Redford’s trip reveals an ‘odd set of priorities’: Mason
Light itinerary in Jasper planned during height of f lood recovery
Itineraries for former premier Alison Redford show she spent two hours in meetings during a June 2013 weekend in Jasper that received intense scrutiny after the opposition accused the Calgary MLA of taking personal trips on the taxpayers’ dime during the height of flood recovery last year.
The internal schedules, obtained by the Journal Monday through freedom of information legislation, show Redford travelled to the mountain resort town during the weekend of June 28-30, 2013.
Redford had been scheduled to attend the annual meeting of the Western Governors’ Association in Utah that same weekend, but the trip was cancelled in the wake of the southern Alberta floods.
Instead, Redford participated in a Friday morning news conference in Calgary about mental health supports for flood victims, followed by a 30-minute flood briefing and a conference call about the declaration of a provincial state of emergency in hardhit High River.
Then, with her daughter along for the trip, Redford flew from Calgary to Hinton on a government plane, arriving at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge around 4 p.m. with the rest of her evening free, her itinerary shows.
Redford’s schedule lists three meetings at the Jasper Park Lodge totalling two hours the following day — a 45-minute meeting about the impact of the floods on tourism with David Roberts, regional vice-president for the Fairmont hotel chain; a 30-minute meeting with local artist Wendy Wacko and tour of her Mountain Galleries at the Jasper Park Lodge; and a 45-minute meeting with the Jasper National Park chief superintendent. Her schedule remained free after 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, June 29, 2013.
Redford also took part in daily 30-minute flood update conference calls, according to her itinerary. No other official meetings were listed for the weekend.
Redford, her daughter and staff flew back to Calgary from Hinton at 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 30, according to the itinerary. A government plane flew empty twice to accommodate the travellers — once to drop them off and again to pick them up.
The province’s travel and expenses database shows taxpayers were billed $1,406 for two rooms at the hotel during the weekend.
Redford, who remains MLA for Calgary-Elbow, did not return a request for comment Monday.
NDP leader Brian Mason said the meetings appear to be of “secondary importance” and could have been scheduled at another time.
“I’m surprised that having decided not to attend the Western Governors’ conference in Utah because of the importance of dealing with the floods that she would then schedule these meetings on a weekend in Jasper,” Mason said. “It is an odd set of priorities.”
Wildrose Opposition leader Danielle Smith said the trip highlights the need for stronger travel rules.
“There does need to be better rules around what actually constitutes legitimate use of taxpayer resources,” Smith said. “It does appear that there were at least two hours of legitimate business over the course of that weekend, but I think taxpayers will be left questioning whether we got good value for the dollars being spent.”
Redford resigned as premier in Marchamid a caucus revolt and criticism over her leadership style and expenses.
Before her resignation, she repaid about $3,100 for trips on government planes that included her daughter and friends of her daughter, along with a trip to Vancouver for a family funeral.
Criticism over Redford’s use of the taxpayer-funded planes sparked calls from the three opposition parties to sell the province’s fleet of aircraft, which cost about $7 million annually.
The province’s policy for travel on government aircraft says passengers can be approved at the discretion of the minister travelling. Auditor General Merwan Saher is reviewing the province’s use of the fleet.