Alberta Premier Danielle Smith gives a speech at the annual Premier's K-Days breakfast in Edmonton on July 19.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
As a politician, you usually try not to remind voters about the errors of your government. But that’s exactly what the United Conservative Party has done in accepting the hospitality of a company tied to Alberta’s questionable 2022 decision to import $75-million worth of children’s pain medication.
It’s also brought fresh attention to the changes this UCP government made to ethics law three days before Christmas last year – ones that made it much easier for politicians and senior staff to accept gifts of higher value.
First of all, yes, we’re still reliving the worst moments of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the fall two years ago, it seemed like everyone was sick, the supply chain was broken and Premier Danielle Smith said she just wanted to help the terrified parents of little kids. “That is why we want to make sure parents have access to the medication that they need,” she said in December, 2022, announcing the quick signing of a contract for millions of bottles of acetaminophen and ibuprofen to be delivered from Turkey.
It looked altruistic then. Now, 18 months later, it appears more and more like an expensive mess.
The shortage was resolved before the Turkish drugs could pass muster with Health Canada, and Alberta received only about a third of the original order. This past January, The Globe found the use of the acetaminophen from Turkey increased the risk of a life-threatening illness in neonatal patients, because the imported medication is thicker than products typically used in Alberta. (No patients fell ill as a result of the temporary use of the medication.)
Despite the tens of millions of taxpayer dollars spent, and the fact that any details about the deal have only come out after dogged reporting, it could have been chalked up as an honest try by Ms. Smith’s UCP government.
The newest twist is that Ms. Smith, several cabinet ministers and Premier’s Office staff members attended multiple games as guests during the Edmonton Oilers’ historic playoff run. Ms. Smith was in a private box to watch an Oilers playoff game in Vancouver and invited B.C. Premier David Eby. A source told The Globe that an Invest Alberta board member gave Ms. Smith and her office the tickets.
But in another example, some cabinet ministers and political staff – but not the Premier – accepted tickets for games in Edmonton from MHCare Medical and its chief executive Sam Mraiche. The company was tied to the deal to import the children’s pain medication from Turkey.
One cabinet minister who was up-front about attending a game as a guest of Mr. Mraiche was Nathan Neudorf, who said he received clearance from the ethics commissioner before joining colleagues, who included other ministers and government officials, in the suite.
On Monday, the Premier acknowledged that the suites situation deserves another look, telling reporters – at the unveiling of Calgary’s new event centre designed for NHL games, no less – that she has asked Alberta’s ethics commissioner for feedback. She also noted she flew WestJet to get to Vancouver, and when asked about whether her cabinet ministers or staff were gifted travel on a private plane, she said they would do their own ethics disclosures.
Herein lies the issue: The ethics commissioner works within the rules written by the government. On Dec. 22, the UCP removed monetary limits on gifts Alberta MLAs can accept. (Politicians still must report when items are valued at more than $1,000 – definitely the realm of an NHL playoff ticket – to the ethics commissioner.)
The Premier has suggested the old ethics rules were too rigid, and didn’t allow her to meet with Albertans at marquee events. She noted she could only stay in a private suite to watch the NHL’s Heritage Classic outdoor game for 20 minutes.
Still, the reason there are ethics rules in the first place is because of the sway that senior politicians or staff have over public contracts. This story could also hurt the Premier’s standing with the most conservative UCP members, who often see entitlement as the most egregious of political sins.
Outgoing ethics commissioner Marguerite Trussler gave guidance on gifts in the spring, saying that even under the new rules, MLAs can still breach the Conflicts of Interest Act by accepting tickets or invitations to events not deemed to be related to protocol or social obligation. Major Alberta sports, cultural and economic events may fit within the social-obligation exception, but there also must be consideration of “the relationship between the donor of the gift and the member, the value of the gift and the circumstances surrounding the gift.”
In other words, there is still an onus on UCP politicos to explain why they took the tickets, and why they apparently feel no shame about their drug-procurement record.