If Danielle Smith hopes to turn the page on the Dodgy Contracts Scandal that’s been dogging her since the former CEO of Alberta Health Services challenged the United Conservative Party Government’s narrative about the circumstances that led to her dismissal on Jan. 8, Alberta’s premier is going to have to act fast.
Athana Mentzelopoulos says she was fired in “an arbitrary, capricious, callous, high-handed, and bad faith manner” for properly carrying out her duty to investigate high-level interference with overpriced contracts.
It’s less than two weeks till the Legislature is scheduled to sit again, and with copies of the statement of claim in Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s $1.7-million wrongful dismissal lawsuit now circulating widely throughout the province, the situation is only going to get worse for the government and its insiders if someone can’t be found to fall on their sword. Or be pushed ….
Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s statement of claim is a corker! If it were between hard-covers, it could be a best-seller, even though it is only 17 pages long. According to her account in the document, some of the lines she remembers being told could have come out of the mouth of Tony Soprano!
Of course, her allegations haven’t been proved in a court of law, but they make eye-popping reading, and as a former deputy minister in two provincial governments who obviously had the wit to hang onto her receipts, she would likely make a formidable witness in any court proceeding.
Face it, you don’t get to be a senior civil servant in any Canadian government by being a dope. The same can’t necessarily be said about candidates for elected office.
The obvious candidate to walk the plank to save the premier would be Health Minister Adriana LaGrange, if only because the scandal unfolded on her watch. No public mea culpas would be required for the government to start plausibly diverting attention from the still-unfolding drama.
But, just spit-balling here, what if Ms. LaGrange doesn’t want to take one for the team? She could turn out to be another formidable woman for the premier to get on the wrong side of.
The Opposition NDP certainly thinks Ms. LaGrange must go. “Today, the Premier must fire the health minister,” Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said in a statement yesterday.
“The former AHS CEO alleges that Health Minister Adriana LaGrange, with the premier’s office aware of the matter, directed the AHS Board to fire her,” Mr. Nenshi said, noting that Ms. LaGrange is referenced 24 times in the statement of claim. “When the board refused, the minister bypassed their authority and had her deputy minister terminate her instead.”
Comparing the actions of the UCP to those of a banana republic, Mr. Nenshi said of the circumstances described in the statement of claim, “this would be unbelievable political interference if true. This is not how democracies function. And this would be corrupt.”
The alternative for the premier might be to try to brazen it out. This has worked for Danielle Smith before more often than it hasn’t, but like crossing the floor of the Legislature to join the Progressive Conservatives in 2014, it could be a risky roll of the dice.
Former AMA president debunks UCP account of CEO’s firing
In four Bluesky posts yesterday, former Alberta Medical Association President Paul Parks debunked the government’s claim Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s dismissal was intended to ensure a “smooth transition” from Alberta Health Services to the UCP’s new acute-care agency.
Ms. Mentzelopoulos had been hired as executive director of the AMA shortly before she was “handpicked by the premier” to lead AHS, Dr. Parks recalled. “I met directly with the Minister of Health who told me ‘they had to have Athana … as the plan was that she would guide the refocusing and then ultimately head the new Acute Care Org.
“The plan was to be long term, and the Minister offered these facts as an apology for taking Athana from the AMA while AMA was trying to develop a working relationship with govt.
“Pretending the firing was for a ‘smooth transition’ is ridiculous, especially given the acting CEO of the Acute Care Org wasn’t even working yet,” Dr. Parks continued. “Having an acting CEO who does the job from the side of his DM desk cannot possibly ever been ‘the plan.’”
UCP obsession with social media foes described in lawsuit
Judging from the allegations in Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s statement of claim, the UCP Government has an unhealthy obsession with opposition on social media.
Here’s one example: “During the summer of 2024, Mentzelopoulos was again contacted by Marshall Smith who advised Mentzelopoulos that ‘powerful people’ were upset and angry about the twitter feed of an AHS employee (Nate Pike, an AHS paramedic) who was apparently posting criticism of the Government while on duty. Smith alleged that a complaint and lawsuit were going to be filed against Mr. Pike. Mentzelopoulos asked Smith if he was trying to tell her that AHS had to fire Mr. Pike. Smith replied that Mr. Pike was ‘your employee’ and ‘you’re going to look very bad’ and there would be ‘consequences’. Mentzelopoulos advised Smith that she would not fire Mr. Pike, but after the discussion she contacted AHS leadership and advised them to speak to Mr. Pike about not tweeting while at work.”
