Stop the Hogs!

Corporate Alberta helps keep Brad Wall's Saskatchewan Party flush with funds

[ http://edmontonjournal.com/news/politic ... with-funds ]

Emma Graney Published on: November 1, 2016 | Last Updated: November 1, 2016 6:00 AM MDT
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Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall speaks about the federal carbon tax pricing announcement at the Legislative Building in Regina.

Brad Wall's Saskatchewan Party has received millions in donations from Alberta businesses since 2006. PHOTO
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Alberta businesses have showered the Saskatchewan Party with more than $2 million in donations since 2006.

According to an online database compiled by Progress Alberta, [ http://skparty-progressalberta.nationbuilder.com/ ], Brad Wall’s Saskatchewan Party has accepted more than $3 million in corporate out-of-province donations since 2006, the bulk of which flowed from Alberta.

Most of the cash came from oil companies such as Crescent Point, Cenovus, Encana and PennWest, though the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, the Canadian Western Bank and construction company PCL also contributed.

Political parties in Alberta haven’t been able to accept out-of-province donations since 1977.

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[ http://edmontonjournal.com/news/politic ... with-funds ]

Saskatchewan the 'wild west' for campaign finance laws, says Alberta group

[ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatche ... -1.3831083 ]

Alberta companies have donated $2M to Saskatchewan Party since 2006

By Adam Hunter, CBC News Posted: Nov 01, 2016 1:46 PM CT| Last Updated: Nov 01, 2016 1:46 PM CT

Since 2006, the Saskatchewan Party has accepted more than $3 million in out-of-province corporate donations, with more than $2 million coming from Alberta companies alone, according to a new database.

​"I don't think anyone would be cool with a Calgary Stampeder putting on a Roughrider jersey, showing up in the huddle and then participating in the plays," said Duncan Kinney, executive director of Progress Alberta, an Edmonton-based non-profit advocacy group that compiled the database.

Kinney said he was motivated to look into donations to the Saskatchewan Party coming from Alberta after a speech Premier Brad Wall made at Calgary's Petroleum Club in June.

"I think people who live in Saskatchewan should know that millions of dollars of out-of-province money have flowed into their politics since 2006," said Kinney.

Who is behind the donations

Kinney said the major contributions came from oil and gas, banks and construction companies.

Here's a sample of some of the Alberta-based companies and their donation totals from Progress Alberta:
■Crescent Point: $126,924.
■PCL: $88,817.
■Penn West: $83,348.
■Cenovus: $68,108.
■Encana: $50,557.

In 2007 alone, Canadian Western Bank donated $200,000 to the Saskatchewan Party.

Progress Alberta also took issue with donations from charities, universities, and cities and municipalities.
■Over a three year period, the Regina Public Library gave $3,304.
■Between 2006 and 2011, the University of Regina donated $7,848.
■Between 2006 and 2015, the City of Regina donated $7,499.

The 2016 donation numbers will not by posted by Elections Saskatchewan until 2017.

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[ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatche ... -1.3831083 ]

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RELATED:

■Alberta MLAs pass bill banning corporate and union political donations
[ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... -1.3124424 ]

■Ontario proposes political fundraising bill with ban on corporate, union donations
[ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/o ... -1.3585863 ]

Poll: overwhelming majority oppose Saskatchewan's out of control campaign finance rules

[ https://www.pressprogress.ca/overwhelmi ... ance_rules ]

NOVEMBER 04, 2016 by Press Progress

Sounds like Premier Brad Wall's got a problem he needs to fix.

A new poll [ http://www.mainstreetresearch.ca/political-financing/ ] shows the vast majority of people in Saskatchewan reject the status quo when it comes to the province's out-dated campaign finance rules – rules that have left the Premier's party flushed with cash.

Less than one in 10 voiced support for the current rules.

Progress Alberta recently released a massive database [ http://skparty-progressalberta.nationbuilder.com/ ] using Elections Saskatchewan data revealing a decade worth of data on previously obscure donors to Premier Wall's Saskatchewan Party.

The data shows that since 2006, Wall's Saskatchewan Party has received substantial funding [ http://www.progressalberta.ca/brad_wall ... y_from_who ] from:

• Registered charities

• Cities, towns and other municipalities

• Universities and other post-secondary institutions

• Local school boards

• Regional health authorities

• One crown corporation

During the same time period, the Saskatchewan Party also accepted over $3 million from out-of-province donors – over $2 million alone came from corporate players [ http://www.desmog.ca/2016/11/02/alberta ... ewan-party ] based in Alberta.

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[ https://www.pressprogress.ca/overwhelmi ... ance_rules ]

Political Financing in Saskatchewan

[ http://www.mainstreetresearch.ca/political-financing/ ]

November 4, 2016| Mainstreet| Public Polling, Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan citizens overwhelmingly don’t want charities, publicly funded institutions or out of province actors making political donations

A new poll commissioned by Progress Alberta and done by Mainstreet Research shows an overwhelming rejection of the status quo of campaign finance law in Saskatchewan. The vast majority of the residents of Saskatchewan do not want out of province money in their political system nor do they want donations from publicly funded institutions or registered charities in their political system either.

The poll comes on the heels of a recently published online database compiled by Progress Alberta that detailed the last nine years of corporate donations to Brad Wall’s Saskatchewan Party. The database can be viewed at BradWallTookMoneyFromWho.ca [ http://skparty-progressalberta.nationbuilder.com/ ]

“Accepting donations from charities, out of province actors and publicly funded institutions is unscrupulous, unprincipled and undemocratic. Saskatchewan needs campaign finance reform now,” said Duncan Kinney, executive director of Progress Alberta.

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[ http://www.mainstreetresearch.ca/political-financing/ ]