It will be hard for Alberta’s United Conservative Party to shake off former Alberta Health Services CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos’s bombshell allegation she was fired for launching an investigation of sketchy procurement deals and private surgical contracts pushed by influential staffers in Premier Danielle Smith’s government.
Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s claims are included in a long letter to the beleaguered health care agency’s lawyer threatening a $1.7-million lawsuit for wrongful dismissal that has been seen by The Globe and Mail but apparently nobody else in the news business.
Despite very few people actually having had the opportunity to read the accusations, though, the stuff didn’t just hit the fan when reporter Carrie Tait published her carefully crafted story Wednesday night, it set off a hurricane of the same substance that raged through the day yesterday and shows no sign of abating.
In response, Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi made a forceful statement yesterday at which he demanded not just one investigation, but four – one by the auditor-general, one by the police, one by the ethics commissioner, plus a judge-led public inquiry.
Calling the statements “among the most shocking allegations that I have ever seen,” Mr. Nenshi told a news conference that “the premier, the minister of health, the minister of mental health and addiction, and all named employees in these allegations, must step aside. They cannot operate in this role while they are under the shadow of potential RCMP criminal investigation.”
Fat chance of that happening, of course. There’s no way Danielle Smith, Adriana LaGrange and Dan Williams are going to willingly put themselves on ice. And one of the named employees is Andre Tremblay, now the sole administrator of AHS. But it was an effective and spirited attack by the hitherto passive Mr. Nenshi.
“Albertans have never tolerated this kind of action from a government,” he continued. “I have never seen anything like this in Alberta. And, yes, Albertans need to tell the premier there’s no squeaming outta this one!”
I’m not sure if “squeaming” is a word, but we all know what he meant – Ms. Smith’s famous ability to glibly gaslight her way out of almost any tight corner, like, say, racing off to Mar-a-Lago and Washington to get no results on tariffs sucking up to the Trump Administration. Mr. Nenshi said that he had seen parts of Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s letter.
That $1.7 million mentioned in the letter, by the way, is not a fanciful figure. It’s the total value of Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s contract had she been allowed to work until its end.
The UCP’s problem now is that the allegations are not about a highly technical or complicated topic. Nor are they about an issue that affects only a small number of people who most voters don’t care about. So they do not lend themselves to either gaslighting or MAGA culture war.
They are about greed, money and corruption, topics everyone understands.
As University of Alberta political science professor Jared Wesley explained in simple terms in a couple of Bluesky posts: “The litmus test for a government-toppling scandal: can it be explained to a 10-year-old in a single tweet. Here it is:
“Allegedly, Smith’s staff pressured health officials to approve over half a billion dollars in private health care contracts to a businessman who bought them seats in NHL luxury boxes in return for the favour. Then Smith fired a CEO who tried to investigate.”
Plus the board of directors that suggested she go to the RCMP, it must also be noted.
The allegations in the letter make reference to MHCare Medical, one of the medical supply companies associated with businessman Sam Mraiche, the fellow with the fancy NHL seats who is said to have done business with the province to the tune of more than $600 million.
As Dr. Wesley also noted last night, “No other premier in Alberta history could survive 48 hours under the cloud of suspicion Smith now faces. Over half a billion dollars makes Sky Palace look like a sandcastle. If her cabinet and MLAs aren’t meeting to discuss, it’s a dereliction of duty.”
There’s no danger, of course, that the UCP cabinet and caucus aren’t meeting to figure out what to do. You can count on it, though, the topic of their conversation will be how to move the scandal to the backburner and where to find an object large and shiny enough to distract the public.
There were some hints of the direction the government will try to take this yesterday.
Auditor-General Doug Wylie issued a statement saying, yes, he’s looking into it. His investigation will include so-called chartered surgical facilities (UCP code for private surgical clinics), COVID-19 protective equipment (masks and respirators, mostly), and pain-relief medication (like, say, those notoriously expensive and hard-to-sell Turkish-made children’s medications).
The problem is that auditor-general investigations take a long time, and there are no updates while they’re happening. Regardless of Mr. Wylie’s independence from the government, by the time his report is completed this news will be so old it’s not news at all.
