Premier Smith directing AB GOV to engage in anti-competitive practices by Selectively Refusing to deal further with businesses in the renewables industry, and by Tying the installation of renewable power generation to the installation of natural gas power generation.

UCP have introduced vulnerability to utility companies and other businesses who stand to benefit directly or indirectly from this anti-competitive practice as I have no doubt renewable power companies are exploring all their options.

#EthicalFading 🧵

- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 87

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/danielle-smith-wind-and-solar-moratorium-reasoning-1.6929617

When the UCP are found interfering with critical GOV bodies and other branches of GOV, and the decisions they make, they are costing all of us.

ABs have less confidence that decisions are made in their best interest or if it's to voice discontent about a traffic ticket, or if it's to float the idea of a sale of private property, or something else.

#EthicalFading 🧵

- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 88

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-public-health-act-ingram-charges-stayed-acquittals-prosecutors-1.6945062

"Manning tells Conservative MPs his COVID-19 panel report could help defeat the Liberals” - an email that potentially lumps AB's “Public Health Emergencies Governance Review Panel" with the “Public Inquiry Into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns”, and with the “Canadian Energy Centre aka AB War Room”.

AB GOV continues to use public funds for what may appear to be Influence Operations.

#EthicalFading 🧵

- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 89

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/manning-tells-conservative-mps-his-covid-19-panel-report-could-help-defeat-the-liberals-1.7034485

A quote from Fletcher, but more signs that power has consolidated tightly under Premier Smith. Albertans can expect to see more knee jerk reactions as AB GOV officials struggle to show loyalty to the UCP instead of their roles as Public Servants. Welcome to #GOVbyDecree:

Headlines not even 24 hours apart:

'Province cuts funding from low-income transit passes in Calgary and Edmonton'

'Province reverses decision to cut funding for low-income bus passes in Calgary and Edmonton'

🔗: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-government-low-income-transit-pass-funding-1.7190657

#alberta #ableg #yyccc #yegcc #calgary #edmonton #yyc #yeg #canada #cdnpoli #transit

https://mas.to/@robsonfletcher/112367159724465465

#EthicalFading

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 90

Danielle Smith and Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery are engaged in a naked power grab to attack the independence of the Judicial Branch of GOV.

A previous arrangement maintained the independence of the Legal Aid Society of Alberta, an organization that provides legal services to vulnerable and low-income Albertans. These services assist with navigating a Justice System that is adversarial in nature.

The Justice System itself is built upon protocols intended to maintain the independence of its various components, from members of the Bench, the lawyers, police, correctional officers, and admin staff. Albertans should take note that this system handles huge volumes of matters each day.

In such a scenario, the UCP is attacking the independence of certain components of the Justice System - defense.

#GOVbyDecree #alberta #ableg #yyccc #yegcc #calgary #edmonton #yyc #yeg #canada

#EthicalFading

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 91

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/legal-aid-alberta-says-province-terminated-its-contract-1.7252708

As a delegation of Albertan politicians prepare to attend Trump's inauguration - arguably to dress up and LARP as handmaids from the Handmaid's Tale- Manitoba prepares against disgraceful American billionaires and oligarchs.

Alberta will not be interested in the issue of Election Interference so long as the UCP and its preferred lobbyists are doing the Interfering.

#EthicalFading

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 92

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2025/01/02/manitoba-premier-says-work-is-underway-on-measures-to-fight-election-interference

https://mstdn.ca/@dyckron/113761932918076508

Healthcare for Rural Alberta: Good, Bad, and Ugly

I agree that transforming Alberta’s Healthcare system defined her GOV in 2024: Just not for the benefit of Albertans.

https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/premier-smith-proud-of-alberta-s-major-transformation-of-health-care-in-2024-1.7149334

Despite the UCP often declaring the virtues of private healthcare, I don’t think that such a private system - tiered or otherwise - was ever realistic for Rural Alberta. If you look at the extreme, and ask what it might look like for a fully private model, I doubt you would find any supporters willing to pay full freight for their family doctor visits, surgeries, or emergency medical services.

I’d suspect if Rural Albertans were sat down and asked to pay hundreds of dollars for each of their Family Doctor visits, or thousands of dollars for their EMS call, the UCP would have no future.

Where does that leave us?

What does it mean when Premier Smith applauds herself for transforming Healthcare?

I’d suggest that - possibly - it means more “gaps” for incidents such as the Contentment Social Services. Gaps where the Minister of Health and its offices say they had no idea, joined by Alberta’s now four agencies who also say they had no idea.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/province-has-no-ties-to-provider-that-sent-stroke-patient-to-leduc-hotel-alberta-ministers-say-1.7150255

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-health-minister-pledges-to-fix-huge-gap-in-post-hospital-discharge-system-1.7154752

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-government-mulls-legal-action-against-social-services-agency-that-moved-clients-to-motel-1.7343863

Maybe it means more ethics “disputes” like the one Albertans learned of in Dr. Daniel O’Connell.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-ahs-physician-dispute-investigation-1.7111961

Or, maybe, it means these unexplained forms in favour of private corporate interests?

https://www.theprogressreport.ca/exclusive_ahs_pressured_health_care_workers_to_transfer_mentally_ill_patients_prescriptions_to_shoppers_drug_mart

Rural Albertans rely more on ER visits than those who live in the cities. From a fully privatized point of view, Rural Albertans stand to gain nothing in such a scenario. Cost of healthcare would skyrocket and become completely uncompetitive to the cities.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/rural-albertans-use-ers-more-than-those-in-edmonton-and-calgary-review-shows-1.5461339

How about allegations of increased inefficiency and/or graft to the current system? There’s not much of a future there either. One would have to believe that the only people who benefit in this scenario are corporate players and GOV insiders, many of whom would not be properly considered middle class “Rural Albertan”.

