Premier requires immediate motion by Alberta’s auditor common into well being spending, contracting

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith mentioned she might be asking for an expedited overview from the province’s auditor common, who mentioned this week that he’s analyzing “concerns or allegations related to contracting and potential conflicts of interest” inside the province’s well being authority.

“We need to get to the bottom of this issue quickly to identify any potential wrongdoing, correct it, and address it appropriately,” Smith mentioned in a press release Saturday morning. 

This marked Smith’s first touch upon the problem since Auditor Common Doug Wylie introduced his investigation on Thursday. 

It got here after the Globe and Mail reported on a sequence of allegations stemming from a letter it obtained from the lawyer of Athana Mentzelopoulos, who was just lately terminated as AHS’s CEO. A spokesperson for Wylie has mentioned events had been knowledgeable of his investigation on Jan. 31.

I’ve learn numerous media tales containing allegations concerning the procurement and contracting processes of AHS. They’re troubling allegations and they need to be reviewed as shortly as potential.To that finish, I might be writing Auditor Common Doug Wylie to ask for an…

The Globe reported that the letter included claims of political interference and allegations that Mentzelopoulos was wrongfully dismissed, shedding her jobs days earlier than she was scheduled to fulfill with Wylie to debate her personal investigation into Alberta’s procurement contracts and offers for personal surgical services.

Wylie has mentioned his investigation will give attention to AHS, however may lengthen to different organizations past it and the well being ministry. Particularly, the probe is at the moment centered on chartered surgical services, treatment (ibuprofen or acetaminophen) and COVID-19 private safety gear.

The federal government has been critiqued for its PPE buying early within the pandemic, and a controversial $70-million deal to purchase youngsters’s ache treatment from Turkey-based Atabay Prescribed drugs, which was made throughout a North American scarcity.

Wylie’s investigation may also overview the effectiveness of administration and management processes — together with governance and oversight, he mentioned.

The Alberta authorities disbanded the whole AHS board in late January, appointing an official administrator as an alternative. 

On Thursday, an AHS spokesperson mentioned the company is reviewing its procurement procedures and processes because it pertains to Mentzelopoulos’ allegations, and has paused awarding new contracts that embrace events concerned in its probe.

She mentioned she has already directed her officers to be absolutely clear with Wylie. 

She specified, “As premier, I was not involved in any wrongdoing.”

Smith additionally has requested the AHS inside overview to even be accomplished as quickly as potential, and have its findings delivered to her, she mentioned. 

AHS is conducting its personal inside overview. Smith has requested that or not it’s completed as quickly as potential and that the findings be delivered to her. (David Bajer/CBC)

Opposition NDP Chief Naheed Nenshi criticized Smith’s feedback in his personal assertion Saturday morning. 

He known as for a full RCMP investigation and an impartial judicial-led public inquiry, and mentioned the NDP has written to the RCMP, Wylie and Alberta’s ethics commissioner to request investigations.

Smith’s assertion exhibits that the premier is taking the state of affairs significantly, mentioned Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount Royal College in Calgary.

Nevertheless it nonetheless leaves some questions unanswered, he mentioned, corresponding to why Mentzelopoulos was fired after simply signing a contract in December 2023, and why the AHS board — whose members Smith’s authorities appointed — was dismissed.

“That’s what you get when you get a written statement instead of a press conference. There are a lot of lingering questions here,” Bratt mentioned.

Bratt believes a public inquiry is feasible, however it hinges on what the auditor common finds and recommends, he mentioned.

“There are, clearly, a lot of ethics questions and there’s a lot of smoke. We’ll have to see if there’s any fire,” he mentioned