Meanwhile, AHS said in a statement to media it will stop awarding contracts to companies being investigated by the Mr. Wylie. This sounds like something is being done but means little, especially since AHS is still in the process of being dismantled by the UCP.
Indeed, the press secretary for Ms. LaGrange all but admitted this in a statement claiming Ms. Mentzelopoulos was dismissed, as the Globe summarized it, “because of the government’s continuing restructuring at the health authority.”
This seems at odds with the statement by former AHS board chair Lyle Oberg when Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s appointment was announced in December 2023: “I look forward to working with her to support staff through the healthcare system refocus efforts underway.” (Emphasis added.)
“The interpretation that her termination was due to AHS’s review of certain procurement decisions are false,” the government statement reported yesterday nevertheless claimed. Well, we’ll see about that, I guess.
In the meantime, the UCP is going to have to do better than this to make this scandal go away.
Look for an outrageous announcement soon, likely with culture war overtones.
And expect dire news in the Feb. 27 budget speech – dire enough, presumably, to make us forget all about Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s allegations.
CORRECTION: Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s lawsuit is seeking $1.7 million. An incorrect figure appeared in an earlier version of this post as, no doubt, several commenters are about to remind me. AlbertaPolitics.ca regrets the error. DJC
Hello DJC and fellow commenters,
There is now – squirming while screaming “No, no, no, it ain’t me babe, it ain’t me you’re lookin’ for”. (Apologies to Bob Dylan)
Politicians are so stupid sometimes. They sell out for such low sums. A seat in a sky box will turn their heads???? what pikers.
If you’re going to steal, you do it with one hand, not two. Looks like some got too greedy and were too stupid to ensure there were no tracks. Lets hope there are inquiries, people are arrested and tried, but I’m not holding my breathe. I’m sure some press won’t even cover much of it.
Well I was wrong. today it was in newspapers. there was even a line about a call for Smith’s resignation. can hardly wait for the next installment.
Get ready for Premier Nixon? (Not to be confused with President Nixon.) DJC
We don’t know what fire lies under the smoke. The fact that there are multiple ludicrous contracts speaks to a well oiled machine reaching into government. That takes more than a box seat at a Canucks/Oilers game.
If you’re saying the problem isn’t that politicians are whores but that they’re cheap whores, then I’m with you on that.
Ron: Sailin’ close to the wind there, buddy. We run a family comments section here… DJC
Squeaming: Urban dictionary–
1. to wriggle, writhe, cringe or curl your toes in disgust.
2. to feel or display discomfort, distress or disgust.
Both rather appropriate, Thanks Naheed ! for the word of the day.
All this sort of explains why Marlaina wasn’t her usual chipper self on P&P with David Cochrane the other day. Shoulders down, and looking very pale for someone who just got back from a sunny Florida & Panama vacation .
Randi-lee: See Abs’ comment on this topic above, or below, or wherever it appears in the list. The Scottish meaning is truly perfect. The question remains – in my mind, anyway – whether Mr. Nenshi actually knew that word or if it was just one of those weirdly meaningful coincidences. DJC
Age+understanding? Does that equal something? It’s so complex, but simple in the the end, if you believe in unconditional love! However, there are faces that need to be struck! I am not saying there is no forgiveness, but pestilence must be eradicated!
Typo: $1.7M.
https://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/squeem#:~:text=SQUEEM%2C%20n.,the%20word%20may%20be%20suspect.%5D
Squeem like a fish: perfect for these slippery characters. Thank you Scottish dictionary.
Abs: Thank you for this. I will change the spelling of the word in the story, although I’ll leave the text alone and reference it in the near future. When I looked it up just now using that spelling, there were also some other definitions that were … ruder. DJC
A correction is needed. She is suing for 1.7 million, not 7.1 million, according to both globe stories on this. I know public servants at that level are paid well, but the 7.1 figure was startling so I checked.
