Secret Tory trust fund should be closed down, Hancock says

Interim Premier Dave Hancock is asking the Alberta Progressive Conservative party to wind down the secret trust fund that has existed since the 1970s.

According to media reports published last week, the fund – known as the Tapcal Trust – has been used to secure the party’s growing debt.

Hancock, who is leading the party until a successor is picked for Alison Redford, said the fund is valued at $1.6 million.

Although Hancock says nothing is being hidden, he wants to get the fund out in the public so it doesn’t serve as a “distraction.”

“People think that there’s something there, that there’s not,” he said Monday.

“In the interest of openness and transparency, they should have a look at it and let people know exactly what it is and why it’s there and if possible, do something with it.”

The fund is legal, but only because it was set up before election finance disclosure laws were changed by the Lougheed government in 1977.

The trust was grandfathered into the new law, which meant it didn’t need to be publicly disclosed.

Opposition parties don’t have similar funds and say the PCs have enjoyed an unfair advantage for years.