Athabasca University, as well as Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater MLA and Minister of Infrastructure Jeff Johnson, are defending themselves against accusations released in a CBC article last week that outs AU for donating $10,000 to the Progressive Conservative party between 2006 and 2008.
The article, released last Wednesday morning by CBC investigative reporter Charles Rusnell, revealed illegal donations made by AU to the PC party. The article showed that AU board members and staff attended PC fundraising dinners and golf tournaments.
Carol Lund, head of the university’s secretariat as well as the president of the Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater Conservative constituency association, was targeted for signing a cheque from AU to the PC party.
Following the article’s release, Johnson said he felt the need to set the record straight.
“I need to clear the air on CBC’s article with respect to Athabasca University, our local PC association, our association president and myself,” Johnson said in an email to constituents. “From 2006 to 2008, Athabasca University permitted employees to expense dinners and events they attended that were actually PC party events.”
Expensing political fundraisers is against the law for public institutions.
“This was an error on their part as universities are not allowed to do this, but not all staff were aware of the rules at the time,” Johnson explained. “It is critical to know that this was an error that the university recognized on their own back in 2008, based on internal reviews.”
The local PC association refunded all the money once they learned of AU’s mistake, according to Barry Walker, the chair of the board of governors at AU, who said it was an honest mistake.
“During that period of time, all the donations that were being made, no one knew that it was illegal,” Walker said. “The rules had changed in 2005, and the moment we acknowledged that it was illegal, the practice was stopped and purchasing policies were put in place to make sure that it didn’t happen again, and it hasn’t happened in the last four years.
“The local constituency has returned all the money that they were not entitled to, and it is my understanding that the PC party is going to return all the money.”
The university hasn’t received the money yet, but Walker said AU will not be out of pocket for the expenses they paid the party.
“Several well-meaning people made an honest mistake, the mistake was caught, actions were taken to resolve the issue, and there have been no violations in the last four years,” Johnson explained.
In light of the controversy and with a provincial election upcoming, the Wildrose Party immediately sent out an automated ‘robo-call’, advising constituents of the donations
Johnson said he fears the call will lead constituents to assume that AU was donating money directly to his campaign.
“This is just the start of what will become a very negative campaign,” he said, adding that opinions need to be formed with all the facts, and not just bits and pieces.
“The most alarming thing about this for me is the Wildrose smear campaign that has already begun on this issue,” he said in his email. “The campaign is not grounded in fact. We need to make decisions based on fact, and I encourage you all to take the high road and continue to focus on what we can achieve together; not how anyone can get ahead by tearing others down.”
Johnson also said this is old news since the last incident was four years ago, and all the money was paid back.
“It was an honest error that people made, and it was identified and it was fixed,” Johnson said. “All the money was sent back.”
Lund, an employee of AU and president of the Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater riding, was mentioned in the CBC article released last Wednesday, due to the fact that she signed a cheque from Athabasca University to support a PC golf fundraiser.
“Carol has been very unfairly targeted in this situation,” said Johnson. “We have incredible, honest, hard-working volunteers all over our constituency and it’s tragic when they become targets based on loose information and innuendo.”
Walker said he shares Johnson’s view of the situation.
“I, along with the rest of the board, feel very unfortunate that Carol was dragged into this the way she was because she has the full support of the board, and I believe she has the full support of the executives from the university,” Walker said. “I think … to question her integrity is unfounded and untrue. I feel sorry that she got wrapped up in this process.”
Walker said that Lund only signed one cheque. She approved the spending of $750 from the university to allow university employees to attend a riding association fundraising golf tournament.
“I think the way it was worded, or the way it sounded, (was) as if she had single-handedly approved something in around $10,000 worth of expenditures,” he said. “It’s part of the political games that go on. Unfortunately, she was wrapped up in that.”
Johnson said that as an MLA, he signed up to be dragged through the mud. “But when volunteers that are around me start getting targeted, that’s disappointing.”
