‘Paid their own expenses’: Smith defends Alberta justice minister’s Stanley Cup Final trip

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith defended this week her government’s justice minister’s trip to Florida for an NHL playoff game as being on his personal time and not subject to ethics disclosure requirements, while Opposition New Democrats said the province’s ethics reporting rules are too lax.

On Thursday, former government MLA Scott Sinclair reposted an image of himself on his personal Facebook account with Justice Minister Mickey Amery, the premier’s then chief of staff Marshall Smith, and former communications director and now-principal secretary Becca Polak at Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final in Sunrise, Fla.

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In question period later that day, Opposition house leader Christina Gray asked about the photo and who arranged Amery’s trip to the June 2024 game, noting his latest ethics disclosure contained no gifts.

“The staff and minister who travelled to attend the Oilers game in Florida paid their own expenses. That is why there is no disclosure to the ethics commissioner,” Smith responded on Amery’s behalf.

“There’s no need to. When you pay your own money, on your own personal dime, for your own personal reasons, on your own personal time, it does not have to be disclosed.”

Gray followed up by asking who Amery sat with at the game, something Smith replied was “nobody’s business if they are taking a trip with their own personal expenses on their own personal time.”

On April 10, Amery was asked by reporters inside the legislature whether he had attended any playoff games.

“I went with my friends, yes,” he responded. “None funded by any lobbyist, any group.”

Three cabinet ministers, including the since-removed Peter Guthrie, have said they had attended Oilers playoff games last spring courtesy of MHCare, the company that was contracted to import children’s pain medication from Turkey in late 2022.

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Multiple investigations have been launched into Alberta’s health-care procurement processes. The government has denied wrongdoing.

‘Not a matter of disclosure’

The Conflicts of Interest Act states that no gifts should be accepted unless it is an incident of protocol or a social obligation for MLAs. There is no monetary limit for those gifts, and disclosures are not public.

A guide to gifts provided by the ethics commissioner’s office last April notes, “a member still breaches the act by accepting tickets or invitation to events that are not an incident of protocol or social obligation.”

Gray said Thursday those rules don’t go far enough.

“The ethics rules in Alberta have been updated by the UCP government to disclose less, to allow more, and to be able to do things that didn’t used to be able to be done here.”

Smith responded by repeating that those rules were not applicable on private trips.

“The minister paid his own expenses on his own time, and when the minister does that, it is not a matter of ethics and it is not a matter of disclosure.”

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‘I posted because I’m excited for the playoffs’

Sinclair said Thursday that he did not repost the image to provoke a reaction, but rather to mark the nearing start of this season’s NHL postseason.

“I posted because I’m excited for the playoffs,” Sinclair, a former Junior A hockey player, said. “Hockey is a big part of my life.”

Sinclair was removed from the United Conservative Party caucus in March after voicing concerns over the provincial budget. Both he and Guthrie voted last week in favour of an Opposition motion calling for a public inquiry in to allegations of corruption in health-care procurement, something the government has resisted.

Sinclair repeated earlier comments he had made, stating he travelled to the game in Florida with his family at his own cost, followed by a trip to Disney World.

“It was a very expensive vacation that I’m still paying off,” he said, adding he didn’t discuss with the two government staffers in the image how they got to the game, and that they were among many Oilers fans he encountered in Florida.

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“I don’t really have a comment on anybody else.”

mblack@postmedia.com

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