Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she doesn’t think her cabinet ministers and political staff accepting tickets to luxury suites at playoff hockey games runs afoul of ethics rules. Smith says expects individual MLAs to follow the rules and disclose gifts properly to the province’s ethics commissioner. But Opposition New Democrat leader Naheed Nenshi says attending the games on lobbyists’ dimes is a clear example of cronyism and entitlement.
Smith made the comments Friday responding to reporters’ questions at a KDays breakfast in Edmonton, part of the launch of the city’s annual summer festival. The questions stemmed from a Globe and Mail report that ministers and government officials attended recent Edmonton Oilers NHL playoff games courtesy of Sam Mraiche, a businessman involved in a government deal to buy children’s pain medication from Turkey. Story continues below advertisement “As I understand it, all of the rules have been followed,” Smith said when asked what message it sends to the public that senior staff were in a private box paid for by Mraiche, head of MHCare Medical.
The medicine, which came from Istanbul-based Atabay Pharmaceuticals, cost taxpayers $80 million, but its shipments were beset by delays and its use in hospitals eventually halted over safety concerns. 1:46 Alberta government looks to recoup $80M from children’s medicine shipment Smith declined to say how many of her ministers attended playoff games as guests of Mraiche. The email .