‘Shocking allegations’: Alberta health contracts paused as corruption claims spark calls for RCMP probe

The Alberta NDP and provincial healthcare advocates are demanding the RCMP investigate allegations of corruption related to provincial health contracts as the province’s front-line health provider says it will stop handing out contracts related to the claims.

Alberta Health Services (AHS) says it is currently conducting a review of their procurement procedures related to the allegations from their former CEO and will not be awarding any contracts “involving the parties that are involved in that review.”

Speaking on Thursday, NDP leader Naheed Nenshi says he is appalled by claims from a Globe and Mail report that suggests former Alberta AHS CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos was fired for digging deeper into how certain companies were getting government contracts.

A letter from Mentzelopoulos’s lawyer, obtained by the paper, alleges that she was pressured by UCP government officials to sign off on new deals for chartered surgical facilities and further alleges she was fired days before meeting with the auditor general.

“These are among the most shocking allegations I have ever seen,” says Nenshi. “Albertans have never tolerated this kind of actions from a government. This is much to big to sweep under the rug.”

The NDP is asking for four investigations from the RCMP, auditor general, ethics commissioner and a judicial led public inquiry.

The opposition leader also says all people named in the allegations, including the Premier Danielle Smith, Health Minister Adriana LaGrange and interim AHS President and CEO Andre Tremblay, should step aside from their roles during the probes.

Nenshi says he has seen the relevant parts of the letter that reportedly accuse the United Conservative Party (UCP) government of wide-ranging corruption, including inflating contracts for private surgery providers, conflicts of interest and firing Mentzelopoulos for attempting to investigate.

Chris Gallaway with Friends of Medicare believes there should be a full investigation into all procurement in the health sector in terms of private providers. He also says all related files should be turned over to the RCMP.

“We’ve long had concerns about what happens when we contract out services,” he says. “We lose the transparency of the contracts.”

“Now today we are seeing some public allegations that are very concerning if they are true.”

In a statement to CityNews, Health Minister Adriana LaGrange’s office says the allegations that Mentzelopoulos was fired due to a review of certain contracts are false and that all recent personnel changes were part of the province’s planned transition to the newly formed Acute Care Alberta agency.

“We understand that AHS has been reviewing these procurement decisions and processes and that work will continue until it is completed,” reads the statement.

Auditor general Doug Wylie has confirmed in a statement that he’s begun investigating procurement and contracting processes at AHS and the department of health. He says that includes looking into chartered surgical facilities, medications and COVID-19 personal protection equipment.

The results will be contained in a report to the legislature and will be available to all Albertans.

LaGrange’s office says the province welcomes the auditor general’s review and will fully cooperate.

With files from the Canadian Press