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Premier Alison Redford spoke at the announcement of a renewed Premier's Council on Culture at NAIT in Edmonton Alta., on Wednesday Jan. 9, 2013. She spoke about Alberta's budgetary issues as well.
Credits: Ian Kucerak/QMI Agency
EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Alison Redford said Wednesday she welcomes an investigation — a "review," as she and Justice Minister Jonathan Denis call it — by Alberta ethics commissioner Neil Wilkinson over her role in awarding the largest litigation suit in the province's history.
Made public this week, Wilkinson's investigation — the first of a premier since the ethics post was created in 1992 — will probe a possible breach of the Conflict of Interest Act when, as minister of justice in 2010, Redford recommended awarding the province's $10-billion tobacco litigation contract to International Tobacco Recovery Lawyers, a consortium that included her ex-husband's firm.
"We welcomed them at the time," said Redford. "In fact, my point at the time was that this was exactly what should happen and they're independent reviews so I'm not going to comment on them any further. We'll look forward to the results."
