Alberta Infrastructure minister and local MLA Peter Guthrie has become the fifth Alberta cabinet minister to admit to receiving free Edmonton Oiler playoff tickets from MHCare Medical, a medical supply and distribution company.
Guthrie admitted to receiving the free tickets from the company, which is involved with the government's $80-million deal to procure children's pain medication from Turkey, but says he did not breach any rules in accepting the tickets.
"I can say that I have no personal or business relations with the host MH Care or any of their affiliated companies," he said when the question was asked during a press conference yesterday on the Early Learning and Child Care Amendment bill.
"And I guess the final thing I might remark is that Edmonton was the only destination in which I attended. games."
He did not specify how many games he attended and if any of his staff members were there.
Guthrie said all disclosure requirements were fulfilled with the ethics commissioner, and it will be part of his year-end member filing.
Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi has remained critical of the donation of free tickets since it was revealed this summer.
“The revelations about multiple ministers, staff members, and the premier herself attending playoff hockey games on lobbyists’ dimes should come as no surprise to Albertans given the level of cronyism shown by this government," he stated on July 19.
“Last year, the premier complained publicly that she wasn’t allowed to go to hockey games with lobbyists and proceeded to change the rules so that she could. So, it’s no surprise that her staff went to a game paid for by the company she awarded the nearly $100 million failed Turkish Tylenol scheme."
Nenshi is demanding the premier to come clean on which ministers and staff members attended the playoff games on the dime of MHCare Medical.
He's calling for a revision to ethics rules.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said no rules were broken when she and other cabinet ministers attended multiple Edmonton Oilers playoff games this spring.