Now, again, we have to remember that this has not been proved in court, and Mr. Smith, the former chief of staff to Premier Smith, to whom he is not related, has said he will be filing a statement of defence soon.
“MHCare Medical and Sam Mraiche have since filed a $6,000,000 defamation lawsuit against Nate Pike, among other defendants,” the statement of defence said in a footnote.
The statement of claim also says Ms. Mentzelopoulos was pressured “to terminate purported critics of the Government” employed by AHS, including one who had “liked” a tweet that annoyed the government.
Another example: “Later during the summer, Marshall Smith again spoke to Mentzelopoulos, this time about another twitter feed called ‘Hansard the Cat’ that was apparently critical of the Government. Smith outlined a number of steps, including private detectives, lawyers, and (apparently) hackers, that were being used to discover the identity of the person(s) posting under the ‘Hansard the Cat’ name.”
Unbelievable this, it seems to me if any member of the public wishes to make critical comments about this government, then they are best to protect themselves with a VPN network if they are resident in Alberta. This governments clearly knows no boundaries and is a clear and emergent danger to the citizens of Alberta. God help Albertans should there be an Alberta Provincial Police – who knows what malfeasance could ensue. This Premier is clearly ill trained for her position.
Yes, somebody will have to take the fall if there is any possibility for this scandal to calm down. But given the close connections between the parties it could also be like one domino that causes others to fall.
I agree the most likely fall gal is LaGrange, which first of all creates political problems as she appeals to some key UCP supporters. Secondly in an attempt to preserve her reputation she may implicate others closer to the Premier.
I suppose Mr. Smith could make a good fall guy, but he is already gone and he was closer to the Premier. Its hard enough to believe LaGrange went rogue here, it is even harder to believe one of Smith’s key aids did all of this without the Premier knowing.
Now Premier Smith claims she did not know about this scandal until she read about it in the news. This sounds good for her and is easy to say, but I wonder if she could say that as confidently under oath either in a public inquiry or in court in response to the former AHS CEOs lawsuit?
Thanks, Dave. I agree, Ms. Smith’s claim she didn’t know about this strains credulity. She is, after all, a known control freak. However, I suppose it wouldn’t be the first time a leader was not informed of unsavoury activities carried out on said leader’s behalf. I totally agree that it’s hard to believe Ms. LaGrange went rogue. She is smart, notwithstanding what is said about her, and obedient. I am confident she did what she was told and fully reported her activities. DJC
“I’m shocked that gambling is going on in this establishment” …
This gets messier and messier, as it unfolds. When there are people who do not care, this is the government you get. In the 1920s, and in the early 1930s, in Germany and in Austria, there was a very small number of people who were up to no good, and the population was ignorant, and did not care. Their apathy, complacency, and ignorance had devastating results.
Because the buffalo cookies have been flying fast and furious for the last few yrs, it’s hard to sort the old from the fresh.
—— Refresher—–
The Tyee : Aug 10 2023
” Marshall Smith and the recovery success that wasn’t ”
Smith left Baldy Hughes in March 2011. “The board and I have made a decision that I will be moving on and this is the time to do that, he said then. I like to end things in good times. This is a high time and I’ve decided, along with the board that this is the time for me to move on.
Four mths later the damning report was delivered to BC Housing., which had spent $3million to buy the property.
And 2 days after that , the BC government took over the centre…….
————–
Now, imho it seems that since Marshall Smith left, I believe some time in Oct(?) ; after a rather short tenure of another “recovery centre ” this time in Alberta, he seems to have left during high times (?) again. I remember the photo of him and Marlaina, from an article by DJC.
So no longer being employed by the UCP means what? That if allegedly he was involved ,well he’s gone , so problem solved.
It seems to be a too frequent occurrence with the UCP. One could certainly & easily start putting 2+2 together and end up with 6.
There’s so much s*** being spread around that there’s not enough long handled shovels to clean up the mess.
So when was Marlaina due back? Is she planning on stopping in Ottawa for the supposed rally, or having a few words with the boss, maybe get a copy of his new book about flags….though I somehow don’t think her ‘ don’t thread on me’ flag is in the book, I could be wrong.
It would be an injustice if Marlain-a-Lago finds an underling to throw under the bus, but I’m sure she’s looking for one and hoping that’s enough to save herself from any repercussions. If Stormy Danielle were to, heaven forbid, lose her cushy job because of this I’m sure she would land a well-paid sinecure like Kenney did.
Wouldn’t it be something if Alberta rose above banana republic status and actually prosecuted and punished those at the top who bear the most responsibility for this? One can dream.
