Airdrie-Cochrane Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Peter Guthrie, who also serves as the province's Minister of Infrastructure, confirmed that he attended an Edmonton Oilers playoff game last spring.
Related Stories:
He emphasized that he had no personal or business relations with the host, MHCare, a company previously involved in the government's $80 million agreement to acquire children's pain medication from Turkey. The medication was sourced from Atabay Pharmaceuticals and experienced delays due to regulatory issues and labelling problems with Health Canada. Ultimately, hospitals stopped using the medication because of safety concerns.
During a press conference yesterday, a reporter asked Guthrie about the topic while he was introducing a bill on behalf of Minister of Jobs, Economy and Trade Matt Jones regarding strengthening childcare safety.
The reporter inquired if Guthrie had attended any Edmonton Oilers playoff games this past spring and summer, how many games he attended, and whose tickets they were.
"I was really pleased to see the team have a lot of success, making it to game seven in the Stanley Cup finals last year, and having an opportunity to see some games over that stretch was amazing," he said in response to a reporter's question about whether he had attended any games.
"That said, all disclosure requirements were fulfilled with the Ethics Commissioner, and it will be part of my year-end member filing. I can say that I had no personal or business relations with the host, MHCare, or any of their affiliated companies," Guthrie added.
He also noted that Edmonton was the only destination where he attended games but would not specify how many games he attended or whether staff members were present. Guthrie has become one of several ministers who confirmed he attended a game during the Oilers' playoff run.
According to reports, others who attended the playoff games include Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf and Finance Minister Nate Horner. Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis attended a playoff game but has not confirmed who provided the ticket. Alberta's Sports Minister Joseph Schow also attended games but has yet to comment on who provided tickets.
The opposition NDP has starkly criticized the ongoing saga of the UCP politicians receiving free playoff tickets and attending games. In late July, Naheed Nenshi, leader of Alberta’s New Democrats, posted his take on the issue on X, criticizing the Premier for what he believes was a loosening of ethics regulations.
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.
— Naheed Nenshi (@nenshi) July 19, 2024
Last year, the Premier complained publicly that she…
"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. The changes the Premier made to those rules disregard all these principles, leaving the impression that anyone can buy 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," the tweet stated in part.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith also attended games but has been adamant that no regulations were breached.
Currently, the Members' Gifts and Benefits Regulation, which outlines the rules for Alberta's Legislative Assembly members regarding the acceptance and reporting of fees, gifts, and benefits, states that members can accept non-monetary gifts up to $500. Tickets to events valued at $250 or less do not require reporting, while those between $250 and $1,000 require documentation. Tickets over $1,000 must be reported to the Ethics Commissioner within 60 days.
Similar rules apply to waivers of attendance fees and travel reimbursements, with a reporting threshold of $250. Members must aggregate the value of gifts from a single source for each event but assess individual values separately for each recipient. Detailed records must be kept for all accepted gifts, including event descriptions, dates, providers' names, circumstances, and estimated values.
Sign up to get the latest local news headlines delivered directly to your inbox every afternoon.
Send your news tips, story ideas, pictures, and videos to news@discoverairdrie.com. You can also message and follow us on Twitter: @AIR1061FM.
DiscoverAirdrie encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the DiscoverAirdrie app.
