Alberta minister Peter Guthrie resigns over Danielle Smith’s handling of AHS allegations
Carrie Tait
Alana Smith
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[url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-minister-resignation-peter-guthrie-ahs/[/url]
An Alberta cabinet minister has resigned in protest of Premier Danielle Smith’s handling of allegations that government officials pressed the provincial health authority to make deals favouring private businesses, deepening the controversy over the contracting and procurement affair.
Peter Guthrie, the first MLA to endorse Ms. Smith in her 2022 bid for the leadership of the United Conservative Party, stepped down as Infrastructure Minister at the start of Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.
No other ministers or UCP caucus members have publicly criticized the government’s management of the controversy.
Mr. Guthrie said he resigned because he is uncomfortable with the lack of urgency Ms. Smith and his cabinet colleagues have displayed since The Globe and Mail first reported allegations now contained in a lawsuit, of improper contracting and procurement practices at Alberta Health Services and the Health Ministry.
“I could not sit at that table and look these guys in the eye,” Mr. Guthrie said in an interview after he left the cabinet meeting early. “This was about doing the right thing.”
Mr. Guthrie plans to sit in the legislature as a member of the UCP caucus. A handful of ministers, speaking to reporters Tuesday afternoon, would not say whether he would be allowed to remain in caucus. The UCP caucus is scheduled to meet Wednesday morning.
The Premier, in a statement, pushed back against Mr. Guthrie’s assertion that the government does not share his concerns over the allegations.
“We have pledged our government’s full cooperation and support to the Auditor-General to expedite his review so we can have answers as soon as possible,” she said. “I have also directed our senior civil service to retain a highly credible third party with a strong legal background capable of investigating this matter independently of government.”
AHS’s former chief executive Athana Mentzelopoulos alleges the Premier’s then-chief of staff, Marshall Smith, is among the government officials who put pressure on her to sign deals, with inflated rates, for private surgical facilities. She is suing AHS and Health Minister Adriana LaGrange for $1.7-million for wrongful dismissal.
Ms. Mentzelopoulos alleges ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-ousted-health-services-ceo-amid-probe-into-medical-contracts/[/url]) she launched internal investigations into contracts and procurement practices for chartered surgical facilities and MHCare Medical, the firm that facilitated a troubled $70-million deal to import children’s medication from Turkey. The Globe in July reported that MHCare’s owner, Sam Mraiche, provided ministers and members of Ms. Smith’s staff with luxury tickets to Edmonton Oilers games.
None of the allegations have been tested in court. Ms. LaGrange has said she will file a statement of defence.
Jessie Bakker, a lawyer representing Mr. Mraiche and MHCare, has previously said her clients have no comment, other than to state insinuations of wrongdoing on the part of MHCare or Mr. Mraiche are unwarranted and unjustified.
Ms. Smith campaigned on a plan to break apart AHS, which she argues accumulated too much power, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her government has twice removed the entire board of AHS, and installed various leaders at the top of the organization.
Alberta ousted health services CEO amid probe into medical contracts, document alleges ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-ousted-health-services-ceo-amid-probe-into-medical-contracts/[/url])
MLAs on Tuesday returned to the legislature for the first time since Dec. 4. Mr. Guthrie was not among them.
The NDP tied all of its questions to allegations of problems at AHS and Alberta Health.
“Either the Premier had no idea what her chief of staff, her minister and high-level public officials are doing, or this looks like a cover-up,” Christina Gray, the NDP House Leader, said during Question Period.
Ms. Smith batted away questions about when she first learned of the alleged interference and whether she was involved in Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s firing.
“If there is a problem with procurement, it is a problem internal to AHS,” Ms. Smith said.
She added: “We have to look into whether or not AHS was trying to frustrate government policy by standing in the way of clear direction to contract out to chartered surgical facilities or if there was something wrong with the procurement.”
The Health Minister again denied wrongdoing and pushed back against calls for her to step down while investigations unfold. Ms. LaGrange said the government is committed to uncovering any issues at the health authority.
