Alberta premier calls for probe of health purchasing

EDMONTON — Alberta premier Danielle Smith (pictured) says she wants a review of provincial contracts with private healthcare clinics to be expedited amid allegations of sweetheart deals, and she insists she has done nothing wrong. Smith says allegations of wrongdoing in the contracting process at Alberta Health Services are troubling and should be reviewed as soon as possible.

“We need to get to the bottom of this issue quickly to identify any potential wrongdoing, correct it, and address it appropriately,” Smith said in the statement, noting she’s asked that an internal review by AHS also be completed as quickly as possible so that improvements or adjustments can be made.

“As premier, I was not involved in any wrongdoing. Any insinuation to the contrary is false, baseless and defamatory,” Smith said.

A recent report from the Globe and Mail cites a letter from the former head of AHS saying she was subject to pressure by various provincial officials to sign off on contracts for private surgical facilities, despite concerns over how much was being paid and who was benefiting.

The province’s auditor general, Doug Wylie, is looking into how the health ministry and AHS approve contracts, including for chartered surgical facilities.

Smith says in her statement that in addition to asking Wylie for a quicker review, she has directed her officials to ensure information requests from Wylie or his office are dealt with “on a fully transparent and expedited basis.”

Excerpts of the letter by former head of AHS, Athana Mentzelopoulos, that were printed in the Globe and Mail allege she was subject to pressure by various provincial officials — including Marshall Smith, then Premier Danielle Smith’s chief of staff — to sign off on contracts for privately-run surgical facilities despite the concerns she had raised.

It said Mentzelopoulos had concerns with “significantly increased costs” on a contract with the Alberta Surgical Group. The letter also raised allegations of conflict of interest surrounding an AHS staffer who had an email account with MHCare, a company involved in a controversial deal to secure children’s pain medication from Turkey for Alberta in 2022.

A lawyer from MHCare said this week that the claims are without merit.

The Alberta Surgical Group said in a statement last week that the claims made against it are false and do not reflect their values, and that it’s “deeply shocked and dismayed” by them. It also said it looks forward to working with the auditor general to dispel any concerns.

Marshall Smith, who left government last fall, has declined requests for comment.

The Canadian Press has not seen the letter, but opposition leader, Naheed Nenshi, said he has seen relevant parts and called the allegations shocking.

AHS has said it’s halting the awarding of contracts between the parties involved.

Smith’s government is in the midst of dismantling AHS, and is replacing it with four new public health organizations, each responsible for a certain sector of services and AHS reduced to a hospital services provider.

Nenshi has already called for the premier and health minister to resign, as well as the new head of AHS, Andre Tremblay. Nenshi has also called for a judicial public inquiry.

“It took her four days to say anything. And then she says she will do nothing beyond what’s already happening,” the NDP leader said in a statement in response to Smith.

Smith concluded her statement that it’s no secret she’s been unhappy with AHS, and that better healthcare for everyone is her goal. “There is a widespread and deep-seated resistance to change that we must overcome,” she said.

Source: Canadian Press