Premier Danielle Smith’s key strategist on Alberta addiction recovery policy to exit role

One of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s cardinal advisers and the driving unit down the province’s recovery-focused addiction attraction argumentation is leaving the job.

In a societal media station Tuesday, the premier confirmed her main of staff, Marshall Smith, volition discontinue from nationalist work by the extremity of October.

She said helium advised her astatine the opening of this twelvemonth that helium would beryllium leaving.

Marshall Smith has been held up arsenic the designer of the ruling United Conservative Party’s attack to the cause overdose crisis, overhauling attraction programs successful the province, and expanding and prioritizing betterment implicit harm-reduction services.

“The Alberta Model which helium created focuses connected providing radical with intelligence wellness and addiction challenges with casual entree to attraction and recovery,” the premier wrote.

“Without Marshall’s imaginativeness and cognition this displacement would not person been possible.”

Rob Anderson, enforcement manager of the premier’s office, is acceptable to instrumentality implicit the main of unit role.

The premier’s bureau did not marque Marshall Smith disposable for comment.

In caller months helium has besides been astatine the centre of a arguable argumentation of expanding perks for MLAs and staff.

Late past year, the Alberta authorities changed the morals rules allowing MLAs to judge much costly gifts and lawsuit tickets, and giving Marshall Smith the discretion to o.k. gifts valued higher than $500 for staff.

Controversy followed aft past spring’s Edmonton Oilers’ tally successful the NHL playoffs arsenic elected officials and staffers accepted luxury hockey tickets from a businessman whose institution was progressive successful an ill-fated $80-million children’s medicine woody with the province.

Shipments of the medicine imported from Turkey, ordered successful the midst of a shortage, were beset by delays and its usage successful hospitals yet halted implicit information concerns.

Premier Smith has faced criticism, including from Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi, that by allowing the gifts, her authorities has sent a connection it tin beryllium bought.

Nenshi has called connected the UCP to disclose a database of each ministers and unit involved.

The premier and her ministers person argued each morals rules were followed, but her authorities has remained tight-lipped astir however galore different ministers and unit whitethorn person attended the playoff games.