“AHS is a big black box where nobody has shone a light for a very, very long time,” she said.
House Speaker Nathan Cooper, during Question Period, intervened on a question regarding cabinet ministers accepting hockey tickets from MHCare or Mr. Mraiche, noting the issue has been referred to the Ethics Commissioner.
Alberta surgical companies with contracts under scrutiny linked to firm that imported children’s pain meds ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-surgical-companies-with-contracts-under-scrutiny-linked-to/[/url])
Mr. Smith, no relation to the Premier, left government in October. In a statement Tuesday, he said procurement is executed by the public service, not political staff.
“There are very strict policies in place that prevent political involvement in these processes,” he said in a statement to The Globe. “I am eager to participate in review by the Auditor-General and the internal investigation.”
Mr. Guthrie has been the most vocal critic of the government’s response to the allegations. His now-former department was swept into the controversy last week after The Tyee reported Mr. Mraiche, last spring, purchased a piece of land in Edmonton for $1.7-million and sold it to the Infrastructure Department for $2-million three months later.
Mr. Guthrie, in an interview, said the government had been leasing the property and bid on it when it became available. Another buyer scooped it up and when it became available a second time months later, the government purchased the property. Such transactions, he said, do not need his approval and he was unaware of the deal until last week.
He said he ordered an independent audit of the transaction and other building or land deals that would be considered “abnormal” over the last two years. The review is not designed to focus on companies associated with Mr. Mraiche, he noted, but instead scour for possible flips or other anomalies.
Mr. Guthrie, who is among the ministers who attended hockey games thanks to MHCare, said his department notified the Auditor-General of the Mraiche transaction.
The Globe last week revealed Mr. Mraiche holds stakes in the two private surgical facilities that were negotiating rates with AHS last year. Some of the physicians behind Alberta Surgical Group, which was also negotiating a contract extension last year, are also co-owners, according to documents.
ASG previously stated it did nothing wrong ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-surgical-group-says-it-did-nothing-wrong-regarding-health/[/url]). The other investors in the proposed CSFs did not acknowledge requests for comment.
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Carrie Tait
Alana Smith
?
[url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-minister-resignation-peter-guthrie-ahs/[/url]
An Alberta cabinet minister has resigned in protest of Premier Danielle Smith’s handling of allegations that government officials pressed the provincial health authority to make deals favouring private businesses, deepening the controversy over the contracting and procurement affair.
Peter Guthrie, the first MLA to endorse Ms. Smith in her 2022 bid for the leadership of the United Conservative Party, stepped down as Infrastructure Minister at the start of Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.
No other ministers or UCP caucus members have publicly criticized the government’s management of the controversy.
Mr. Guthrie said he resigned because he is uncomfortable with the lack of urgency Ms. Smith and his cabinet colleagues have displayed since The Globe and Mail first reported allegations now contained in a lawsuit, of improper contracting and procurement practices at Alberta Health Services and the Health Ministry.
“I could not sit at that table and look these guys in the eye,” Mr. Guthrie said in an interview after he left the cabinet meeting early. “This was about doing the right thing.”
Mr. Guthrie plans to sit in the legislature as a member of the UCP caucus. A handful of ministers, speaking to reporters Tuesday afternoon, would not say whether he would be allowed to remain in caucus. The UCP caucus is scheduled to meet Wednesday morning.
The Premier, in a statement, pushed back against Mr. Guthrie’s assertion that the government does not share his concerns over the allegations.
“We have pledged our government’s full cooperation and support to the Auditor-General to expedite his review so we can have answers as soon as possible,” she said. “I have also directed our senior civil service to retain a highly credible third party with a strong legal background capable of investigating this matter independently of government.”
AHS’s former chief executive Athana Mentzelopoulos alleges the Premier’s then-chief of staff, Marshall Smith, is among the government officials who put pressure on her to sign deals, with inflated rates, for private surgical facilities. She is suing AHS and Health Minister Adriana LaGrange for $1.7-million for wrongful dismissal.
