Last October, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith hoped to see the Edmonton Oilers face their rivals, the Calgary Flames, in the NHL Heritage Classic outdoor match played at Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium.
But she couldn’t go.
According to the Prime Minister, as he told Ryan Jespersen during his Real Talk Podcast November 1stThe ethics commissioner told Smith that if she went, she would only be allowed to stay in a suite for 20 minutes.
“I want to stay within the rules, but sometimes they are not adapted to the current situation,” she said. “They may need to be adjusted.”
On November 9, the United Conservative government did just that by making changes to the Conflict of Interest Act, making it easier for politicians and their staff to accept honoraria, gifts, benefits, tickets and hospitality. The law now requires MPs to disclose tickets in certain circumstances and also gives powers to the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, currently Marshall Smith (recently featured by The Globe), in order to determine what is acceptable to political personnel.
Which brings us to this spring and what was the hottest ticket in town.
According to several sources who spoke to the Globe, Carrie TaitAlberta cabinet ministers and other officials attended the Oilers playoff games in Edmonton as guests of Sam Mraiche, a man whose company, MHCare Medical, was involved in the government’s import of children’s medications from Turkey in the winter of 2022-23. That’s the deal that saw Alberta receive only 30 per cent of an order for 5 million bottles of medication that arrived too late to help solve a critical shortage of children’s painkillers.
During the same playoff run, The Prime Minister and her staff attended an Oilers game in Vancouver with tickets provided by Sam Jaber, Director of Invest Alberta, a provincial Crown corporation designed to promote, identify and seek investment in the province.
The Globe is not identifying its source because it was not authorized to release the information.
Premier Smith’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment on any of the hockey games.
Nathan Neudorf, Alberta’s minister of affordability and public services, said in an interview that he attended a playoff game in Edmonton as Mraiche’s guest. Neudorf said he was offered box seats several times but declined, except for the game against the Canucks. He also said he received clearance from the ethics commissioner.
“I have nothing to hide,” he said. “I have no problem telling the truth.”
Another government source, who attended another match, said Mraiche’s box was a gathering place during the intermission, with ministers and senior political officials socialising with others who were either in the suite or in those belonging to other companies.
Mraiche did not respond to messages seeking comment.
The game the Prime Minister attended was on May 10, where she shared a box with British Columbia Premier David Eby and Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim.
“Premier Danielle Smith attended a hockey game on her own time. None of her expenses were paid for by the Alberta government,” Sam Blackett, her spokesperson, told the Globe in a May 13 statement. “Premier Smith travelled with two members of her staff, both of whom paid their own expenses. The hockey tickets were provided by a private citizen. All rules of the Alberta Conflict of Interest Act were followed.”
Jaber and his accounting and tax firm, Jaberson & Associates, gave the tickets to the prime minister, according to the Globe’s source.
Blackett did not respond to further questions sent July 17 about Jaber, who himself did not respond to messages seeking comment.
This is Alberta’s weekly newsletter written by the Alberta Bureau Chief. Mark IypeIf you’re reading this on the web, or someone else has forwarded it to you, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters. here.
