The latest move by the UCP government in Alberta has seen the introduction of a more lenient gift policy for MLAs and restrictions on public access to information. This follows a trend of relaxing ethical standards for political aides, raising concerns about accountability and transparency.
The UCP has created a more generous gift policy and limited freedom of information access. On the horizon: relaxed rules for political aides. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government has relaxed policies for gifts to MLAs and limited what the public can get through access to information law.
When sweeping somebody else out of power, it's common for new leaders to use that same broom to tidy up the system to reassure the public that they are more honest and accountable than the bums they replaced. This may not be the approach from the current Alberta government, but it's a time-honoured good housekeeping practice in politics. It blocked political staffers from hopping straight from Parliament into private-sector lobbying, and put the ethics commissioner in charge of policing that.In Jim Prentice's brief premiership, his government passed an Alberta Accountability Act which, like Harper's before him, put premier's and ministerial aides under the same Conflict of Interest Act rules on forwarding private interests, disclosure and post-employment lobbying as MLAs or ministers. It also expanded the rules to top-level bureaucrats.'Those rules that applied to MLAs before also now apply to staff in the premier's and ministers' offices, a very, very, very good improvement,' Rob Anderson, the Wildrose's lead MLA on accountability measures, said in the legislature.A decade later, Smith is premier and Anderson her top adviser. The accountability reforms they've brought in during their first two years include letting MLAs accept The next measure Smith's team has laid groundwork for would undo what Anderson once called 'very, very, very good.'all but the most senior aides to the ministers and premier from the law's provisions, as well as exempting top bureaucrats and heads of provincial agencie
Alberta Politics Ethics Accountability Transparency
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
House Ethics Committee secretly voted to release Matt Gaetz ethics report, source saysWASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee has voted in secret to release the long-awaited ethics report into ex-Rep.
Read more »
UCP backbenchers support changing Alberta’s ethics rulesAlberta's Opposition NDP says the province would become the most corrupt and secretive government in Canada if potential ethics rule changes become law.
Read more »
Alberta UCP backbenchers support further loosening ethics, conflict of interest rulesOpposition NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir says the proposals would mean no one would know who might be buying the government
Read more »
Danielle Smith announces new team to patrol Alberta-U.S. borderAlberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government will create a team of specially-trained Alberta Sheriffs tasked with patrolling the Alberta-U.S. border.
Read more »
Feds increase French language funding for Alberta government servicesCulture Minister Tanya Fir says the funding will build on past efforts to make government services and resources available in French.
Read more »
Lacking definitions among Alberta privacy commissioner's worries over 2 government billsA view of the Alberta legislature in Edmonton, Alta.
Read more »