Peter: Thank you and the others who alerted me to this error in the comments, by email, and by text. Errors are inevitable in an enterprise like this, and as I have said before writing without an editor is like performing on the high-wire without a net. Nevertheless, I was particularly worried that this one would stir up fury by UCP supporters at Ms. Mentzelopoulos, who appears to have been treated very shabbily in this affair. DJC
Marlain-a-Lago acts like laws don’t apply to her. I wonder where she got that idea?
This needs to be investigated, but I’m not sure the RCMP are capable. It would be great if the Auditor General did it, but he’s probably been fired by the time I am writing this.
At least all the UCP quislings had something to pray about at their taxpayer funded junket to the American hypocrisy festival (prayer breakfast) yesterday.
Public Servant: you said: “Marlain-a-Lago acts like laws don’t apply to her” and you wonder where she got that idea. She got it from observing how the oil and gas industry works in rural Alberta. They have almost absolute impunity to violate the basic property and civil rights of farmers and ranchers, not to mention First Nations people. Over the past 50 years, if there is a troublesome law or regulation, the Social Credit/UCP/Cons have always clicked their heels and made it go away. Now the same impunity is being applied to city people. You reap what you sow.
Am I the only one taking note of the fact that this story is related to the very same businessman who, just before Christmas, sued Calgary-based political podcaster Nate Pike for defamation? The claim — based on Pike’s apparently well-sourced reporting on the Tylenot and PPE boondoggles — appears to be a classic example of a SLAPP lawsuit.
Now, I’m no lawyer, but isn’t one of the most effective defences against a defamation suit the truth of the matter reported? The reporting by G&M journalist Carrie Tait would seem to lend credence to Nate Pike’s previous reporting.
Hello DJC and fellow commenters,
Speaking of Jared Wesley, here is a link to his timely column, The Problem with ‘Populist’ Politicians, published yesterday in the tyee. Prof Wesley uses the UCP as one of his examples. I am sure that some of your readers will have already read Jared Wesley’s article.
“https://www.thetyee.ca/Analysis/2025/02/06/Problem-Populist-Politicians
I am counting down the seconds for a sickening response from both Rick Bell and Don Braid caterwauling about the egregious attack on Smith, the woman that saved the world from Donald Trump. If the RCMP investigate this we should get the requisite, “nothing to see here folks, move along”, by the year 2035.
I want Dan Williams’ moustache. Seriously. I want it.
Lefty: The first draft of this piece referred to him as Dan “Porn Star Mustache” Williams. Then the better angels of my nature spoke to me. DJC
Sensi– “Ippon”
Bow,bow…..LMAO
Domo arigato gozaimashita!
bow bow
It looks fake.
Thank you DC. This is a big deal. I imagine D, Smith and A. LaGrange are planning on attending a whole series of prayer breakfasts.
Amen!
Shades of Basi and Virk in BC?
https://www.timescolonist.com/bc-news/details-of-6-million-payout-in-basi-virk-case-stay-hidden-4576569 DJC
If she is suing the government for $1.7 million, won’t some of the details of her allegations come out in court —unless, of course, she herself can be bought off? Let’s hope she is that rare person of integrity in this otherwise shady government. Let’s hope she will stand her ground.
Can an auditor general also be fired?
Lynda: She is threatening to sue. In her shoes, if the person I’d threatened to sue offered me what I’d demanded or something close enough to it, I’d take the deal. Usually such deals come with a non-disclosure agreement. So I think the chances of full disclosure in this case are quite small, as the government will be willing to pay almost any price to shut her up. When that happens, we need to remember that she is the wronged party in this case and not fault her for taking what she is owed and going on her way.
As to your question, yes, officers of the Legislature can be fired by a vote of the Legislature. In the Westminster Parliamentary system, as I understand it, they are chosen by Cabinet and their appointment must be approved by a vote of the House, or both houses, as the case may be. The term of their appointment is set out in law. They can be removed from office by a resolution of the House (or one house in the case of Parliament).
DJC
Hi David,
“…the government will be willing to pay almost any price to shut her up.”
I strongly agree that desperate Dani her sleazy co-conspirators will be readily pay for Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s silence.