As a thought, we can take this to the next level: A world where these “gaps” are okay as long as the “correct” team is involved.

#EthicalFading

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As noted in the article, the UCP's $2 million dollar report to review Alberta's Pandemic Response was panned by the Alberta Medical Association.

Calling it "anti-science" and "anti-evidence," the Alberta Medical Association (AMA) claims the document advances misinformation."It speaks against the broadest and most diligent international scientific collaboration and consensus in history.… Science and evidence brought us through [the pandemic] and saved millions of lives," AMA president Dr. Shelley Duggan said in a statement.This is such a missed opportunity for Alberta to document the impact of COVID upon our communities, and an embarrassment on the part of those involved in this report.

Don't take AMA's word for it - nor mine. Go download the AB Report for yourself. I invite you to look over the first few pages. Once you're done, go look at the UK's COVID Inquiry and look at the first few pages, and then look at Australia's COVID Inquiry Report Foreword.

At the end of the day, Alberta's own report couldn't pay any respect to the people who died.

They didn't pay any respect to the people who survived.

They didn't give voice to our experience.

This is a disgrace. Science aside, clearly $2 million dollars doesn't afford Alberta any humanity either.

#EthicalFading

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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/covid-19-alberta-vaccine-task-force-1.7442816

https://open.alberta.ca/publications/albertas-covid-19-pandemic-response

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-covid-19-inquiry-resilience-and-preparedness-module-1-report

https://www.pmc.gov.au/resources/covid-19-response-inquiry-report

@ginnoi In 2022, when Alberta organized a large shipment of pain medications from Atabay Pharmaceuticals, I’m sure many netizens raised their eyebrows and wondered how this procurement process went about.

Now in 2025, there are reports of conflicts of interest that could involve Premier Danielle Smith, Health Minister LaGrange, and potentially others.

The story breaks with the former AHS CEO, Athana Mentzelopoulos, allegedly about to blow the whistle on issues surrounding political interference, and Alberta’s procurement contracts and deals for private surgical facilities. She alleges that she was fired to prevent her from finishing the task. As Jennifer Lee of CBC reported on Jan 9, 2025, Mentzelopoulos started the role in Dec 2023, and was let go in just a year.

In turn, by the end of Jan 2025, the UCP dismissed the AHS board, leaving Deputy Minister of Health Andre Tremblay as the AHS official administrator.

Albertans also learn that the Auditor General is investigating the very same issue of procurement and contracting - potentially including “…chartered surgical facilities, medication (ibuprofen or acetaminophen), and COVID-19 personal protection equipment.’”

Enter AlbertaViews’ “The Hidden Connections in the Skybox Photo”, by Nate Pike. This is a long read, and readers get rewarded the details. Essentially, allegations surround Sam Mraiche, who is connected to the UCP. The report outlines how Mraiche via corporate entities ends up supplying faulty, smelly PPE to AHS for a premium price.

Mraiche’s name is also implicated with the Atabay Pharmaceutical procurement, which Albertans now know did not go well. As it turns out, the UCP attached the costs of this boondoggle onto AHS books even though AHS had no issue with acetaminophen supply. Worse, AB GOV ends up subsidizing the entire venture that was doomed before it started.

“Some have since speculated that individuals within the UCP government had attempted to purchase the five million bottles of Atabay product in order to bootstrap MHCare Medical into being a national distributor of pharmaceutical products, starting with the children’s acetaminophen in the hopes that there would still be a shortage when the imports finally arrived.”

Other names are raised in the article as it relates to the Skybox photo.

#EthicalFading

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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/turmoil-alberta-health-services-president-departs-1.7427189

https://edmonton.citynews.ca/video/2025/02/06/fired-ahs-ceo-allegations-spark-calls-for-rcmp-probe/

https://albertaviews.ca/the-hidden-connections-in-the-skybox-photo/

@ginnoi I’ll point out the UCP and Premier Smith has billed the restructure of AHS in the name of improved efficiency. Even at the end of 2024, the UCP was patting itself on the back for job well done.

However, the UCP/Smith/LaGrange/Mraiche story lays out a different frame. Instead of seeking efficiency, the UCP were in the midst of branding a cover up of millions of dollars worth of boondoggles. CBC’s Jennifer Lee was already exploring the “symptoms” as her article went through Verna Yiu’s ousting in 2022, followed by Mauro Chies, then Sean Chilton, then Athana Mentzelopoulos, and then Deputy Minister Andre Tremblay. The article goes on to mention that the UCP’s Premier Smith also fired the AHS board in 2022, replaced with John Cowell as an official administrator - also gone.

In “Athana Mentzelopoulos’s bombshell allegations about sketchy deals at AHS pushed by officials and political staffers set off huge storm”, by David Climenhaga, the entire scandal can easily be summarized:

“‘Allegedly, Smith’s staff pressured health officials to approve over half a billion dollars in private health care contracts to a businessman who bought them seats in NHL luxury boxes in return for the favour. Then Smith fired a CEO who tried to investigate.’

Plus the board of directors that suggested she go to the RCMP, it must also be noted.“

At the time, criticism of the UCP for causing chaos was fair. With this new frame, the chaos takes a sinister tone. Now, Albertans may have been led down a path to dismantle AHS, and to kick rocks alone down a starlit road as the UCP takes off into the sunset with their loot…our wrecked healthcare.