Ms. Mentzelopoulos alleges ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-ousted-health-services-ceo-amid-probe-into-medical-contracts/[/url]) she launched internal investigations into contracts and procurement practices for chartered surgical facilities and MHCare Medical, the firm that facilitated a troubled $70-million deal to import children’s medication from Turkey. The Globe in July reported that MHCare’s owner, Sam Mraiche, provided ministers and members of Ms. Smith’s staff with luxury tickets to Edmonton Oilers games.
None of the allegations have been tested in court. Ms. LaGrange has said she will file a statement of defence.
Jessie Bakker, a lawyer representing Mr. Mraiche and MHCare, has previously said her clients have no comment, other than to state insinuations of wrongdoing on the part of MHCare or Mr. Mraiche are unwarranted and unjustified.
Ms. Smith campaigned on a plan to break apart AHS, which she argues accumulated too much power, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her government has twice removed the entire board of AHS, and installed various leaders at the top of the organization.
Alberta ousted health services CEO amid probe into medical contracts, document alleges ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-ousted-health-services-ceo-amid-probe-into-medical-contracts/[/url])
MLAs on Tuesday returned to the legislature for the first time since Dec. 4. Mr. Guthrie was not among them.
The NDP tied all of its questions to allegations of problems at AHS and Alberta Health.
“Either the Premier had no idea what her chief of staff, her minister and high-level public officials are doing, or this looks like a cover-up,” Christina Gray, the NDP House Leader, said during Question Period.
Ms. Smith batted away questions about when she first learned of the alleged interference and whether she was involved in Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s firing.
“If there is a problem with procurement, it is a problem internal to AHS,” Ms. Smith said.
She added: “We have to look into whether or not AHS was trying to frustrate government policy by standing in the way of clear direction to contract out to chartered surgical facilities or if there was something wrong with the procurement.”
The Health Minister again denied wrongdoing and pushed back against calls for her to step down while investigations unfold. Ms. LaGrange said the government is committed to uncovering any issues at the health authority.
“AHS is a big black box where nobody has shone a light for a very, very long time,” she said.
House Speaker Nathan Cooper, during Question Period, intervened on a question regarding cabinet ministers accepting hockey tickets from MHCare or Mr. Mraiche, noting the issue has been referred to the Ethics Commissioner.
Alberta surgical companies with contracts under scrutiny linked to firm that imported children’s pain meds ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-surgical-companies-with-contracts-under-scrutiny-linked-to/[/url])
Mr. Smith, no relation to the Premier, left government in October. In a statement Tuesday, he said procurement is executed by the public service, not political staff.
“There are very strict policies in place that prevent political involvement in these processes,” he said in a statement to The Globe. “I am eager to participate in review by the Auditor-General and the internal investigation.”
Mr. Guthrie has been the most vocal critic of the government’s response to the allegations. His now-former department was swept into the controversy last week after The Tyee reported Mr. Mraiche, last spring, purchased a piece of land in Edmonton for $1.7-million and sold it to the Infrastructure Department for $2-million three months later.
Mr. Guthrie, in an interview, said the government had been leasing the property and bid on it when it became available. Another buyer scooped it up and when it became available a second time months later, the government purchased the property. Such transactions, he said, do not need his approval and he was unaware of the deal until last week.
He said he ordered an independent audit of the transaction and other building or land deals that would be considered “abnormal” over the last two years. The review is not designed to focus on companies associated with Mr. Mraiche, he noted, but instead scour for possible flips or other anomalies.
Mr. Guthrie, who is among the ministers who attended hockey games thanks to MHCare, said his department notified the Auditor-General of the Mraiche transaction.
The Globe last week revealed Mr. Mraiche holds stakes in the two private surgical facilities that were negotiating rates with AHS last year. Some of the physicians behind Alberta Surgical Group, which was also negotiating a contract extension last year, are also co-owners, according to documents.
ASG previously stated it did nothing wrong ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-surgical-group-says-it-did-nothing-wrong-regarding-health/[/url]). The other investors in the proposed CSFs did not acknowledge requests for comment.
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