I have questions. Can we get a start on following the money to those charter/ private schools during the crackdown on the public unions? How about those coal contracts? Does Rob Morgan also have warm fuzzy feelings about protecting Albertans from nasty lawsuits? If we get those investigations going now, we could have results, say, in September 2027? No?
Emily: These are all good questions. We now have to face the possibility that almost all business activities engaged in by the UCP Government are tainted by corruption. That is probably OK with a significant portion of Alberta voters, however, as long as people they hate (say, members of public sector unions) are being hurt. DJC
Thank you for writing another great column, David.
I am disturbed by the very last point you made, namely that money was spent on lawyers and private detectives to determine the identity of Hansard the Cat. Since the comment was made by Danielle Smith’s then Chief of Staff, it implies the money came out of the premier’s office, and I am wondering how much money our supposed expert money managers are spending to determine the identity of their critics.
Bob: I wasn’t aiming for an implication so much as a possibility that must be considered. Simply put, at this point we don’t know, although it is fair to say that it is unlikely any of these folks would have funded a private detective out of their own pocket. Section 2(1) of the Security Services and Investigator’s Act sets out the activities that can be legally performed by a private investigator in Alberta, and that can only be performed by a private investigator. Section 10 provides some interesting exemptions, including officers of the Legislature. I note that use of the term “private detective” by a private investigator is prohibited by the act, which seems like a killjoy move. “Hard boiled dick,” however, is not specifically prohibited. However, in the event the allegation is correct, and if an actual private investigator was used, there should be a record somewhere of who was paid how much for what. If there is no record, this suggests (but doesn’t prove) that someone was acting illegally. As for hackers, hacking is a vaguely defined term that encompasses legal and illegal activities. The assumption of most of us hearing that term, however, is that the activity described was illegal. If that were to be so, the question could be asked, How was the person who conducted these activities paid, and by whom, and for what?
Lawyers, private detectives/investigators, government lawyers….hmmm! Now why does this sound familiar?
As far as I remember John Carpay is still on Marlaina’s payroll isn’t he. Is he the one filing the “motion of defense ”
Does anyone know yet? or do we have to wait?
If ever there was a time for FOIP, this would be it. Good * thing the UCP changed/amended the laws.
* good for them, but bad for “all” the people of Alberta that they are supposed to represent.
Just like d’rump, she said she had a mandate from the people who put her in power, and again as with our neighbors ; buyer’s remorse is settling in ( for some) .
According to JD Vance in Brussels (?) today, “there’s a new sheriff in town ” .
And if that doesn’t wake people up, nothing will. And to prove his point, he then met with the leader of the ADF.
Meanwhile Skippy “Mr family values” man, made all his caucus come back to Ottawa, on Valentine’s Day. Sure hope nobody had dinner reservations planned. I wonder if the ‘5’ will be discussing with Jivani if he knows what was being discussed with their luncheon guest. Like with the UCP, it would be nice to see if there are any actual Progressive Conservatives left in the Con/reform party.
——————–
One small victory today, and I will gladly take it..
The new Fentanyl / Border “Commissioner” instead of ____
I’m not going to print that word. Hooray!! Big Thanks to whomever was listening. It’s too bad someone didn’t inform the CTV news anchor–sigh …
Randi-lee. Tsar. TSAR! We’re Canadians. We spell different. DJC
DJC— Good point…
Tsar is Slavic, Czar American, both from Latin for Caesar. Given the events taking place I would think Caligula is the one who is best being replicated/represented.
And with that in mind, d’rump said he was changing the tariff dates from April 1st to April 2nd, because he was “superstitious”.
I don’t suppose it had anything at all to do with him imposing tariffs on the whole world on
April FOOL’S day. ???
And given all that’s happening, is Marlaina going to be asking ” Et tu….from her caucus?
I wanted to read Ms. Mentzelopoulos’ statement of claim (linked below) to see if there might be a legitimate reason for the government to want to learn Hansard the Cat’s identity, say if he/she was leaking confidential information that made it clear he was a government employee trusted not to do so.
Nothing like that was mentioned, but in the relevant paragraph (27), Ms. Mentzelopoulos claimed Marshall Smith told her that he ‘would be taken care of for the rest of his life.’ This conversation allegedly took place in the summer of 2024.