#EthicalFading

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https://albertapolitics.ca/2025/02/athana-mentzelopouloss-bombshell-allegations-about-sketchy-deals-at-ahs-pushed-by-officials-and-political-staffers-set-off-huge-storm/

@ginnoi NDP’s Nenshi’s demands RCMP Inquiry and Public Inquiry to the Smith/Mraiche boondoggles.

Premier Smith is signalling she won’t go down without a fight.

The Minister of Health LaGrange should tender her resignation.

As Nenshi has already called for, AHS restructuring should halt in light of the allegations.

Albertans want answers. We know these boondoggles may also include the Contentment Social Services issue we all saw in 2024, they could include Dr Daniel O’Connell, and they could include the mystery Shoppers Drug Mart forms at Edmonton’s mental health clinics - links back at post 93.

#EthicalFading

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https://bird.makeup/users/nenshi/statuses/1888284260727177725

@ginnoi Concerns are raised about the fairness of an investigation carried out solely by AHS or Alberta Auditor General Doug Wylie. Interesting points are also included here.

“In truculent statement, Danielle Smith denies any responsibility for misconduct at Alberta Health Services by government staff”, by David Climenhaga, reviews Premier Smith’s inadequate response to the Smith/Mraiche Boondoggles. Climenhaga draws comparisons between Smith and former President Nixon.

From CTV News, “Alberta auditor general investigating AHS contracts following firing of CEO”, by Mark Villani, the article reviews the responses from HSAA, AMA, and the NDP. Among these responses, Villani points out AHS had contracts connected with the Smith/Mraiche Boondoggle for up to $614 Million dollars.

Lori Williams also commented on the strong likelihood of conflicts of interest:

> Lori Williams, a political scientist with Mount Royal University, says questions are swirling, in particular, over the timing of Mentzelopoulos’ firing given that she was alleged to have a meeting with the auditor general just two days later.

> “There’s a conflict of interest. The entire AHS board was fired, and we now have everything being done in the health portfolio being run not by a board of independent experts but by the deputy minister of (health),” Williams said.

> “We also have staff working in procurement for the government in health care, also apparently being paid by some of the companies that are supplying goods to the government or to the health system.” Williams noted that attempts to thwart an investigation blocking taxpayers from knowing where their money is spent could also come with major consequences for government trust.

> “The auditor general had an opportunity to come clean and say, ‘Look, we’ve discovered these problems; we’re going to fix them. Instead, they decided to hide what was going on, and now they look like they’re complicit.

Similarly, Climenhaga commented of the Auditor General Doug Wylie:

> Moreover, while he is technically an officer of the Legislature independent of the government, the auditor-general keeps his job of the pleasure of an assembly with an obedient UCP majority. 

> So while there is nothing wrong with asking the auditor-general to investigate, and while there are aspects of the allegations that could be investigated by the police and by the Legislature’s ethics commissioner, as NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi argued Thursday, a judge-led independent inquiry is required to clear the air.

#EthicalFading

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https://albertapolitics.ca/2025/02/in-truculent-statement-danielle-smith-denies-any-responsibility-for-misconduct-at-alberta-health-services-by-government-staff/

https://www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/article/ahs-ceo-fired-amid-probe-into-medical-contracts/

@ginnoi With allegations like these, Premier Smith should be charged now, and she may as well be extradited from the US to be returned to Canada for her bail hearing. But, she’s the premier and these white collar crimes are somehow dealt with pomp and circumstance? She can dance to “it wasn’t me” while she’s firmly in our custody.

What’s the point of her attending Washington, she doesn’t represent Canada.

From Lisa Johnson and Jack Farrell of the Canadian Press, “Alberta puts contracts on hold amid allegations of corruption in private surgeries”, emphasis added:

> In the letter, Mentzelopoulos alleges that throughout 2024 she was pressured by various provincial officials, including **Marshall Smith**, then the premier’s chief of staff, to sign off on contracts for private surgical facilities despite concerns over how much was being paid and who was benefiting.

> The letter says Mentzelopoulos had concerns with “significantly increased costs” on a contract with the firm Alberta Surgical Group.

> The letter also raises allegations of conflict of interest surrounding **an AHS staffer** who also had an email account with MHCare Medical. It says the medical supply company and other firms associated with its CEO, Sam Mraiche, have done $614 million in business with the province.

#EthicalFading

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https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/alberta-puts-contracts-on-hold-amid-allegations-of-corruption-in-private-surgeries

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/danielle-smith-to-join-premiers-in-washington-amid-u-s-tariff-threats-1.7455754

@ginnoi As netizens learn more about the Mraiche/Smith Boondoggle, serious allegations that suggest a cover up was attempted, potentially ensnaring Alberta Health Minister LaGrange, and some of her staff. I’d suggest by extension, this should implicate the Premier’s office, and Premier Smith herself.

“Alberta Minister stripped health agency of power to negotiate private surgical contracts, document shows”, by Carrie Tait and Alanna Smith, discusses an Oct 2024 directive of Health Minister LaGrange to extend Alberta Surgical Group’s contract. Then CEO Mentzelopoulos expressed concern over the rates, which “…would lead to significantly increased costs to AHS – and potentially hundreds of millions in profits for the CSFs owners,’ the letter alleges.”

Chris Nickerson, Alberta Health’s assistant deputy minister overseeing acute care, sends a letter on Dec 23 to CEO Mentzelopoulos:

>“This letter is to advise that the Department will be assuming responsibility for conducting due diligence for the CSF Procurements including due diligence with respect to any selected proponents,” Mr. Nickerson’s two-page letter said. “AHS shall cease any due diligence underway with respect to the CSF Procurements or any selected proponent unless and until further notified.”

