Local MLA and Minister of Finance Doug Horner has no plans to resign amidst the aftermath of the damning auditor-general's report released Thursday morning.
Local MLA and Minister of Finance Doug Horner has no plans to resign amidst the aftermath of the damning auditor-general's report released Thursday morning.
The special report by the auditor general's office looked at the expenses of the office of premier during a portion of Alison Redford's tenure and the Alberta air transportation services program.
The report also looked into the “sky palace” being built to accommodate a residential suite ordered by the premier's office.
“Premier Redford and her office used public resources inappropriately,” the report's overall conclusion began, and only got more scathing, noting an “aura of power” around the premier's office.
Horner, as president of the Treasury Board and Minister of Finance, oversees the air transportation services program and the audit offered several suggestions for increasing oversight on that program as well as proposing the Treasury Board be used to increase oversight on the office of the premier.
During a press conference held with Justice Minister Jonathan Denis, Horner declined to take responsibility for the misuse of the planes and the premier's office tendency to misuse “block booking” to stop others from getting seats on the flights.
While his department has charge of the administration of the planes, he said, ministers who order the flights are responsible for the use of the aircraft and who boards them.
“If I didn't know, I couldn't step in to stop (it),” Horner said. He said he was not aware until recently of the premier's office misuse.
Asked of his reaction to the report, Horner said his goal is to restore trust.
“I have a passion for service, maybe not as big of passion for politics as I should, but I do have a passion for service so it was not a good day for me,” he said. “I've fixed a lot of things before and it's my commitment I'm going to fix this one too.”
In an interview with the Gazette, Horner said it appears the opposition parties calling for his resignation want another casualty after Redford's resignation as an MLA.
“My dad used to tell me that if the opposition isn't mad at you then you're obviously not doing the right thing,” Horner said.
He said people should look at the fact that the problems are in one area of one ministry, and Redford has resigned.
“The minister responsible is the one that's accountable for that and she's taken responsibility,” Horner said.
In the hours after the report was released, Horner has received emails from constituents offering prayers, and some outlining concerns about the contents of the report.
MLA Stephen Khan said he shares the disappointment most people have about the facts around the premier's office's travel expenses.
“Like all Albertans, (the report's) kind of left me speechless, a little bit,” he said.
“Everyone is quick to throw Premier Redford under the bus and I'm not one to defend the premier's office when it came to their travel expenses but you know I think every MLA and every minister needs to take responsibility for their actions and their expenses,” Khan said.
He had been unaware of the abuse of the system at the time, he said. He was flying on government planes for government business.
“I think it's incumbent upon every minister who has the privilege of flying on those planes to honour those rules,” he said.
But Khan did note Redford is a bit of an enigma, in some cases showing prudence when it came to taxpayer dollars.
“It's not a defence and I know there's been a lot of piling on,” he said, going on to point out that not many are discussing the fact that Redford is declining her transition allowance and also turned down a recommended raise after an independent report suggested dramatically increasing the premier's compensation.
“She was very quick to decline,” he said.
