Alberta premier pledges to 'clean' up any wrongdoing amid ongoing health services probe
CBC
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she has seen no evidence of wrongdoing at Alberta Health Services amid allegations of conflicts of interest within the provincial health authority.
Speaking from Washington Wednesday, Smith told reporters she supports an investigation by Alberta's auditor general into how contracts are procured and awarded by AHS.
Smith said she first learned of the allegations when a report was published last week in The Globe and Mail.
Smith said she continues to have confidence in Alberta's health minister, Adriana LaGrange, and looks forward to seeing the investigation completed.
"We've been asking for eight months for any — as I understand it from my health minister — for any indication of wrongdoing," Smith said.
"We've not seen any. So I think we have to see if there's any wrongdoing first, and if there is, then we have to clean it up."
Alberta's auditor general, Doug Wylie, has launched an investigation into procurement and contracting processes within the province's health authority to address "concerns or allegations related to contracting and potential conflicts of interest."
Wylie announced the review last week after AHS's fired CEO alleged there was political interference within the agency.
The probe began days before The Globe and Mail reported on a letter from the lawyer of Athana Mentzelopoulos, who was fired as AHS's chief executive officer one year into a four-year term.
Mentzelopoulos said she had been dismissed days before she was scheduled to meet with the auditor general to discuss her own investigation into procurement contracts and deals for private surgical facilities.
In the letter, Mentzelopoulos said she faced pressure and interference from government officials.
Mentzelopoulos also claimed that the province pressured her to renew surgical contracts.
CBC News has read the letter that Mentzelopoulos sent to AHS and verified its contents. Mentzelopoulos has not commented on her claims.
Smith has described the allegations as troubling and has said she will ask Wylie's office to expedite the review.
Montreal-area school boards have already begun announcing closures on the eve of one of the biggest winter storms of the season.
The former owner of a Winnipeg bagel shop apologized for the role he played in a high-level drug operation in court on Wednesday, before being taken into custody to begin serving a prison sentence of more than four years.
After British Columbia Premier David Eby and fellow premiers emerged from a White House meeting with advisers to U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday, he wanted to make something clear — Canada would not become the 51st state.
Summerside business owners and facility managers say disturbances caused by the city's power issues are causing frustration in the community.
Canada's newly appointed fentanyl czar says his goal is to bring the already low percentage of the deadly opioid smuggled south into the United States down to zero.
Yukon has set the cap on rent increases this year at two per cent.
The NDP's national campaign director has sent a memo to all candidates and campaign staff warning them to be prepared for a snap federal election as early as March 10.
The former CEO of Alberta Health Services has filed a $1.7-million wrongful dismissal lawsuit against AHS and the province, claiming she was fired because she'd launched an investigation and forensic audit into various contracts and was reassessing deals she had concluded were overpriced with private surgical companies she said had links to government officials.
The former Kamloops Indian Residential School, where, in 2021, Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc shared that preliminary findings from a ground-penetrating radar survey had found some 200 potential unmarked graves on the institution's grounds, has been designated as a national historic site.
Commuters could see a messy drive home Wednesday evening, with heavy snow expected to hit much of southern Ontario — including the Greater Toronto Area.
P.E.I. Minister of Land Steven Myers has ordered the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission to launch a new investigation looking at the land holdings of Buddhist organizations in the province.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she has seen no evidence of wrongdoing at Alberta Health Services amid allegations of conflicts of interest within the provincial health authority.
If you were looking for signs of an early spring, well, look elsewhere.