United Conservative Party MLA Derek Fildebrant Tuesday resigned from caucus after issues involving expense claims and renting out his subsidized apartment.

Livingstone Macleod MLA Pat Stier admits it hasn't been good for the new party.

"It's a difficult start, it's certainly unnecessary little situation, a little aggravation that's come up, and hopefully all this will be put into the past fairly soon," he says. "After all we've got a new party here, we're looking forward to moving ahead with some great new ideas once out new leader is in and this sort of difficulty in proper bookkeeping and so on is certainly just an interference in what we need to accomplish right now."

Stier says there are a lot of things that aren't in the Municipal Government Act but some things should be understood without having to ask and this seems to be once of those.

He says it isn't the way he operates.

"As you might have noticed mine's (living expenses) are among the lowest in the province and that's because I stay in hotels and I try not to have the taxpayer pay for accommodation when I'm not in Edmonton," Stier says.

He says to do something like Fildebrandt did is, perhaps, beyond the rules.

 

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