>The December letter, again relying on the October directive, ordered AHS to give Alberta Health “all reports, data, or information” necessary for the department to conduct due diligence on the contracts and potential facilities.

>“This includes, without limitation, any findings or reports arising from any investigation or review conducted or initiated by AHS with respect to the CSF Procurements or any of the selected proponents,” the December letter said.

Basically, the Health Minister’s minion, Chris Nickerson, calls for all documents related to Chartered Surgical Facilities (including Alberta Surgical Group), to be turned over to him. Former CEO Mentzelopoulos resists these demands, and is allegedly fired for it.

Health Minister LaGrange throws up the peace offering of a “third party” to help review the situation and report directly back to AB GOV. At this point, such a gesture is a hopeless joke.

Nenshi’s right: Premier Smith show up, and anyone who still has any self-respect in the UCP should offer their resignations.

#EthicalFading

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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-minister-stripped-health-agency-of-power-to-negotiate-private/

https://archive.ph/URpke

https://bird.makeup/users/nenshi/statuses/1889399634713292891

@ginnoi “Braid: What is the government investigating - allegations of wrongdoing, or AHS itself?”, Don Braid asks who is running AB Healthcare. I think the question raises the issue that Premier Smith and the UCP arguably sought to create: corruption, ethical issues, and senseless waste at the expense of Albertans.

As @DavidM_yeg rightly points out, the UCP removed the AHS Board twice over, and the leadership 3 times over. Netizens are clear that the only people left are the problem.

>For the Alberta health-care user, here’s the worrisome part.

>The hospital system is now in the hands of health-care amateurs. Functions usually left for experts, such as procurement, are taken at the political level.

>And the health department, which normally deals with politics and policy, is edging closer to running the hospitals.

>Smith and many of her cabinet are deeply suspicious of experts. She commissioned and endorsed a COVID-19 Pandemic Data Review that embraced fringe theories and practices.

>On the functional level, though, the troubled health system has soldiered on as usual, with proven medical practices, vaccines, etc.

>How long will that last?

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https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/braid-ahs-left-dead-blowback-surgery-contract-allegations

@ginnoi If Albertans have to game out the Mraiche/Smith Healthcare Boondoggles to their conclusion, soon the only healthcare left will be Danielle Smith showing up at your hospital bed to yell at you.

This is your fault, and you're ruining her vacation.

Someone else will take care of it.

#EthicalFading

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Mentzelopoulos filed her claim, and local news outlets have obtained copies for discussion.

Besides the additional details of the Mraiche/Smith Boondoggles, a few points emerged that raise issues on their own. More details emerge about the names involved in the Boondoggles. They’ll include Sam Mraiche, Jitendra Prasad, Doug Horner, Marshall Smith, Chris Nickerson, Adriana LaGrange, and staff associated with the Premier Danielle Smith’s Office.

The CBC will start us out with “Former AHS CEO's lawsuit alleges pressure to sign private surgery deals she believed were overpriced“, by Jason Markusoff and Julia Wong. The highlights are that, according to the claim, Alberta Surgical Group’s contract was to be renewed at higher rates compared to even other private firms. As already noted, AHS’ negotiating powers were later stripped out in favour of Chris Nickerson, Alberta Health’s assistant deputy minister overseeing acute care.

Netizens have also seen the name Jitendra Prasad involved in the Boondoggles as a high ranking offiicial in AHS procurement who also has ties to the UCP.

The claim also goes on to allege that on Jan 7, Health Minister LaGrange met with the AHS board to personally demand they fire the CEO. When they refused, Andre Tremblay fired Mentzelopoulos by Zoom the next day, and Tremblay ordered AHS staff to cancel a meeting “that same week with the auditor general about the forensic audit and internal review that Mentzelopoulos had told the provincial watchdog about.”

Perhaps this urgency on the part of LaGrange and Tremblay was in part because among the new shady business alleged:

>is that one former AHS employee involved in procurement had subsequently joined MHCare, and then obtained an ownership stake in private surgery clinics proposed in Red Deer and Lethbridge.

>Also, those clinics' leaders did not fully disclose their corporate ownership, "leaving AHS officials in the dark about who owned the remaining 12 per cent interest," the document says.”

Further, ASG’s ties to the UCP run deep, leaving the UCP party itself open to potential exploitation:

>ASG, the lawsuit states, had not won an AHS contracting process that ended in 2022, and yet it had reached a separate two-year agreement with the health agency "potentially as a result of lobbying by the Honourable Doug Horner," a former Alberta finance minister who is registered as a lobbyist for the company.

Premier Smith’s claims that she had no idea what was happening at AHS for the greater part of 2024 beggars belief, and is called into question:

>Her lawsuit details a Sept. 21 call from Marshall Smith inquiring about negotiations on two chartered surgical centres slated for Red Deer and Lethbridge. After she explained the reasons for delays the premier's chief of staff allegedly remarked that the facilities' principals were "serious people — do not mess with them."

Worse still, and perhaps most chilling in terms of Freedom of Speech, former CEO Mentzelopoulos alleges that she got a call from Premier Danielle Smith and/or her Office about an AHS paramedic, Nate Pike. We know from previous posts, Nate Pike is the author of the article “The Hidden Connections in the Skybox Photo”.

>Mentzelopoulos's lawsuit notes that Smith had called her last summer to complain that "powerful people" were angry about an AHS paramedic named Nate Pike, whose webcast and social media account The Breakdown has been critical of the Smith government and who has posted often about the Turkish children's medication situation.

