Bell: Danielle Smith’s peeps push back on AHS, RCMP not investigating yet​on February 12, 2025 at 1:56 am

On Tuesday, the Danielle Smith UCP government goes on offence.

They push back on allegations of cronyism and corruption.

We will get to that in a minute.

Talked to the RCMP on Tuesday.

Friendly folks. Happy to chat. Most helpful.

As of now, the Mounties are announcing absolutely nothing.

The RCMP are still reviewing the allegations of dubious doling out of dough for contracts in the health-care system.

The file is with the Criminal Operations Unit.

The RCMP don’t know when they will decide on whether or not they proceed with an investigation.

What do we know so far.

Athana Mentzelopoulos, the boss at Alberta Health Services, was investigating how contracts were being handed out to publicly-funded private surgical facilities, special deals which it is alleged could net hundreds of millions in profits.

It is alleged she told the AHS board about what she found and they suggested she go to the RCMP.

Two days before the AHS boss was to meet the province’s financial watchdog, the auditor general, she was punted.

So goes the allegation.

The lawyer for the now-turfed AHS boss wrote a lengthy letter alleging many things, including how Smith government officials, including the premier’s right-hand man Marshall Smith, interfered with contracts and went to bat for certain private companies.

The letter alleges the AHS boss refused contracts with a higher price tag and significantly increased costs.

The letter also alleges Smith’s health minister Adriana LaGrange knew about the investigation.

Last month, the AHS board was also shown the door.

The health minister took away the power to negotiate contracts from AHS and put it into the hands of the government’s health department.

All files at AHS were to be handed over to the health department, including anything to do with the investigation conducted by the now-unemployed AHS boss.

Health Minister LaGrange fires back by way of statement.

This statement stuff is a real pain in the butt.

Anyway, Smith is in Washington trying to get U.S. President Donald Trump to give Canada a break on tariffs, no doubt happy a Canadian fentanyl czar has been appointed.

Back on the home front, LaGrange’s health department says the changes to AHS leadership has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with any probe into taxpayer-bankrolled contracts for private surgical facilities.