PCs ask government to stop PR Coalition fundraising

PC MLA Darlene Compton asked P.E.I.'s minister of justice to put a stop to fundraising efforts from a group supporting proportional representation, pending an investigation into allegations she raised about the group's ties to the P.E.I. Green Party.

In question period Wednesday, Compton accused the P.E.I. Coalition for Proportional Representation of sharing personal information of Islanders with the Green Party, something both the Greens and the coalition deny.

"Senior Green party officials are still soliciting donations and information from Islanders through their PR website front," Compton continued during QP. "They are pushing monthly donations through this database website .... I'm calling for these actions to be suspended until a further investigation can be completed."

Justice Minister Jordan Brown said he considered Compton's allegations a "very serious complaint," and advised her to report her findings both to Elections PEI and to the privacy commissioner. He also said he would take the information back to the Department of Justice "and commit to determining what, if any, help we might be able to provide."

Compton and Brown both went on to express concerns about fundraising by the PR Coalition, which has said it raised $75,000 to fund its campaign in advance of P.E.I.'s 2016 plebiscite on electoral reform.

"Of this, $30,000 came from unions and $20,000 came from political parties," Compton said. "Are you concerned about these revelations, and does government have any answers as to how this conflict will be dealt with?"

Brown responded he was concerned with the money donated by unions, "and perhaps in this context I maybe should have had more concern in relation to the personal donations that were being made."

He then reiterated his commitment to connect back with Compton, "if she's interested and available to participate in seeing what we can do to further an investigation in relation to this matter."

No fundraising rules for third parties, says Elections PEI

According to Elections PEI and P.E.I.'s privacy commissioner, there doesn't appear to be anything for either body to investigate.

A spokesperson for Elections PEI confirmed to CBC News via email that there are no restrictions on fundraising or spending under the province's Elections Expenses Act. Nor are there any restrictions on political parties in terms of where they obtain voter information.

Privacy Commissioner Karen Rose told CBC News that she would have no jurisdiction to launch an investigation of her own into the allegations, because no government bodies were involved in the alleged sharing of information. Political parties, private companies and groups like the PR Coalition are not covered under P.E.I.'s privacy laws, she said, except with regards to personal health information.

The PR Coalition issued a statement denying all the allegations put forward. In an email, a group spokesperson told CBC News the request to prevent the group from raising money would be discussed during a conference call Thursday. But the group also vowed to continue raising money.

Compton isn't the first to raise concerns about those fundraising efforts. Premier Wade MacLauchlan has said his government will introduce legislation this spring to ensure "a level playing field and transparency" with regards to any campaigning attached to an upcoming referendum on electoral reform.

After proportional representation came out as the preferred option among Island voters in a 2016 plebiscite, backbench MLA Bush Dumville, then a Liberal, expressed concerns in the legislature about "a well-funded lobby of special interest groups" that supported PR.

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