Netizens can expect public criticism toward public figures, like Premier Smith, to be part of the job. But, for the Premier or her staff to track down a netizen to take issue with him or her with an employer is gangster behaviour.

The Calgary Herald’s Don Braid also shares an example in “Braid: Fired AHS boss details heavy pressure, alleged contract padding in $1.7-million lawsuit“

>As she [(Mentzelopoulos)] continued to press the investigation, the suit claims, a member of the AHS board told her to “be very careful” about what she was doing and that she needed to potentially be concerned about her personal safety, “given some of the people potentially involved behind the scenes.”

>Protective Services said she was unlikely to be at physical risk, but warned her that the corporate interests “involved would likely apply political pressure to have her terminated from AHS if she threatened their financial interests.”

#EthicalFading

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https://albertapolitics.ca/2025/02/athana-mentzelopoulos-files-her-1-7-million-wrongful-dismissal-lawsuit-and-the-stuff-starts-really-hitting-the-fan/

https://calgaryherald.com/news/ahs-athana-mentzelopoulos-lawsuit-alleged-contract-wrongdoing

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/former-ahs-ceo-alleges-wrongful-dismissal-lawsuit-1.7457785

Since last week when news broke of the Smith/Mraiche AHS Boondoggles, netizens received reports of the former AHS CEO’s expected claim for wrongful dismissal.

Now that the claim itself was obtained by news outlets, netizens can join in the action. From Lethbridge News Now, a copy of the claim is available for download and review. I’d suggest giving it a go. But, my read of the claim shares even more chilling details about attacks on Freedom of Speech, alleging that elements of the UCP and Premier Smith had actively targeted members of the public.

As noted earlier, Nate Pike was allegedly targeted by Marshall Smith in relation to Pike’s twitter activity and criticism of the government. But, more disturbing allegations continue in the following paragraphs. Netizens will note that the list of names was not only expanded, but high ranking members of the UCP may be working in concert with a “Sam” to target and/or doxx members of the public. As Mentzelopoulos notes in her claim, the name “Sam” is raised on a number of occasions, and her understanding was this referred to Sam Mraiche:

>This type of call from Smith was not unique, as Mentzelopoulos had previously been pressured by Tremblay (via text message) to terminate purported critics of the Government including Carmelle Steinke, Jeremy Theal, and Sherri Kashuba.

>…Later during the summer, Marshall Smith again spoke to Mentzelopoulos, this time about another twitter feed called “Hansard the Cat” that was apparently critical of the Government. Smith outlined a number of steps, including private detectives, lawyers, and (apparently) hackers, that were being used to discover the identity of the person(s) posting under the “Hansard the Cat” name.

>It was during this conversation that Smith told Mentzelopoulos about “Sam”, who was apparently taking legal action to force disclosure of the identity of “Hansard the Cat”. Smith told Mentzelopoulos that he “would be taken care of for the rest of his life”, somehow in relation to “Sam”. Mentzelopoulos understood that “Sam” was Mr. Sam Mraiche, the principal and CEO of MHCare Medical, who had been the subject of media reports for having allegedly taken various Government Ministers and officials to Oilers hockey playoff games in May and June 2024.

From this claim, the UCP has ethically faded into a rogue criminal organization.

Perhaps instinctively sensing the pure catastrophe of the Smith/Mraiche Boondoggles, Infrastructure Minister Peter Guthrie issues a memo to his cabinet colleagues to refer any criminal matters to the RCMP.

#EthicalFading

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https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/outrageous-and-false-how-those-named-in-the-ahs-lawsuit-are-responding-to-the-allegations

https://lethbridgenewsnow.com/2025/02/13/health-minister-adriana-lagrange-named-in-1-7-million-lawsuit-by-former-ahs-ceo/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/pete-guthrie-cabinet-minister-adriana-lagrange-out-1.7459765

The AHS/Smith/Mraiche Boondoggles are messy, so how about we dive in from a different angle out of all these allegations. We’re going to take a peek at this unfolding story from today’s main subject: Jitendra Prasad - middle-man, extraordinaire. Prasad, a man who allegedly wears so many team colours that he falls under extreme pressure; a bit like sitting right in the centre of a fault line between massive tectonic plates. At some point the pressure was so much that he ends up raising suspicion on himself and the contracts he participated in.

With Mentzelopoulos’ claim in mind, both the former CEO, her colleagues, and the AHS Board were so concerned with these contracts that a third party law firm was retained to investigate. Ultimately, and a pillar of the allegations, is that Alberta Health Minister LaGrange fired the CEO, and the AHS Board, and ordered the investigations closed before any results could come out.

Netizens can see some context from “AHS made $28-million prepayment for imported drugs two weeks after telling hospitals not to use them”, by Matthew Black. We learn that back in July 10, 2023, AHS had already issued instructions to cease using Parol brand acetaminophen. Yet, on July 26, 2023, “AHS issued the prepayment for years three, four, and five of the contract it signed in December of 2022 for medication imported from Turkish company Atabay.”

>In its statement, AHS said it was informed at the time that the prepayment was required to secure “favourable pricing, support production adjustments, ensure uninterrupted availability, and enable manufacturer investments to meet Health Canada requirements.”

>It adds, “AHS’ understanding is that MHCare has been awaiting Health Canada approval for these additional products.”

>Applications for drug approvals are tracked in a publicly available Health Canada database, but it contains no entry for either Atabay or MHCare.

