Alberta’s Opposition NDP wants to hold the government’s feet to the fire over its rules around ethics, rules that the opposition says have been watered down.
The NDP are looking for what they say are stronger ethics rules in government with their ‘No more Sky Boxes’ bill.
That title is a reference to the luxury box the premier and some cabinet ministers watched playoff hockey from as guests of a company the province did businesses with.
Leader Naheed Nenshi summed up the Private Members’ Bill 202, the Conflicts of Interest (Ethical Governance) Amendment Act at a Thursday news conference.
“From Hockeygate, to Turkish Tylenol, to CorruptCare, this government has eroded public trust,” he said. “Albertans should be able to trust their government to serve the public, not themselves and their friends. It’s time for ethical, competent governance, now.
“[Bill 202] sets a hard cap, it takes the decision making out of politics and into the ethics commissioner and it provides for mandatory disclosure.”
NDP MLA Kyle Kawsowski said the government’s rules on ethics aren’t stringent enough.
“In 2023, the UCP government raised the limit on gifts for MLAs that they can accept without ethics commissioner approval from $200 to $500,” he explained. “They raised the limit on event tickets that event tickets that MLAs can accept without disclosing it to the ethics commissioner from $400 to $1,000.”
But, the NDP is looking for disclosure on any gift over $100 dollars within 15 days, plus returning power over whether those gifts can be received to the ethics commissioner, rather than the premier’s chief of staff.
The Opposition is also calling for a code of conduct for political staff, as well as citing decisions that may not be explicitly dubious but appear that way as conflict of interest.
“This bill is about ensuring clear rules, stronger oversight, and greater public confidence in how decisions are made,” Kasawski added. “As MLAs, we have a duty to serve Albertans, not ourselves. This job is a privilege, and we owe it to those who elected us to maintain the highest standards of ethics and integrity.”
If passed, the bill would leave Alberta with the lowest gift disclosure threshold in the country. Under the current rules, disclosure limits in the province are the highest.
660 NewsRadio has reached out to the province for comment.