A prosecutor from Ontario has been appointed to help in the investigation of the 2017 United Conservative Party leadership race.
The head of the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, Eric Tolppanen, confirmed the decision in a statement to media on Wednesday, news of which broke last week.
The prosecutor, who has not been named, will be assigned to advise police during the investigation.
“For the sake of clarity, this was an independent decision of the ACPS,” Tolpannen said in the announcement.
“As with other prosecutorial decisions in general, the decision was made independently and without the direction, nor seeking of direction, from elected officials.”
Since the election, Opposition Leader Rachel Notley has said there is a conflict of interest in Alberta RCMP investigating the matter.
“The longer we are in a position where we have people investigating their bosses, the more jeopardy we put in public faith into our justice system,” Notley wrote to the Deputy Attorney General and Ethics Commissioner in May.
“This is an unprecedented situation. Prosecution and investigation of the law must be kept independent from political interference.”
The ACPS says once it had made a decision to hire an out-of-province prosecutor, it made arrangements with the Ministry of the Attorney General in Ontario who then appointed a prosecutor.
As such, ACPS is no longer involved.
RCMP will continue to investigate independently.
Premier and UCP Leader Jason Kenney has long fielded accusations of the party committing voter fraud and launching a “kamikaze” campaign to win party leadership.
