Opposition NDP documents say a Kentucky bourbon distillery trip last year included costs that were not reimbursed by a minister’s chief of staff’s husband.
The Story
The Alberta government is facing scrutiny over a delegation that toured Kentucky bourbon distilleries last year and included a chief of staff’s husband, with the Opposition NDP saying taxpayer dollars may have covered parts of the trip.
The office of Dale Nally, the minister of red tape reduction, said the husband of his chief of staff paid his own expenses. Opposition documents obtained by the NDP indicate Gary Davidson did not reimburse his share of group transportation costs.
The NDP is calling the trip a “taxpayer-funded booze fest” and has demanded Nally repay $5,400 for the cost of distillery tours.
New Democrats began asking about the trip last week. Nally’s office declined to say whether the minister consumed alcohol during the tour, which included visits to about a dozen bourbon distilleries in September 2025.
The office also declined to explain why Davidson was invited, saying the trip’s purpose was meetings with Kentucky lawmakers and that Alberta industry representatives were invited at their own expense.
Premier Danielle Smith said Nally travelled to Kentucky to learn from local bourbon distilleries and to help develop and promote Alberta’s whisky sector. The government says no alcohol was billed to taxpayers.
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