On Oct 8, the Edmonton Journal reported that Marshall Smith would be retiring from his job as Danielle Smith’s Chief of Staff. This does leave me wondering if Mr. Smith departed because he is now being taken care of for the rest of his life.
https://www.scribd.com/document/827797277/Statement-of-Claim-Mentzelopoulos
Bob: Thanks for the link. I have a paper copy. My apologies for editing out a reference that we all should be able to discuss. However, as an independent publisher with a good knowledge of Canadian defamation law, including the costs of defending one’s self, I am going to err on the side of caution in all cases. These figures need to be discussed in public, but for now that discussion is going to have to be left to news organizations with deep pockets. The exceptions are when certain people are named in court documents that can be quoted. DJC
No worries, DJC. My computer skills aren’t the best; my original plan was to copy and paste the relevant part of Paragraph 27 into my comment, which I thought would make it lawsuit-proof, but for whatever reason, the webpage wouldn’t let me copy it. On the bright side, the intrigue you and I are sharing might motivate more people to read Ms. Mentzelopoulos’ Statement of Claim.
Reading the actual Statement of Claim made me realize it is possible the premier’s office did not hire the private investigator after all; it could have been He Who Shall Not Be Named.
Bob: He who MUST be obeyed. I think that is a credible line of consideration. DJC
The UCP doesn’t have to use or hire private contractors to surveil and target prolific citizens critical of them. That’s what they’re using Protective Services in the Ministry of Public Security and Mike Ellis for.
Bada bing, bada boom! They’re chasing the cats!
Yesterday I liked everything Hansard the Cat has posted. We are all Hansard the Cat. Who will win the (alleged) premier’s (alleged) game of cat and mouse? (Alleged) Spies or us? How long will this government be able to keep Stalin?
“Hackers”, “detectives”, “lawyers”! Just another example of the total incompetence of this United Corrupt Party led by the bribe accepting Premier Danielle Smith, who finds it impossible to tell the truth. Critical of this government? You bet your sweet a… I am, and have been saying so on all my Social media sites for some time.
Not that many years ago, I was feeling quite upbeat about the evolution of humanity, our growth in acceptance and understanding about one another and our differences…but
suddenly, all politics these days, seems to be drafts for future movies! The only things missing from this draft is the love interest and a body. Hard to believe all of this sort of thing is what we’re dealing with in 2025.
You’re right David, about this being so unbelievable it sounds like it should be in the fiction section of a bookstore.
But where? The Mystery section? SciFi? Espionage? Fantasy?
The Premier’s right-hand man talking about tracking AHS employees through social media via detectives and hackers? Where do they hide that in the health care budget? Under KGB? If the author isn’t forthright pretty quickly do we have to skip to the end of the book, or fill in the plot ourselves?
When Mentzelopolous wouldn’t be intimated and they were getting queasy about what she might do did said-COS Smith skip town because the other Smith was worried he might pull a Kremlin-like move with radiation poisoning? Mmm, no. According to his bio he was a drug addict on the streets of Vancouver for four years- maybe there are other “methods” in his repertoire. Nope, radiation poisoning doesn’t quite fit here. Cement high-heels? “Accidental” overdose? A trip over the High Level Bridge? No. The “Sky Palace”? That’s better, yeah.
And now, an intrepid news journalist says a former Chief of Police soon-to-be-head of the Civil Service or something was also a “Skybox Friend” of one of the main characters, the mysterious wealthy influencer … Are there too many “Sky” places in this story? Probably. But don’t forget this is supposed to take place in a flat-earth bald-ass-prairie town so anything taller than a grain stook is in the “Sky”.
Where was I? Oh, yes. As we come to the climax of the story, in the rising action there is a low rumbling, the sound of wheels in the distance. A bus. A BIG bus …
Who is it coming for? Whom, rather. One of them? Some? All of the main characters? Will this be made into a movie? A Series?
All I know is, I’ve got to go buy some more popcorn.
Betts: True Crime, maybe. DJC
It is beginning to sound more like a Stephen King novel. All that is missing is a carnival and creepy side show.
At least they are consistent in “veiled” and not so “veiled” intimidation and threats, credit due
The horses are circling the wagon and you won’t like it ,
Is another form of intimidation lingo
Tara: Ah yes. Good point. Like being taken to the train station, I suppose. DJC
It’s not hard to understand why my B.C. relatives consider us to be the laughing stock of Canada. They have for years. While they had no problem kicking out politicians for not listening to them our voting conservative only attitude and ignoring what these Reformers were doing to us was just plain stupid. They know there is nothing Conservative about these fools who are treating us like morons and we keep letting them.
Her magisterial dullness seems to be confused, conflicted and mixed up on multiple levels, but that is what happens when it comes time to circle the political wagons in certain democratic arrangements that only give lip service to bedrock principles such as accountability and transparency. Scrutiny should be both endorsed and welcomed and not subject to the legal chill of political zealots, petty tyrants, and their patrons.
