“I would want to know whether there was duplication of effort and why that has to happen at the Stampede.”
Edmonton city council spent thousands of dollars going to Calgary Stampede in recent years, raising questions about the value to the public as costs for the trips increase.
Five councillors, plus the mayor, together expensed just under $15,900 at Stampede last year, significantly more than the two trips taken by the last council, and more than $9,265 for 2022. Some billed for lengthy hotel stays — Coun. Aaron Paquette charged more than $900 per night for three of his four nights — while others, including the mayor, kept costs down by staying at budget hotels or shortening trips.
Postmedia obtained council’s receipts and expense forms for the Calgary Stampede through a freedom of information request and reviewed public expense reports. These documents show that by 2023, more council members attended and billed higher costs since 2018. Costs for councillors’ trips this summer haven’t been tallied.
Making connections
“We have seen more engagement from (the premier and ministers) with our city, which I appreciate. So if I’m going, my motivation will be to strengthen those relationships and open more dialogue.”
Coun. Sarah Hamilton, who has attended five times since 2018, including this summer, agrees it’s important for building relationships.
“It’s no vacation and it’s no party,” she said, laughing. “We pack our schedules.
“So much of intergovernmental relations happen not just in meetings, but outside the meetings. It happens in small talk.”
The mayor spent the least per night on his hotel last year — an average of $164 for two nights at the Westin near the airport. He stayed two nights, as did one of his staffers, expensing $1,869.62 in total, including meals and travel costs. Sohi said they stayed near the airport last year to save money. He didn’t go this summer because of a minor bike injury but sent two staff.
Hamilton expensed $3,413.82 in total in 2023. She expensed four nights at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, but her receipt shows she paid for five nights because of an early departure fee. Coun. Tim Cartmell stayed at the same hotel for four nights and expensed $3,059.66.
She also said it’s important Edmonton is represented at Alberta’s signature event. The Stampede now begins with an event hosted by Edmonton the night before — We are YEG, co-hosted by Explore Edmonton, Edmonton Global, Edmonton Unlimited and the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce.
“The mayor (in 2018) didn’t attend, and it was, to be frank, considered controversial,” Hamilton said. “And yet, Calgary Stampede is the largest economic event in Western Canada and I thought it was problematic that Edmonton didn’t have a presence there.”
Some big differences in hotel costs by Edmonton council at Calgary Stampede. #yeg #yegcc pic.twitter.com/YsZTO07mvl — Lauren Boothby (@laurby) July 12, 2024
Paquette’s hotel about $900 a night
Coun. Paquette agrees with his colleagues that the Stampede trip was worth it for the informal connections, conversations and meetings with provincial government members that can be difficult to get otherwise.
“If Edmonton has no political representation there, we’re not part of the conversation — it’s all Calgary,” he told Postmedia late last month.
He knows council spending nearly $16,000 last year seems like a lot, but he thinks the investment was worthwhile.
“If you can get the ear of a minister, and actually have a dedicated conversation for five or 10 minutes, that’s worth a hundred emails.”
But Paquette seemed surprised to hear his costs were much higher than his colleagues — $5,745.24 for himself and an assistant, more than one-third of council’s total costs in 2023.
“Oh was it? I don’t know. I didn’t book it,” he said. “Weird. But we stayed in the exact same place with the exact kind of rooms.”
A receipt shows Paquette stayed four nights, paying $849 for the first night and $909 for the next three, plus service fees, at the downtown Hyatt Regency. Hamilton and Cartmell stayed at the same place but had a discount through the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce.
“That’s embarrassing, I guess, if we didn’t get the best price.”
He followed up with his assistant and heard that costs were high because they booked in late May. While it would have been cheaper near the airport, travel costs would be higher.
Paquette said he’s going to fix this issue for next year by formalizing a process for the city to book a group of rooms at a lower rate in advance. He didn’t go this time because he got sick, he said.
Show the value
More councillors went to Stampede over time from 2018 to 2023, and costs generally have gone up: three in 2018 ($3,293.24), four in 2019 ($10,336.73), five in 2022 ($9,265.27) and six in 2023 ($15,897.36).
Judy Garber, political science professor emeritus at the University of Alberta, doesn’t think such spending is out of line in terms of the “normal political schmoozing.” She thinks elected officials in Alberta see the Calgary Stampede as a conference.
It makes sense for the mayor to go and represent Edmonton, she said, pointing out he got a really good deal on his room and his itinerary was full.
“If the prime minister was there, then the Prime Minister’s Office thinks it’s a big event. It’s not surprising to me that elected officials from Edmonton would be there, particularly the mayor,” she said. “We would expect them to be doing work when they’re there — it sounds like the mayor was doing a lot of work.
For her, the question is why other council members stayed for so long and whether they made an effort to find a good rate. Council should be proactive in showing the public what value they are getting from this, she said.
“I would want to know whether there was duplication of effort and why that has to happen at the Stampede,” Garber said.
Coun. Erin Rutherford went for the first time as a councillor last year and stayed one night at the Four Points By Sheraton hotel because the rate was cheaper. She expensed $426.62 for the hotel, plus mileage and per diem food costs: $871.81 in total.
She picked a day with multiple networking events where she could have a chance to speak with provincial ministers. She went to about seven events. While those encounters were valuable, she didn’t see the need to stay longer.
“I don’t know all councillors need to be there the whole time,” she said.
Coun. Andrew Knack also went in 2022, but he didn’t charge the city for his time because he stayed with family. He said he would rather expense trips to conferences where he knows he will learn something.
It will be up to each council member to demonstrate the value of such a trip to their constituents, he said.