“As I understand it, all of the rules have been followed,” Smith said at a news conference Friday
The story also states that multiple cabinet ministers attended playoff games in the box of MHCare, the company that imported Parol in late 2022 and early 2023.
“As I understand it, all of the rules have been followed,” Smith said at a news conference Friday.
“I have an expectation that every elected person is going to be able to do their disclosures appropriately.”
She added that she was seeking advice from the ethics commissioner about if any rules around disclosure need changed.
The Globe and Mail’s story cites unnamed sources given the need to ensure anonymity as protection against retaliation.
Smith insisted Friday the tickets were a way for the government to show support during the Oilers march to the Stanley Cup Final, which they eventually lost in seven games to the Florida Panthers.
“I think people wanted to see us support our team,” she said. “It was absolutely about hockey.
“I think people expect that their elected representatives will be able to support the team. That was it. We were just excited to support our team.”
The premier’s office did not respond on Wednesday to questions from Postmedia about how many ministers attended how many games in MHCare’s box.
When asked again on Friday, she didn’t directly answer and said she didn’t know exact numbers.
“Everyone I expect, would follow the rules, and do the appropriate disclosures,” she said.
“The relationship between elected members and the commissioner is confidential.”
Rules around gifts changed months before
MLAs could previously accept non-monetary gifts valued at $200, while tickets to events were capped at $400. Under the new regulations, both are limited to $500, but could go above $1,000 if reported to the ethics commissioner.
Staff in the premier’s or minister’s offices can accept fees, gifts or benefits above $500 related to their work — if they are approved by the premier’s chief of staff.
Edmonton-based MHCare provided PPE throughout the early stages of the pandemic as well as importing children’s acetaminophen from Turkey in an attempt to address a shortage.
It was also of a weaker dosage, leading to potentially deadly measurement errors.
In an emailed statement earlier this month, the premier’s office defended the invitation, claiming no rules were broken but didn’t clarify why Smith had the authority to invite anyone to MHCare’s box.
MHCare did not respond to Postmedia’s requests for comment.
‘Living in a different world’
Alberta New Democratic Party leader Naheed Nenshi issued a statement saying the tickets were the latest example of cronyism exhibited the government.
“Having ministers and staff sit in lobbyists’ luxury boxes while we are facing an affordability crisis in this province not only looks bad, it shows they’re living in a different world than the average Albertan,” he said.
Noting the recent changes to the gift limits, he also called on Smith to disclose all staff and politicians who accepted tickets and who those tickets were provided from.
“The whole point of the original ethics rules was to make sure that any gifts were reasonable and modest and that they were publicly disclosed as well as to ensure that no one can buy hours of uninterrupted access to politicians and staff.”