Opposition questions who paid for government's NHL tickets and whether it's a conflict of interest

P.E.I. government MLAscould have breached the Conflict of Interest Act if they accepted tickets to NHL games or other gifts without claiming them on their public disclosure statements, opposition MLAs charged in the legislature Wednesday.

The Conflict of Interest Act says all MLAs have to declare any gifts worth $200 or more, and they can'taccept any gifts or personal benefits "connected directly or indirectly with the performance of the member's duties of office."

The issue was raised as the provincial government continued to defendthe three-year, multimillion-dollar contractit signed with the NHLlast winter to make Prince Edward Islandthe league's "official travel destination."

The deal has sparked heated debate in the P.E.I. Legislature this week as questions swirled about who paid for MLAs'tickets to games and functions, along with the overall cost of deal.

Zack Bell, who was not the tourism minister when the deal was signed last January but holds the jobnow, tabled a copy of the deal last week with allof the costs redacted, due to a confidentiality clause.

But that has only fuelled more questions as opposition parties accused the government of not being transparent.

In a rare move, the province's Standing Committee on Education and Economic Growth issued a subpoena Tuesday giving the tourism minister until Thursday to deliver an unredacted copy of the contract.

Bell said Wednesdsay he would "follow the rules of the legislature."

Back in February, the province said backdeal would cost $2.5 million in the first year, on top of the $5.5 million overall budget for tourism marketing.

No figures have been released regarding the costs of the deal for2025 or 2026. The redacted copy of the contract also suggests there are different costs based on whether or not Charlottetown is chosen as host city for the NHL awards, along with a cost for the province to exit the deal.

Green Party MLA Peter Bevan-Baker said that is one of the reasons the committee issued the subpoena.

"We don't know how much money is involved here. If it's going to be $5 million for the subsequent years, we're looking at $12 million, $13 million, $15 million over the time of the contract. For a tourism budget, that's a huge amount of money."

Did government MLAs breach P.E.I.'s conflict rules with NHL deal?

3 days ago

Duration 3:59

The Opposition continued to chip away at the province's marketing contract with the National Hockey League during a heated debate in the legislature. CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin gets the latest from legislative reporter Kerry Campbell about whether the premier and other cabinet ministers accepted inappropriate gifts as part of the deal.

Bell has said the contract's first year expires at the end of December, but hasn't said whether government will renew it.

On Wednesday, Interim Liberal Leader Hal Perry questioned the need for government officials to travel to NHL events at taxpayer expense.

It appears more and more clear that the only people getting any value out of this deal are the bureaucrats and the ministers jetsetting around like groupies following the NHL. Hal Perry

"It appears more and more clear that the only people getting any value out of this deal are the bureaucrats and the ministers jetsetting around like groupies following the NHL," he charged.

CBCNews has been compiling some of the expense reports filed under the province's proactive disclosure rules for trips where it's been made clear the NHL was part of government's agenda.

According to those disclosures, former tourism minister Cory Deagle spent $3,614 of taxpayer money on a six-day trip to Toronto to attend the NHL All-Star Game. Asked who paid for his ticket to the game, Deagle said he was invited "as a partner of the NHL,"and spent his time mingling "with the corporate partners trying to attract them back to P.E.I. to host meetings and conventions."

$17K for trip to Nashville

Premier Dennis King and at least three government staff spent $17,867 for a trip to the NHL awards ceremony in Nashville in June 2023. The Opposition has asked multiple times who paid for the premier's ticket to the awards and other games the premier has attended.

The premier again today said he would take the questions "under advisement."

Perry said if the premier received a free ticket to the NHL awards event, "it is my interpretation" that would be a breach of the Conflict of Interest Act, "but that's not for me to determine. We have a conflict of interest officer to do that."

Perry also pointed to a trip to New York in October 2023 that included an NHL game.

In the legislature Wednesday, Perry also raised a trip the premier and at least six others took to New York in October 2023, describing a "lavish party that this government threw in New York lobster rolls, some hired entertainment, plenty of booze and all of this was hosted at the consul general's place to boot. It seems like quite the little party to rub shoulders with their NHL buddies."

P.E.I. musician is packing her bagpipes and heading to Nashville

8 months ago

Duration 7:07

Alli Walker, a country singer-songwriter from Summerside, P.E.I., is moving to Nashville after signing a record deal. She spoke with CBC Compass host Louise Martin as she was packing up and preparing for the big move.

Expense reports show MLAs and bureaucrats billed $17,480 in travel expenses for that trip not including the cost of the party at the consul general's.

Emails obtained by the Liberals under freedom of information also show that the P.E.I. group toured the NHL's New York headquarters, and at least some of them were invited to the NHL's suite for the Rangers' opening game of the season.

We are in New York trying to promote Prince Edward Island and its products. There are 10 million or 15 million people living in that area. They eat lobsters, they eat potatoes and guess what? We have lots of them ...Premier Dennis King

Those emails don't show if any of the P.E.I. contingent attended the game. Nor do they show if the NHL officials who were invited to the party at the consul general's actually attended.

King defended that trip as a broader mission to showcaseproducts, and said Summerside musician Alli Walker (shown in above video) was invited to perform.

"I'm not one bit ashamed of it," he said. "We are in New York trying to promote Prince Edward Island and its products. There are 10 million or 15 million people living in that area.

"They eat lobsters, they eat potatoes and guess what? We have lots of them and we are promoting it at a very record level."