Braid: Contract scandal has ministers hunting for trouble across Alberta government​on February 21, 2025 at 11:38 pm

Alberta government ministers are as jumpy as scalded cats, fearful that the health contract scandal has spilled over to their departments.

On Friday, it did. Investigative reporter Charles Rusnell revealed that last year, a company owned by businessman Sam Mraiche bought a building for $1.7 million cash in May, and sold it to the government for $2 million in August.

Alberta Infrastructure wanted the Edmonton property to secure parking for operations in a nearby building.

The infrastructure minister is Peter Guthrie. Last week, he told cabinet that Adriana LaGrange should leave her post as health minister while allegations of political meddling with contracts are investigated.

The cases are very different. Unlike LaGrange, Guthrie didn’t fire anyone who was investigating. He immediately turned the matter over to the auditor general when he learned of Rusnell’s finding.

There’s nothing illegal about the Edmonton purchase, although the timing was certainly advantageous and $300,000 is one big jump in value over three months.

Until this came out, the crux of the controversy was allegations of high-level political interference in contracts for private surgery companies, as well as the contract for a Tylenol substitute.

It all revolved around the premier’s office, Alberta Health, and contracts for the medication and private surgeries.

Now, every minister whose department spends big money wonders if they’ll be next to find they’re doing business with Mraiche’s interests.

Hundreds of contracts are negotiated every year in various departments by officials well below the level of minister and deputy minister.

Alert to further danger, Guthrie sent a formal order to his department on Wednesday: “I am directing department officials to immediately engage an independent audit firm to investigate the circumstances surrounding this sale and any other building or land purchases that would be considered abnormal over the last two years.”

Smart ministers will do similar searches for trouble in every department that contracts out big spending.

There’s already one striking sign of worry in another area — Mental Health and Addictions.

In her wrongful dismissal claim against the government, former AHS boss Athana Mentzelopoulos said she “spoke with the deputy minister of Mental Health and Addictions who told her that his minister, the Honourable Dan Williams, was ‘very concerned’ about the AHS internal investigations and the forensic audit, including the investigation of ‘our good friend JP.’ ”