Alberta Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Kathleen Ganley speaks during a news conference in Vancouver on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017. Ganley says it's a "huge concern" that Smith, before she re-entered politics, lobbied for an oilwell cleanup bailout that she made a government priority when she became premier. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Alberta’s New Democrat Opposition says Premier Danielle Smith should come clean on whether funding for her leadership campaign has influenced the agenda of her United Conservative Party government.
Energy critic Kathleen Ganley says it’s a “huge concern” that that before Smith re-entered politics, she lobbied for an oil well cleanup bailout that she made a government priority when she became premier.
The sources of the $1.3 million Smith raised for her leadership campaign have not been revealed.
Ganley says the $100-million pilot project that would give oil companies a royalty credit for cleaning up their old wells is another example of Smith doing the bidding of those who backed her leadership run.
She called for the government to stop the so-called Liability Management Incentive Program.
Smith’s office has not responded to repeated requests to respond to concerns about her campaign funding.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2023.
