Well, folks, just when we thought the rollercoaster ride of the Stanley Cup playoffs had come to a halt, we find ourselves still gripping the edge of our seats.
Our Premier and her cabinet have swapped their cushy playoff seats for a spot on the public griddle.
Why, you ask? Well, it turns out they enjoyed some pretty pricey Oiler’s playoff games, courtesy of some generous donors.
The Premier’s office, it seems, accepted these tickets from a board member of Invest Alberta.
Now, for those who might not know, Invest Alberta is a Crown corporation set up by our government to promote our province as a prime investment destination. Although it’s government-established, it’s still a corporate entity that should operate without any undue influence from our elected officials.
And It Doesn’t Stop There
Other MLAs were “gifted” seats from the same businessman whose company was tied to that infamous Turkish Tylenol fiasco last year.
Remember that one? It was a well-intentioned but ultimately botched attempt to import off-brand children’s Tylenol from Turkey during a shortage.
The whole thing ended up costing us taxpayers a pretty penny, with only a fraction of the product making it to Alberta, and even less of it actually being used.
Now, accepting freebies from a company that let Albertans down feels like a slap in the face to us regular folks who could never dream of shelling out a month’s rent for playoff tickets.
Sure, it’s no longer illegal for politicians to accept these kinds of gifts, thanks to the Premier’s decision to change the rules to remove of monetary limits on gifts last December.
But it sure doesn’t look good, does it?
Especially when the Premier refuses to disclose what kinds of gifts her staff have been accepting.
A Playoff Defence Move
Premier Smith defended her playoff game attendance, saying it was all above board and part of her relationship with Invest Alberta.
She even called her attendance “networking and community engagement.”
But from those pricey box office seats, it didn’t seem like much of the “community” got to engage with her.
NDP leader, Naheed Nenshi isn’t buying her explanation either. He argued that the recently revised ethics rules undermine public trust and create an impression that government decisions can be swayed with gifts and favours.
And it seems like the Premier’s supporters aren’t too thrilled about this luxury play either.
One social media user wrote, “I voted for the UCP in the last election… No, I obviously don’t support this type of behaviour… They can buy their tickets if they want to go to playoff hockey games.”
This controversy brings up bigger concerns about corporate interests influencing government policy and decisions.
There’s a fine line between encouraging economic growth through public-private partnerships and ensuring these relationships maintain the public interest and trust in our elected officials.
In the end, while going to playoff games might seem harmless, the ethical implications of accepting such fancy gifts with corporations engaged in big public contracts can’t be ignored.