What’s alleged in the claim at this time was Jitendra Prasad was the middle-man between Alberta Health, AHS, and MHCare Medical. As noted, Prasad had a

>“…MHCare email address in November 2022 just before the then Minister of Health directed AHS to enter into a contract with MHCare for a $70 million children’s acetaminophen purchase order and supply agreement, and Prasad may also have been retained or otherwise contracted by persons who were involved with the CSFs and other AHS procurement contracts in and after 2022.”

Prasad’s work history was summarized as bouncing between AHS as an employee or a contractor, and potentially retained or contracted by MHCare and other Chartered Surgical Facilities or all the above possibly.

>”Prasad retired briefly from AHS in April 2022 before becoming a contractor for AHS , and then returned as an AHS employee in the position of Chief Program Officer, and later Special Advisor, for AHS Contracts, Procurement, and Supply Management (“CPSM”) from October 2022 to December 2023, before then being seconded from AHS to Alberta Health…”

By October of 2024, AHS is alerted to media inquiry about the children’s acetaminophen issue, and received media questions about transactions between AHS, MHCare Medical, and other entities associated with Sam Mraiche. Alberta Health directed Mentzelopoulos to refer these questions to Prasad because he “was the person who negotiated the AHS purchase contract for children’s acetaminophen and knew ‘everything’ about the deal.”

What’s alleged is this media interest, and Prasad’s response, would be the canary in the coal mine that accelerated everything.

>“Mentzelopoulos received the proposed reply drafted by Prasad and apparently reviewed by staff in Alberta Health and by the Premier’s Office. The response indicated that AHS did not have any contract with MHCare, and that the children’s ibuprofen / acetaminophen contract had been between AHS and a Turkish company (Atabay Pharmaceuticals), a statement that Mentzelopoulos knew was false.”

Netizens should read the claim for themselves as the details are remarkable. But, by November 2024, an external forensic audit was started by a third party law firm. Even if Mentzelopoulos did not telegraph her moves or share them widely, news of the investigation allegedly spread.

>On December 16, 2024, Mentzelopoulos attended a reception at the AIMCO offices and was approached by Kate White, Deputy Minister of Treasury Board and Finance. Ms. White asked Mentzelopoulos what was going on at Alberta Health and specifically referred to an investigation involving Prasad and “kickbacks” (her phrase). Mentzelopoulos declined to discuss any specifics but was surprised to learn that officials from Treasury Board and Finance knew about the ongoing investigation

Others would approach the former CEO, but the point of these allegations - if proven - is simple: Danielle Smith knew.

#EthicalFading

#comment

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 105

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/alberta-health-services-mhcare-payment

“AHS Scandal: How Tight Is Dale McFee with Sam Mraiche?”, by Charles Russell, raises Ethical Fading concerns of how AB GOV personnel and high ranking officials may be overexposed to lobbying or other private interests. Broadly, netizens will also wonder how such relationships factor into the decisions of the Edmonton Police Service.

Albertans will recall (CBC article below) that former Provincial Justice Minister Kaycee “Madu was found guilty last year of conduct worthy of sanction over a phone call he made to Edmonton's police chief after receiving a traffic ticket in 2021.” While there certainly were issues with that call, observers will point out there’s a great deal of comfort and access for a person to make that call to begin with.

As the title highlights McFee’s relationship with Sam Mraiche, netizens can pick out that Vince Morelli was also noted a friend of McFee.

>“The Edmonton Police Service and Edmonton Police Commission have confirmed to The Tyee that McFee attended an Oilers playoff game against the Florida Panthers in June.

>But they have refused to confirm or deny if it was as a guest of Sam Mraiche, the founder of MHCare Medical, whose business dealings with the UCP government have generated headlines in Alberta for months.”

The article goes on to highlight a number of examples of MHCare engaged with events or projects associated with the Edmonton Police Service, and by extension, Dale McFee.

>MHCare Medical is a major sponsor of the Edmonton Police Foundation, of which McFee is an ex officio member.

>MHCare also was a major sponsor of the Safety of Our Cities conference in Edmonton in September 2023, for which the Edmonton police, the police foundation and McFee were key supporters.

>A June 13, 2023, news release announcing MHCare as a “presenting sponsor” quotes both Sam Mraiche and McFee.

>“Chief Dale McFee thanks MHCare Medical for its sponsorship,” the release states, adding later that the conference was about the future of policing and McFee said, “We are so pleased to be able to work with our sponsors to bring this discussion forward.”

>McFee appears several times in an MHCare promotional video about the conference, including one segment in which he talks about the opportunities for networking.

Another example of McFee’s high profile associations include Vince Morelli:

>In 2021, the Progress Report reported McFee attended a UCP fundraiser in August 2020 as the guest of his friend Vince Morelli, the president of SafeTracks GPS Canada, a company that sells GPS ankle monitors, including to law enforcement agencies in Alberta.

>Morelli initially told the Progress Report that McFee attended as his guest but later told PressProgress that McFee had his own tickets. The EPS confirmed McFee and his wife attended the event as guests but did not contribute financially to the fundraiser.

For McFee to now join Danielle Smith’s squad, and to be associated with Sam Mraiche in the midst of the AHS/Smith/Mraiche Boondoggles, is fraught timing indeed.

#EthicalFading

#comment

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 106

https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/02/14/AHS-Scandal-How-Tight-Dale-McFee-Sam-Mraiche/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-madu-sanction-1.7448781

As UCP’s Premier Danielle Smith and Adriana LaGrange hold a press statement in a room carefully controlled by staff, Albertans will note that the AHS/Smith/Mraiche Boondoggles are not only offensive due to the Ethical Fading that’s alleged. Albertans are asked to stomach this behaviour in the context of how the Premier may have seen trouble on the horizon with a paper trail, and repeatedly removed Board after Board, and CEO after CEO.

