Canadaland, the news website that reported on the alleged plan, said that “Operation Peacock” was an attempt by a political fixer, backed by local business interests and orchestrated by political strategists. “How disappointing to read about this alleged conspiracy against me. It seems that there are people who seem to think that their money and connections make them more important or powerful than everyday citizens,” Nenshi said in a statement to CBC News on Monday. “As a community, we must never support the kind of attack on our democracy and our society that is alleged in this article.” According to Canada, the scheme involved a political operative who it says was hired by developers and conservatives in 2019. The agent says he was responsible for creating a script that would get politicians into a compromising position and then record them accepting favors. Nancy didn’t get any money. Political scientist Lori Williams says if the story is true, it shows how some people couldn’t accept the outcome of the Calgary election. Nancy was first elected in 2010 and won two more times before not seeking re-election last year. “Present a better alternative to voters in the next election … that’s usually how democratic processes work,” said Williams, an associate professor at MRU. “In this case, they decided that since the election didn’t produce the results they wanted, that they would try to expose a suspicion they had of corruption to Mayor Nenshi, and ended up exposing the corruption to themselves.” The former mayor called on all levels of government to denounce these alleged actions and asked law enforcement to investigate the alleged scheme. “I believe the appropriate authorities, including the Calgary Police Service and the RCMP, will thoroughly investigate this story and if any laws are broken, appropriate action will be taken,” said Nancy.
