Nearly all petition campaigns reported harassment: Elections Alberta

This week, a petition campaign aimed at keeping Alberta in Canada is gathering support at locations across Calgary.

Elections Alberta says nearly all petition campaigns have reported instances of canvasser harassment including “abusive, derisive, threatening, insulting, offensive or provocative statements, gestures, or actions.”

The non-partisan office of the Legislative Assembly encourages canvassers who experience harassment or feel unsafe to contact local police.

“Elections Alberta does not condone these behaviours in any way nor is this behaviour unique to any one group or political position,” said a statement from the agency Wednesday.

“We urge all Albertans to conduct themselves in a civil and respectful manner when engaging with their fellow Albertans in person or online, particularly as it relates to electoral processes and events.”

All petition campaigns are required to follow the Canvasser Code of Conduct set out by the Recall Regulation and Citizen Initiative Regulation.

Some of the rules set out in the code of conduct include not forging or allowing forged signatures, not knowingly make any false or misleading statements regarding the petition, not to exert undue influence on an individual into signing a petition, not to engage in harassing or discriminatory, and not to make offensive or provocative gestures to or about another person while canvassing.

Elections Alberta says it has seen an increase in inflammatory actions and online commentary over the last few weeks, prompting the statement.