The damning Auditor General report on the expenses of former premier Alison Redford, has critics saying the report will lead to repercussions for the entire Progressive Conservative party.
In the report, released Thursday morning, the Auditor General outlines how the former premier and her office used public resources inappropriately.
“They’re in desperation mode,” Wildrose MLA Kerry Towle said. “The power that they have clung to for the last 43 years has never been threatened.”
The document is leading opposition members, and political analysts to say it could spell the end of power for the Progressive Conservative party.
“We may be seeing the end to the so-called PC dynasty here in Alberta,” Bob Murray with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy said.
Meanwhile, the party is putting the blame solely on the former premier.
“The responsibility for these choices fall directly on our former leader,” PC President Jim McCormick said.
It’s a message the three candidates to fill the position left vacant by Redford, echoed.
“At the end of the day, it’s time for housecleaning,” PC Leadership candidate Thomas Lukaszuk said. “It’s obvious that one office has chosen to abuse the process and they must be dealt with.”
“These decisions are decisions that were made by individuals, these are decisions that were made by the premier of Alberta,” Candidate Jim Prentice said.
However, critics said without Redford, not much has changed in the party – especially since two of the three candidates running for the job, worked alongside the former premier.
“As far as I knew, everything was on the up and up,” Lukaszuk said.
“I was never part of that, so what’s in the report was part of that,” Candidate Ric McIver said.
As far as the leadership race goes, Murray said Albertans should consider if any of the tree candidates is capable of inspiring change in the party.
“I think the real question we need to start asking is, is a new leader of any stripe, and of the three, capable of fixing what is obviously a system-wide issue,” Murray said.
A question not unlike one posed by the Auditor General himself Thursday afternoon.
“In my mind, the overriding question for Albertans should be, is the government delivering the results it said it would, or explaining why it isn’t delivering those results,” Saher said.
With files from Breanna Karstens-Smith