Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press

An Alberta company swept up in allegations of government corruption says it’s being further harmed by the suppression of a report it believes could clear the name of its CEO.

Medical supply company MHCare Medical is calling on the provincial government to release an audit initiated by Alberta’s former head of health services into certain health contracts.

Alberta's auditor general has been granted his request for nearly $1 million in extra funding to dig deeper into allegations of corruption in private health care contracts.

Auditor general Doug Wylie says the scope and complexity of the probe means his office needs to hire additional help and cover legal costs.

Members from both the United Conservative Party government and Opposition NDP who sit on the legislature committee that approved the request say Wylie is doing important work.

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi is looking to finally win a seat in the legislature after a year of sitting on the sidelines.

Related Stories:

• Alberta NDP Leader Nenshi wins seat in one of three byelections

Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi is looking to finally win a seat in the legislature after a year of sitting on the sidelines.

He's running in one of three provincial byelections today as a candidate in Edmonton-Strathcona, where his predecessor Rachel Notley last won 80 per cent of the vote.

In Edmonton-Ellerslie, NDP candidate Gurtej Singh Brar could solidify the opposition party's hold on the city, but United Conservative Party candidate Naresh Bhardwaj is hoping to make an inroad.

The organization representing Alberta doctors is joining health-care worker unions in raising concerns over Premier Danielle Smith’s decision to charge most Albertans for a COVID-19 vaccination this fall.

Dr. Shelley Duggan, president of the Alberta Medical Association, says the policy leaves behind many seniors and health-care workers, and doesn’t even mention pregnant individuals, First Nations, Inuit, Métis or members of other racialized groups.

She says creating barriers to vaccination for the most high-need groups is counterproductive.

A union representing 30,000 health-care workers in Alberta is calling on Premier Danielle Smith's government to reverse course and provide free COVID-19 vaccines to all front-line workers and any other Albertan who wants the shot.

The Health Sciences Association of Alberta says that is the best way to protect patients, reduce hospitalizations, and keep the health-care system strong.

Smith says the aim of the new policy, announced last week, is to prevent wastage, recover costs, and protect those who need it the most by giving them the COVID shot for free.

A former health-care agency leader is asking a judge to deliver a quick decision on her wrongful dismissal lawsuit against the Alberta government, but the province says it will push back.

Athana Mentzelopoulos, the former CEO of Alberta Health Services, or AHS, has applied for a summary judgment on the legality of her January firing, which would avoid sending the case to trial.

The union representing Alberta teachers says members have voted 95 per cent in favour of strike action and they could hit the picket lines in the next four months.

Alberta Teachers' Association president Jason Schilling says teachers are sending a message that they are united and will no longer prop up an underfunded public education system.

Finance Minister Nate Horner says a mediator's recommendation rejected by teachers included the same 12 per cent pay increase over four years that has already been accepted by other unions.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is winning applause but also facing pointed questions from party members ahead of three byelections.

Smith, in her role as United Conservative leader, appeared at a town hall meeting attended by about 300 in Three Hills Monday.

She came with Tara Sawyer, who is running under the party banner in the June 23 byelection in the area.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's former chief of staff is suing the fired CEO of the province's front-line health agency and the newspaper that first reported allegations of corruption in multimillion-dollar health contracts.

Marshall Smith has filed a statement of claim alleging defamation against former Alberta Health Services head Athana Mentzelopoulos, the Globe and Mail, and an unidentified person believed to be a former AHS board member.