When viewed against the backdrop of the millions that have been recklessly funneled to Sam Mriache at MHCare Medical in sole source for substandard health products, $1.7 million is chump change. A veritable bargain.
Source: Alberta Views
https://albertaviews.ca/the-hidden-connections-in-the-skybox-photo/
Hi David and all.
I hope this blows up in the UCP’s faces.
Meanwhile, I see the Fifth Estate is doing an expose of TBA’s nefarious work aiding right wing U.S. groups attempting to intimidate public libraries:
https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/a-shadow-war-on-libraries
We just watched that show last night. It focuses on the little town of Valleyview, Alberta, which sits on the crossroads of two major Alberta highways running northwest from Edmonton: one way continues on to Grande Prairie and the BC border, then to Dawson Creek and the Alaska Highway; the other goes north to Peace River, from which you can continue north to High Level and the NWT.
Agriculture and oil & gas are major economic drivers in the community. It also sits right next to the Sturgeon Lake First Nation. There’s also a busy rural hospital that serves the Town, the Reserve, and the surrounding rural area.
The CBC’s story is disturbing, in that there is a shadowy movement to take over the governance of libraries in this province and restrict what Canadians can read or learn about based on a narrow, social-conservative perspective on intellectual freedom. It’s well worth a watch.
If the RCMP are looking into the allegations, I certainly hope they do not do a white wash like in the other investigations and fail to take action because it’s the Premier and she controls their contract, which in itself seems to be somewhat of a conflict. One would think the Premier and Ministers of the Crown always act in the best interests of normal citizens, but sadly that doesn’t appear to be the case with these clowns. It looks like all ethics have left the room and gone to the sky boxes at hockey games.
At the time the Edmonton surgical suites contract was drawn up, I recall hearing the UCP stuffed it full of “poison pills” to prevent future governments from cancelling it based on economic reasons. I wonder now if that contract will become the poison pill that wakes reasonable UCP voters up? I can always dream…
This corruption and sellout of Alberta needs to stop asap. Smith must step down. Nobody needs a corrupt Government like this UCP especially Alberta. Make new elections if she is not stepping down. This really is a crisis made and coordinated by the corrupt UCP Party.
How we know if conservatives are in power: “They are about greed, money and corruption, topics everyone understands.”
First of all, I feel squeaming may be a mash of scheming and squeezing, which certainly is a novel word but actually describes very well the ways the slippery Smith and her government will try to get out of this looming scandal.
I am also sure that Smith’s well paid and clever communications people will come up with one or more big distractions to try take away attention from this looming scandal and this may even seem to be successful in the short run. After all the incumbent government has a lot of ability to set or change the agenda. However, if there is something to this and people are willing to dig into it more diligently, more news about this could pop up again so there could be a steady drip drip drip of news, starting say when the government runs of out of initial distractions.
This seems to be a classic follow the money type of story, which may take some time to unravel. Lets not forget it took a couple years after the initial Watergate story for the pieces to be put together in a way that tied senior government officials into what initially seemed to be an odd but unrelated random break in.
I am sure the UCP is wishing they just paid Ms. Mentzelopoulos all of what she was asking for. Even though the amount may have been politically very uncomfortable, it seems not having her silent now may be even more so. But perhaps for Ms. Mentzelopoulos, it isn’t only about the money but also her integrity and the integrity of the system. It seems like the reason she and her board were let go was because they was looking into things her political bosses really did not want anyone looking into.
So, as I understand it, Andre Tremblay, the current AHS CEO and DM of Alberta Health, was on the AHS Board of Directors that recommended that Athana take her concerns to the RCMP. Following Athana’s dismissal, Mr. Tremblay was named AHS CEO; however, there has been no reporting that he followed through on Athana’s concerns. AHS has only stopped contracting with the specific private companies mentioned when this reporting came to light. Mr. Tremblay should be fired as a UCP insider who does not take his responsibilities to the people of Alberta seriously.
Jesus. The last time this level of conflict of interest stench occurred, it wafted over the Rockies from Victoria. And that affair ended badly for Premier W. van der Zalm.
It was someone else and he went that way.
Deny deny deny!
The only way.
