Four other ministers as well as the premier have said they accepted playoff tickets, but argue that all ethics rules have been followed
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Another Alberta cabinet minister has copped to accepting Edmonton Oilers playoff tickets last spring from the company that imported the province’s ill-fated foreign shipment of children’s pain medication in late 2022.
When asked Wednesday, Infrastructure Minister Peter Guthrie said he attended more than one game at the invitation of MHCare, and insisted all ethics rules were followed.
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“All disclosure requirements were fulfilled with the Ethics Commissioner, and it will be part of my year-end member filing,” he said.
“I have no personal or business relation with the host, MHCare, or any of their affiliate companies.”
He added the Edmonton was the only destination in which he attended games.
Guthrie becomes the fifth cabinet minister to say he attended a game during the Oilers playoff run that ended with a Game 7 defeat in the Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers.
In August, Finance Minister Nate Horner said he attended two games in the box of MHCare.
Former deputy premier and current Affordability and Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf told the Globe and Mail he also attended a game in the box of MHCare.
Current deputy premier and Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis said he attended one game at the invitation of the Oilers.
And, Tourism and Sport Minister Joseph Schow said in a media scrum that he attended one game but wouldn’t say who paid for the ticket.
Premier Danielle Smith attended two games in Edmonton, one at the invitation of Explore Edmonton and the other as a guest of the team, as well as one game in Vancouver at the invitation of Invest Alberta.
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Postmedia surveyed all 24 government ministries in July and again in August asking if their minister attended any of those playoff matchups and, if so, how many games and how those tickets were obtained, but received no replies to both queries.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, front second left, and B.C. Premier David Eby, front right, watch the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers play Game 2 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series, in Vancouver, on Friday, May 10, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
‘The rules have been followed’: Smith
Smith has defended the tickets as all being within the ethics rules and did so again when asked on Wednesday, saying it’s up to MLAs to disclose gifts to the ethics commissioner.
“He’s not raised any issues with me. The rules have been followed,” she said.
Three days ahead of last Christmas, the government issued an order-in-council raising the limits on gifts that could be received by ministers and allowing the premier’s chief of staff discretion to approve gifts for staff above the $500 limit.
Alberta New Democrat leader Naheed Nenshi called on Smith to state the names of all ministers who attended games and who provided them with tickets.
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“The premier could have gotten rid of this scandal so quickly by simply releasing a list of who accepted the tickets,” he said.
“The fact that she hides behind ethics guidelines that she herself relaxed because she was sad that she couldn’t go to the Winter Classic, really just speaks to the level of ethics in this government.”
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