Redford aide spent $9K on hotel bills
Executive assistant averaged $215 per night on stays in capital
Premier Alison Redford’s executive assistant racked up $9,000 in bills to stay at a luxury Edmonton hotel since joining her office last spring, documents posted to the Alberta government website reveal.
While critics continue to blast Redford’s recent international travel tab, some raised eyebrows at the cost to house Brad Stables at the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald whenever he’s working in Edmonton.
Receipts posted to the province’s travel disclosure website show Stables spent 42 nights at the ritzy hotel at a rate of about $200 per night.
On one occasion in October, the rate climbed to $400 and Stables also charged taxpayers $148 for a one-night stay at the Westin Hotel in early October.
In total, Stables charged taxpayers $9,240 to stay in Edmonton while on government business.
That averages out to about $215 per night.
Redford has come under fire from critics and even a backbench Progressive Conservative MLA for a $45,000 travel bill to fly her and Stables to South Africa in December to attend the memorial for Nelson Mandela. Redford apologized for the cost — which included $20,000 to fly Stables to South Africa round trip — but hasn’t committed to paying back the expense.
Neala Barton, Redford’s press secretary, said in an email that Stables needs accommodations while he assists Redford in Edmonton because he lives in the Calgary area. As Redford’s assistant, Stables’ job duties include helping with logistics, co-ordinating her meetings and phone calls, and ensuring her security is informed of the premier’s plans, Barton said.
Since Stables spends “significantly less” time in Edmonton when the legislature isn’t sitting, it’s unlikely taxpayers would receive value for money if he were to instead get a home in the city and receive a housing allowance, Barton added.
The $1,700 monthly housing allowance is typically reserved for MLAs, but some members of the premier’s office have one included in their contracts. Barton said Redford has an apartment in Edmonton and uses her personal credit card when she stays at a hotel in the city.
She noted the government has a deal with the Hotel Macdonald to provide rates at a “significant discount.”
Stables also stayed at the Chateau Lake Louise for three nights, from Nov. 28 to 30, while Redford was in the resort town for the Bennett Jones World Cup Business Forum.
Documents show Stables billed taxpayers $1,300 for the three-night stay at a rate of $412 a night, while Redford claimed $1,465 at a rate of $462 a night.
Barton said Redford remained at the conference after she made a key note speech on Nov. 28.
Redford listened to other speakers at the forum and also met with energy industry executives to discuss energy policy and opening new markets, Barton said.
Wildrose Finance critic Rob Anderson said the expenses are further proof of the culture of entitlement within the premier’s office.
He dismissed the rationale that staying at the Hotel Macdonald provides good value because of province’s cut-rate deal with the hotel.
“It’s just entitlement. Just because you saved money on something you shouldn’t be doing doesn’t mean you should be doing it at all,” he said.
He said Stables’ tab for a three-day stay at Lake Louise is also concerning.
“One has to wonder: why? First of all, why did they need to stay at the most expensive hotel ... and why does Brad Stables need to be everywhere with the premier?” Anderson asked.
Alberta NDP Leader Brian Mason said the expenses show Redford isn’t leading by example.
“I think that there is an expectation on the part of the premier that she and her staff will live rather lavishly and I think what bothers most people about that is that the government seems to have an expectation that everybody else is going to tighten their belts,” he said.
“For employees that are being asked to take wage freezes and have their pensions reduced, this really sticks in their craw, and rightly so.,” Mason added.
The Redford government ignited a showdown with public sector unions late last year after introducing a pair of controversial labour bills, including one that threatened to impose a twoyear wage freeze on roughly 22,000 members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees.