The government's goal when they introduced the current Elections Finance Act was to stop organizations with deep pockets from flooding the airwaves during campaigns – and we support that goal," McGowan said. "However, they've gone too far when they start telling advocacy groups that they have to shut down their websites."

The EFCDA says that any piece of text, audio or video that has been paid for by anyone other than a political party and that is designed to persuade the public on issues related to government policy will be deemed political advertisement for the purposes of the Act. That means that many documents produced by organizations like the Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business could be seen as campaign advertisements.

"Yet, it's only the Better Way Alberta campaign – which calls for increased taxes on corporate profits instead of cuts to public services – that is being shut down. That's a double standard," McGowan said. "And it leads me to believe that this law isn't really about protecting the public interest and the sanctity of elections; it's about muzzling individuals and groups who disagree with the government."

Launched in early March, the Better Way Alberta website has been visited by almost 50,000 Albertans. The campaign's YouTube videos have been viewed in excess of 370,000 times. The petition, which asks the government to reform the province's revenue system through progressive taxes, corporate taxes and fair royalty rates, has been signed by 6,500 people. The BWA campaign leaflet was mailed to more than 1.2 million Alberta homes.

"Clearly our message has struck a chord with Albertans," McGowan said. "I encourage as many Albertans as possible to visit the website, and share the content before it gets taken down when the election period starts – possibly as early as tomorrow."

The Federation of Labour is sending a letter asking for the Premier to intervene and to provide an assurance that he will not prosecute the AFL or any other advocacy group for content posted on their websites.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Olav Rokne, Communications Director, Alberta Federation of Labour at 780.218.4351 (cell)

or via e-mail [email protected]

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