Of course, readers will note that all these maneuvers come at a cost. Albertans ultimately bear all the costs of severance and any other issues that arise - wrongful dismissal or otherwise. But, what’s unfolded with AHS, is only part of a systematic effort to consolidate power to a single point in Alberta. One way to do that appears to be injecting layers upon layers of administration.

What this strategy of power only further emphasizes is the need for a full and public judicial inquiry. Staff in official positions of GOV will be increasingly placed in conflict of interest positions, and they may no longer be able to voice their opinions.

An example of the UCP consolidating power into itself are anecdotes that the UCP and Smith are systematically signalling to municipalities that the province is in control. From “Smith says the province should collect property tax for municipalities; councilors worry it's just another power grab”

>The most common response I received from my small sample was that council members feel like they’re between a rock and a hard place; elected to respond to local issues but feeling the province looking over their shoulders.

Of note, there’s also an anecdote that the AHS/Smith/Mraiche Boondoggles are not just inclusive of the over $600 million dollars frittered to friends of UCP.

>One person said they’ve been told the Alberta government is strapped for cash, thanks to the expenses they’ve incurred with restructuring Alberta Health Services. Their projection says the government is about $7 billion short, and they still have their sights on other projects that will also cost the province a lot of money — like a provincial police force.

With all these Boondoggle costs in mind, Albertans are learning that the UCP power consolidation has a price tag. Now the UCP dangle notions of a $250 Billion dollar “rainy day fund” by 2050. What Albertans should all be worried about is that Dani Smith is introducing yet another layer of management.

>The Heritage Fund Opportunities Corp. is to direct policy for the Heritage Fund, which for the most part will still be managed by the Alberta Investment Management Corp., or AIMCo.

>The new Crown corporation is also mandated to independently manage the investment of new deposits.

Netizens understand all these layers have to be paid. Netizens also can draw the dots: When Danielle Smith says she wants more efficiency, more effectiveness, a Rainy Day Fund, these all sound like improvements to the Social Safety Net. Trouble is, the Net only catches for her.

#EthicalFading

#comment

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 107

https://albertapolitics.ca/2025/02/still-struggling-to-control-damage-from-dodgy-contracts-scandal-danielle-smith-claims-ahs-conspired-to-block-ucp-private-surgery-scheme/

https://womenofabpoli.substack.com/p/smith-says-the-province-should-collect?r=58d79c

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ab-government-politics-heritage-fund-1.7444548

More discussion of the allegations surrounding AHS/Smith/Mriache Boondoggles regarding the Atabay deal, Mraiche’s involvement in transactions with other elements of Alberta Gov, and the silencing of Nate Pike.

In relation to the Atabay contract, according to “Alberta’s health authority demanded medical supplier prove it was fulfilling contract, documents show”, by Alanna Smith and Carrie Tait, the deal fell under scrutiny according to the allegations set out in Mentzelopoulos’ claim. As noted in Post 105 in the discussion of the allegations specifically about Jitendra Prasad, Netizens are aware that there were conflicts of interest that arose out of the contracts.

During the alleged time when some of Prasad’s activities fell under heightened scrutiny, and then further investigation,

>In a letter sent from AHS chief financial officer Michael Lam to MHCare on Dec. 20, a copy of which was obtained by The Globe and Mail, he said the company had been holding $49.2-million of government money for “well over a year” and demanded to know whether MHCare was taking steps to additionally import intravenous acetaminophen.

>Mr. Lam, in his letter addressed to MHCare’s chief operating officer, Keri Shannon, said it was unclear whether the contract was being “performed in accordance with its terms and conditions.” He said a supply agreement signed in July, 2023, required MHCare to initiate the process with Health Canada to import intravenous acetaminophen and keep AHS informed of its progress, including when the first shipment would arrive.

>Health Canada said in a statement to The Globe last week that the agency had not received any proposals from the Alberta government, MHCare or Atabay Pharmaceuticals to import intravenous acetaminophen to the province.

While the article shares that MHCare had its own brief statement about its lack of wrongdoing, what is notable here is the timing of MHCare’s replies.

AHS demands an explanation from MHCare, asking for a reply by Jan 8.

MHCare would eventually reply by Jan 7 to ask for more time.

Mentzelopoulos is fired on Jan 8.

Further, another of Mraiche’s transactions with the UCP and AB GOV was uncovered. As noted in “Mraiche Profited from Quick Sale of Property to UCP Government“, by Charles Russell,

>Alberta land title documents show a numbered company owned by businessman Sam Mraiche purchased a commercial industrial property at 14425 124th Ave. NW in Edmonton for $1.7 million cash on May 27, 2024. That same numbered company sold the property to Alberta Infrastructure on Aug. 26, 2024, for $2 million cash.

…

>It’s not known how the property jumped $300,000 in value in just three months.

While the AHS/Smith/Mraiche/UCP Boondoggles are clearly unfolding before Netizens’ eyes, what is minimally clear is Mraiche has deep access to high ranking officials of the UCP. What information is Miraiche privy to? Should he even have that information?

Worse, with such an ostensibly well connected man in mind, Albertans must now hear that Mraiche has silenced a concerned citizen, Nate Pike, with heavy handed court litigation. Does Mraiche act on his own behalf? Does he act in concert with other parties? I’d suggest that the act of an injunction will bring with it a price Mraiche’s friends are not yet prepared to pay: greater exposure.

