Alberta fires back in wrongful dismissal suit, says ex-health boss was incompetent
Alberta's health minister has filed papers in court to formally reject allegations from a former health leader who says she was fired for investigating sweetheart deals, collusion and high-level political arm-twisting.
Adriana LaGrange, in a statement of defence filed Thursday, says Athana Mentzelopoulos was not let go in January from her job as the head of Alberta Health Services for investigating corruption.
Alberta cabinet minister Peter Guthrie quits post, citing concerns over procurement
One of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s cabinet ministers has quit his post, saying he has broad concerns over how procurement contracts are being signed across government.
Peter Guthrie announced Tuesday he was quitting the infrastructure portfolio.
It came on the first day of the spring sitting of the legislature as Smith and her United Conservative Party government grapple with an ongoing scandal surrounding allegations of high-level arm-twisting and favouritism in multimillion-dollar health contracts.
Alberta surgical company's fees double public costs, according to AHS documents
A private surgical company at the heart of allegations the Alberta government interfered to secure overpriced medical contracts was billing taxpayers more than twice as much per procedure than it would cost in a public hospital, according to Alberta Health Services documents.
An internal chart included in an email sent by the former head of Alberta Health Services to a Health Ministry bureaucrat, obtained by The Canadian Press, indicates estimates for hip replacements in Edmonton at the public health agency's hospitals was just over $4,000 as of last fall.
Alberta Premier Smith's blame on health agency chilling: emergency doctor
The former head of the Alberta Medical Association says Premier Danielle Smith's latest finger pointing at the province's front-line health agency has created a "draconian" chill among workers.
Dr. Paul Parks, an emergency physician, says he's heard from scores of health workers across Alberta who felt intimidated by the premier's harsh critique this week of Alberta Health Services.
Former health agency CEO suing Alberta government, alleges coverup
The former head of Alberta's front-line health authority is suing the province and health minister alleging she was fired for looking into high-level government interference and overpays on multimillion-dollar contracts.
Athana Mentzelopoulos, the former CEO of Alberta Health Services, or AHS, also accuses Health Minister Adriana LaGrange of twice trying to shut down an investigation into questionable deals and conflicts of interest before engineering what she describes as her illegal dismissal last month.