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2d ago

Smith Defends Husband’s Role in Passenger Rail Talks as Critics Object

The government is moving ahead with a new Calgary-Banff rail feasibility study despite criticism over Moretta’s involvement in policy discussions.

Then-Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith leaves a polling station with her husband David Moretta, left, in High River, Alberta to cast her ballot for the Alberta election Monday, April, 23, 2012.
Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley and husband Lou Arab, left, arrive for a provincial leaders debate with UCP leader Danielle Smith at CTV Edmonton on May 18, 2023.
Lou Arab and Rachel Notley after Ms. Notley’s victory in the 2014 NDP leadership race.
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Overview

  • Lou Arab publicly questioned why Premier Danielle Smith invited her husband, former journalist David Moretta, to three 2023 government meetings on proposed passenger rail service.
  • Arab contrasted the access Moretta received with his own exclusion from policy talks when his wife, Rachel Notley, was premier.
  • The premier defended her husband’s advisory capacity, citing his subject-matter expertise and asserting he has never lobbied government.
  • Press secretary Sam Blackett stated Moretta has no ties to lobbying firms and any insinuations otherwise are defamatory.
  • Alberta has launched a new feasibility study and rail master plan to evaluate the Calgary-Banff passenger rail proposal.