The Alberta government has made last-minute changes to Bill 14 after a scathing letter from the province’s chief electoral officer said it threatened “an erosion of the separation of powers.”

“The proposed amendments risk significant harm to Albertan’s trust in the integrity of our constitutional democratic process,” Gordon McClure wrote in a letter that was sent to all members of the legislature Tuesday in the hours leading up to the bill being presented for second reading. 

Bill 14 proposes a host of changes, including to citizen referendum rules, and transfers powers from the chief electoral officer to the minister. It has also been criticized by Court of King’s Bench Justice Colin Feasby, who said the bill sought to interfere with the judicial process.