Airdrie-Cochrane MP and Infrastructure Minister Peter Guthrie has become the third Alberta minister to admit that he attended an Edmonton Oilers hockey game, courtesy of a hockey company. distribution and medical supplies that participated in the government’s $80 million deal to buy children’s painkillers from Turkey. in 2022.

Guthrie said in an Oct. 30 news conference that he accepted free Oilers playoff tickets and attended Oilers home games during the team’s playoff run last spring as a guest of MHCare Medical, a medical supplies and distribution company.

He did not specify exactly how many games he attended but said he had no “professional or personal relationship” with Sam Mraiche, the CEO of MHCare Medical.

The drugs purchased by the province a few years ago came from the Istanbul-based company Atabay Pharmaceuticals. Its arrival was delayed due to regulatory and label issues with Health Canada. Hospitals eventually stopped using the drug for safety reasons.

Ministers accepting free playoff tickets have faced criticism.

Questions have been raised about whether the government and its new relaxed rules around accepting non-monetary gifts mean government officials are open to undue influence.

Non-cash gifts to elected officials in Alberta were previously capped at $200 and only tickets worth up to $400 per year could be accepted. Now both items are capped at $500, and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff can also approve any ticket or gift worth more than that for staff and more than $1,000 for an event, conference or a meeting.

Public Services Minister Nathan Neudorf said he attended a game as a guest of Mraiche, while Premier Danielle Smith accepted free tickets from Explore Edmonton and Invest Alberta, and Minister of Public Services Sports Joseph Schow and Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis also said they attended the games but did not do so. I won’t say who provided the tickets. In August, Finance Minister Nate Horner said he attended two games in the MHCare box.

At the press conference, Guthrie did not say exactly how many games he had attended, but he said he had no “business or personal relationship” with Sam Mraiche, the CEO of MHCare Medical.

The Eagle contacted Guthrie on Oct. 30 to ask how many games he had attended, whether his staff had also received other non-monetary gifts from MHCare and for additional clarification. As of the November 4 deadline, no response had been received.

-With files from The Canadian Press.