Why these things need to be constantly pointed out and why certain individuals need to be constantly reminded of their importance is somewhat puzzling given the lip service and energy used to advocate and enshrine those same principles, i.e., transparency and accountability.
What does the foregoing supposedly even mean as an applied practice in the Province of Alberta? Let’s find out:
“Public sector whistleblower protection Creates a safe avenue for public servants to speak out about wrongdoings or make complaints of reprisal.”
“The Government of Alberta supports a culture within the public sector that encourages employees and management to report significant and serious matters they believe may be unlawful, dangerous or harmful to the public interest. This culture is critical to ensuring public sector employees maintain the highest possible standards of honesty, openness, and accountability.”
https://www.alberta.ca/public-sector-whistleblower-protection
Either the words and the legislation have real world meaning, or the words and the legislation are simply meaningless rhetorical political farce.
My feeling is that there is a great deal more interesting info to come out.
Both from the lawsuit and from leaks within AHS and the Government.
I suspect that this is a huge worry for the UCP, the Premier, and the Health Minister. They will need to speak very carefully from carefully prepared texts. And the media will be parsing those statement for what is not said.
I’m not opting that all the evidence will ever be aired in the public sphere. That can only happen if the lawsuit actually goes to trial, which I doubt will happen. In fact, I saw a statistic that over 90% of wrongful dismissal actions are settled out of court. Instead there will likely be an out-of-court settlement and an NDA.
You’re certainly right about this, Jerry. My bet is that the government settles for the full $1.7 million claimed with a non-disclosure agreement, after which the government will lie outright or imply that the settlement was much lower. I think it is fair to say that if the action is settled with an NDA, we can assume that all of Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s allegations are true. DJC
“A horse is a horse, of course, of course.”
O, for an ‘edit’ button in comments here … my first sentence should have read I wasn’t “optimistic”, not “opting”, which makes no sense. Oh, well, I think our host got my point regardless.
It would seem that Cabinet solidarity is going by the wayside.
Minister Guthrie appears the first to recommend his Cabinet colleagues an immediate course of action. The Premier is of course ignoring.
I guess his card is marked. He will be for the high jump in the next Smith Cabinet shuffle. Perhaps Minister of Lavatory Tissue.
Chickens! Roosting!
“A UCP cabinet minister is urging the premier to remove Health Minister Adriana LaGrange from her post while investigations continue into serious allegations a fired Alberta Health Services CEO has made about major health contracts, CBC News has learned.
Infrastructure Minister Peter Guthrie sent a memo Thursday to his cabinet colleague”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/pete-guthrie-cabinet-minister-adriana-lagrange-out-1.7459765
UCP leaders do all manner of stupid things, from feuding with a cartoon Bigfoot to going on a witch hunt against an imaginary cat. Somehow Peter Guthrie has shown up in both sagas.
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/03/22/opinion/jason-kenney-mickey-mouse-war-netflix-cartoon-bigfoot
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/alberta-cabinet-minister-health-minister-lagrange-removed-scandal
Smith would do well to reflect on the Hunsperger lake of fire comment.
Her delay in addressing issue this cost her Wildrose Party a great deal. At some point the Minister of Health will have to go. Better to do it now and take some credit vs being forced into it and taking an ever increasing amount of criticism.
Sounds like the bus is being backed up to run over Minister Sleepy.
Considering her tendency to be slavishly obedient in destroying any ministry she leads, there’s no doubt that Queen Danielle is going to throw Adriana LaGrange and hope that cleans up the mess.
Amatuers.
male Smith certainly is a comedy routine all on his own. Private detectives, lawyers, perhaps hackers? Not bright. These are the type of things you do and do not ever discuss with anyone. Better yet you don’t do anything like that. It makes for a much bigger mess. Don’t some of these people know there are people like you who will print something about it? Oh, well some aren’t’ that good at things.
What are the chances of Premier Smith ignoring all of this and trying to ride it out?
Marshall Smith’s involvement in awarding lucrative contracts to his inner circle for Recovery Alberta contracts and Recovery Coaching certification extends beyond the AHS scandal and warrants a thorough investigation.
https://drugdatadecoded.ca/marshall-smith-allegations-should-prompt-expanded-procurement-investigation-2/
https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2023/08/10/Marshall-Smith-Recovery-Success/
https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2024/10/09/Alberta-Drug-Czar-Marshall-Smith-Exits/
Now he is working with Rubicon Strategy in the political climate: https://rubiconstrategy.com/#about