Alberta premier defends her government amid corruption allegations

The premier of Alberta made her first public comments on the political interference scandal surrounding her government on Wednesday when she spoke with reporters in Washington.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she still has confidence in Health Minister Adriana LaGrange despite allegations involving political interference and conflict of interest in the awarding of contracts by Alberta Health Services (AHS).

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday morning during a trip to Washington, D.C., with Canada’s premiers, Smith said she first became aware of the allegations against her office and the health minister when she saw reports in the media.

The allegations were outlined in a letter sent by the lawyer of former AHS CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos, as reported first by the Globe and Mail.

It alleges AHS was pressured to approve private contracts and that the former CEO was fired two days before a meeting with the auditor general to discuss her concerns about private surgery facilities and procurement contracts.

The allegations are being investigated by the province’s auditor general.

“We’re interested in hearing what the auditor general has to say,” said Smith when asked about the scandal during a news conference.

“We’ve already set up a shared file so that they can get all the documents that we have to see if there is any wrongdoing. If there’s wrongdoing, we’d like to get to the bottom of it. And if there isn’t, we need to find out why AHS is standing in the way of our surgical site,” added Smith.

In the letter, obtained by the Globe and Mail, Mentzelopoulos alleges that throughout 2024 she was pressured by various provincial officials, including Marshall Smith, then the premier’s chief of staff, to sign off on contracts for private surgical facilities despite concerns over how much was being paid and who was benefiting.