Alberta’s Smith says not contacted by RCMP amid police searches during healthcare contract probe

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s office says she’s not been contacted by the RCMP as Mounties execute search warrants amid a probe into allegations of misconduct in multimillion-dollar government health contracts.Smith’s office made the comments Thursday as Mounties were seen in Edmonton outside the offices of MHCare Medical Corp., the medical supply company headed up by businessman Sam Mraiche that is caught up in the controversy.RCMP confirmed they had executed “multiple search warrants” but declined to give details.The issue became public over a year ago when a former high-level provincial health executive alleged in a lawsuit there had been political pressure around lucrative deals for private surgical providers and around contracts, including those with MHCare. Mraiche, MHCare and Smith have denied any wrongdoing and none of the lawsuit allegations have been proven in court. The controversy has been the subject of inquiries by a government-appointed judge, the auditor general and the RCMP.In question period Thursday, Smith pointed to a recent government-commissioned report by former Manitoba Justice Raymond Wyant, which found no government official engaged in wrongdoing.Smith focused the issue on Alberta Health Services, or AHS, the former agency responsible for front-line care.“This is an AHS matter looking at AHS personnel, and we would ask for everyone to be patient while the RCMP does its work and while the auditor general finishes its work.”She said she “cannot and will not” comment on an ongoing police matter, and urged patience while the RCMP and auditor general complete their investigations into the matter.Wyant’s investigation was limited, as the former judge was not able to subpoena witnesses or take testimony under oath.“When I find that there was no wrongful interference by any government official in the matters concerning this report, that only means that I found no evidence of such, but I am not in a position to make a final and absolute determination,” he wrote.Auditor general Doug Wylie’s term is set to expire on April 28.His spokesperson, Cheryl Schneider, said in a statement Wylie is disappointed he will not be able to complete his report into health-care contract procurement before then, but said his office has a capable team in place to finish the work.Justice Minister Mickey Amery told reporters the auditor general operates independently, but the government expects when the transition happens, ongoing investigations will continue.Amery said the RCMP has not approached him, and that he was unaware of other cabinet members who might have been contacted. He added that neither the government nor his ministry direct independent investigations underway.“We’ll continue to comply fully with any and all investigations,” he said.Meanwhile, Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi renewed his calls for the government to call a full public inquiry, and suggested the premier really wants the scandal to go away.“It’s not going away. It is the biggest government scandal in Alberta history,” he said in the legislature.Speaking to reporters, Nenshi called on Amery to step down, and again drew attention to the justice minister’s familial relationship, through marriage, to Mraiche.“You don’t see a dozen RCMP officers now conducting, for the third day in a row, a raid on someone’s offices, unless there’s something there,” he said.The health executive who launched the lawsuit is the former CEO of AHS, Athana Mentzelopoulos.She seeks $1.7 million from the government and AHS in the ongoing wrongful dismissal suit. The government and AHS allege Mentzelopoulos was fired because she was failing in her job and working to stop mandated health reform.MHCare and Mraiche are not party to the lawsuit.Mraiche’s lawyer Scott Hutchison said in a statement Thursday that his client and the company have consistently maintained that they have not engaged in any improper conduct.“That remains the case and they are confident that any fair and objective investigation will reach that conclusion,” the statement said.

Alberta’s Smith says not contacted by RCMP amid police searches during healthcare contract probe

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