Disclosure

Elections Alberta treats every complaint and investigation as confidential, including the identity or identities of the complainant(s).

However, we are unable to guarantee the anonymity of a complainant’s identity. Individuals or entities who are issued a letter of reprimand or administrative penalty have the right to appeal a decision of the Election Commissioner or request that a matter be judicially reviewed.  This involves an application to the Courts, and the Election Commissioner must file a record of the decision, which then becomes a public record.

This means any matter heard by the Courts could result in the identity of a complainant becoming known.

Confidentiality

Election legislation requires Elections Alberta to treat every complaint as confidential.  This means Elections Alberta is legislatively prohibited from commenting on complaints, allegations, or investigations we may, or may not, be reviewing or conducting, or those we may have conducted in the past if they have not resulted in an adverse finding.

This is done to protect the identity of those who have submitted concerns, in addition to ensuring the presumption of innocence for any potential subject of a complaint.  If there is an adverse finding, a notice of the finding is posted on our website in accordance with statutory requirements.