Danielle Smith charms rural leaders as secret Saudi side trip raises questions about loose ethics rules – daveberta.ca – Alberta Politics and Elections

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This is the third in a series of Daveberta Podcast episodes I’m calling Daveberta In Session. In these short episodes available to paid subscribers, I’ll sharing a few key things that I’m watching in Alberta politics this week and some other things that have caught my attention.

In today’s Daveberta Podcast episode, I discuss:

Premier Danielle Smith reluctantly admitted last week to taking jet flights and hotel stays from a Saudi Arabian prince that were not previously disclosed during her recent trip to the Middle East. The secret Saudi side trip is raising questions about loose ethics and disclosure rules.
Smith charmed rural municipal leaders at the recent Rural Municipalities of Alberta convention in Edmonton. A new report from a joint government working group acknowledges that unpaid property taxes from oil and gas companies are a sore spot for rural municipal governments and proposes solutions for the future, but not much hope that the already due back-taxes will ever get paid.
A new report from the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters highlights the importance of investing in transportation in rural communities in order to save lives and makes four recommendations.
The ongoing police investigation and expected Auditor General report into serious allegations of corruption and political interference involving hundreds of millions of dollars in medical supply procurement and private surgical contracts by the provincial government. MLAs will soon select a new Auditor General before Doug Wylie retires on April 28.
A few things I’ll be watching in Alberta politics in the week ahead, including the final report of the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission, Smith and energy minister Brian Jean’s trip to CERAWeek in Houston, Texas (federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson will be there too), and the federal NDP leadership vote next weekend.

I decided to test this podcast series during the spring session of the Alberta Legislature. I’m planning to do this for most weeks until the Assembly breaks for the summer — and then we’ll see where we go from there.

Thank you for subscribing and listening to this episode of the Daveberta Podcast. A sincere thank you to new paid subscribers, Selena, Megan, Sandeep, and Nate.

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