This could create such a headache for the UCP government that every Cabinet Minister may be reaching for some of that made in Turkey sinus and headache meds. Surely it must be a free job benefit for them considering how much is in storage….about to be destroyed.
Here we are, days gone by seeing neither hide nor hair from any of the UCP politicians responsible for this scandal. Apparently the premier cancelled today’s radio show. She has another meeting in Washington, D.C. next week. Is that our seat of government now? People are speculating that we won’t see her until late next week at the earliest. This strategy of running away and hiding might work for a five-year-old, but our premier is a bit long in the tooth for acting like a child. Time to face the music and do her job like a grown-up. This won’t go away. The extended absence of all concerned implies guilt. Is our premier hiding in Panama again? Will she decide to stay there? Does Panama has an extradition treaty with Canada? Yes, FYI.
One bit of good news for Danielle Smith this week: she can claim victory for influencing Donald Trump. All that lobbying finally paid off. The U.S. president will be signing an executive order next week to make plastic straws great again. Danielle Smith must be so proud. She should add this to her Wikipedia.
@djc
I am presuming you have read the globe and mail article (it’s behind a paywall, and I haven’t decided if I want to subscribe yet)?
If yes, in your opinion, does this conflict of interest rise to the level of “constitutional fire extinguisher”, ie something Lt. Governor Lakhani will be watching?
Gerald: Yes, I have read the Globe article and its follow-up story. I think the allegations are credible and very bad but, at this point they are allegations. And, no, I don’t think there would be anything the L-G could do about this situation unless enough government MLAs are sent to jail to trigger a non-confidence motion. DJC
I would add that if, and it’s a BIG if, this scenario actually played out it would take years. At least to the next election and possibly beyond. More than enough time for Schmidt to find her golden parachute and next “career opportunity”. Executive barista at Mar-a-Lago, anyone?
Several commentators have called David to task for reporting that Ms. Mentzelopoulos’ lawsuit is $7.1 million when it is actually $1.7 million. Personally, I think the error is Ms. Mentzelopoulos’ for not suing for $7.1 million. The UCP would happily pay that many tax dollars to get an NDA signed.
Things get uglier and uglier for the UCP. Their house of cards is about to topple like a cheap tent.
I thank all the commentators, such cogent discourse! What to do? Bury their constituency offices in requests for information! Overcome them with law suits! Information pickets everywhere! They stepped in it! Make them pay!
Wouldn’t you like to know what backroom deals she has been making with Trump to help him screw Albertans out of Billions more of their oil wealth with the lowest oil royalties in the world? It’s no secret that she wants to double our oil sales to the u.s at what cost to Albertans? We are still wondering whats behind the coal mining stupidity aren’t you?
It’s pretty clear that this UCP group is working to destroy publicly funded health care. Danielle Smith doesn’t like publicly funded programs. She should join the Take Back Alberta party and try to carry on with the destruction of the province, it would be more honest and let people see her for who she is.
Is there anyone in the UCP caucus with the integrity to stand up to this?
Come on Albertans, don’t let this carry on!
One of the fortunate consequences of this scandal is that the grumpy bear that’s been hiding over the winter, gets out of his den, and starts huffing at Danielle Smith and her sycophants. He has sorely been missed while all sorts of fires have been burning. Coal mining, the environment, Green Line and more, require attention. He has a special knack for making the Conservatives go ballistic and lose their focus, while they’re scheming retribution.
How much corruption by the UCP are Albertans willing to accept? What will it take to get rid of the UCP? I’m not optimistic.
Pretty sure that this is why Double Crossin’ Dani’s boss, Christo-nationalist cult leader David Parker, refuses to reveal his sources of income! Anti-science, anti-vax, anti-public health groups from the U.S. – and maybe Russia and China? – could be bankrolling not only Take Over Alberta, but the quiet campaigning by future candidates and their riding associations. We just don’t know, do we? And Parker’s backers are likely willing to cover his fines and legal costs to keep their identities and their outsized influence targeting public health, public education and public sector unions a secret! They don’t want to end up being named and shamed by Alberta Politics!!