#EthicalFading

#comment

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 108

https://www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/article/alberta-political-web-series-temporarily-shut-down-by-court-order/

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-health-authority-ahs-medical-supplier/

https://archive.ph/9608e

https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/02/21/Mraiche-Profited-Quick-Sale-Property-UCP-Government/

Reports about the suspicious contracts from the AHS/Smith/Mraiche/UCP Boondoggles are raising calls for criminal investigations. From “Impact of those dodgy contracts allegations continues to spread – so, did anyone ever call the cops?”, by David Climenhaga, talks about the AHS Board recommendation to the AHS CEO to refer the matter to the RCMP. A summary of the latest reports on the allegations essentially highlight that multiple components of the UCP Government may be involved with Mraiche in various ways.

Additional details have also been uncovered about the parties behind the Chartered Surgical Facilities negotiating contracts with AHS. According to “Alberta surgical companies with contracts under scrutiny linked to firm that imported children’s pain meds”, by Carrie Tait and Alanna Smith, both CSF applications for Red Deer and Lethbridge are partly owned by Sam Mraiche.

>Corporate records show Mr. Mraiche owns 25 per cent of the voting shares in each of those two numbered companies. Records also show that a business consultant with MHCare, Blayne Iskiw, is listed as a director of those companies, and he and his wife own a firm that controls 12 per cent of the voting shares.

>D’Arcy Durand and Leslie Scheelar, two physicians who own part of Edmonton-based ASG, each control 25.5 per cent of the voting shares in each of the numbered companies. Dr. Durand and Dr. Scheelar, along with Kenneth Hawkins, another doctor with a stake in ASG, are listed as directors.

>The corporate records exclude ownership information for the remaining 12 per cent in each of the numbered companies.

As it turns out, Blayne Iskiw

>… joined MHCare days after leaving his job as AHS’s interim senior program officer for strategic and clinical contracting in the agency’s contract, procurement and supply management division, according to his LinkedIn profile and documents obtained by The Globe.

For Netizens following the story, Premier Smith applauded herself and the UCP for innovating healthcare with Chartered Surgical Facilities. Now, Albertans get to see what this innovation looks like in a disgraceful tabulation of how much the CSFs charge the public for procedures compared to how much AHS would charge.

At this point, with Mraiche and so many others allegedly involved in jockeying for personal advantage, there is no way these Boondoggles can be resolved with internal investigations.

Sam Mraiche stands in the heart of these alleged Boondoggles, and comes before court with unclean hands.

As Dr Paul Parks reported of health workers in general, “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.” Netizens can clearly make out from the allegations that Smith, Mraiche, and other high ranking UCP officials, have intimated in conversations with AHS Officials that individual employees can and will be targeted. While the alleged threats are vague and behind closed doors, the message is clear: The UCP will come after people.

When did the UCP cross the line? When did they over do it?

When did they forget they weren’t alone?

#EthicalFading

#comment

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 109

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-surgical-companies-with-contracts-under-scrutiny-linked-to/

https://archive.ph/uRwlA

https://albertapolitics.ca/2025/02/impact-of-those-dodgy-contracts-allegations-continues-to-spread-so-did-anyone-ever-call-the-cops/

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/alberta-premier-smiths-blame-on-health-agency-chilling-emergency-doctor

Attention begins to turn to Marshall Smith, and his potential dealings with Mental Health and Addictions. From “Braid: Contract scandal has ministers hunting for trouble across Alberta government“, Don Braid would like to think that every minister will wonder if they’ve got Mraiche and company in the closets somewhere.

But, Braid also goes on to follow the line from Mentzelopoulos’ claim:

>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.’ ”

>(JP was a reference to Jitendra Prasad, who was allegedly involved in contracts.)

>Mentzelopoulos continued: “The Minister (Williams) was apparently concerned that the investigation could lead to potential connections between various government officials and Sam Mraiche and MHCare Medical.”

What those connections may be only time will tell. While we wait, Netizens following along will best prepare with “‘Lakeview Recovery Community’ clearly intended to be showpiece for UCP’s controversial ‘Alberta Recovery Model’”, by David Climenhaga. There, Climenhaga explores how privatization was the focus of the Lakeview Recovery Community in the village of Gunn. The UCP

>“…lavishes many millions of dollars on 11 new recovery camps like the Lakeview Recovery Community, the huge Recovery Alberta agency now being spun off from Alberta Health Services, and the so-called Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence, the addictions war room established to produce research that justifies the government’s one-track approach to addiction treatment.“

Here, one potential highlight is that the Lakeview Recovery Community will be operated by ROSC Solutions Group [ROSC].

>The Chief Executive Officer of ROSC Solutions is Carson McPherson, former CEO of Cedars Cobble Hill, a 75-bed abstinence-based residential addiction treatment centre on Vancouver Island.

McPherson becomes an interesting character when Netizens review a three part series by Euan Thomson. Specifically from Part 2 “Recovery Capitalists 2: Spreading public wealth“:

>The recent budget does little to clarify if these funds are united within the Gunn allocation, but internal government correspondence from October 2022 suggests they are. This means ROSC Solutions Group, a private company registered in Alberta with Carson McPherson and Paul Sobey listed as directors, is receiving $22 million for the Recovery Training Institute and the implementation and operation of TLUs in Alberta, with extensions likely valued at an additional $9 million. (Note: an earlier version indicated McPherson was the 'sole owner' of ROSC Solutions Group rather than one of two listed directors.)

>In summary, three therapeutic community contracts totalling over $70 million have been announced in Alberta. Two have gone to Recovery Capital Conference top sponsors and organizers. As discussed in Part 1, additional sole-source contracts totalling nearly $2 million have gone to conference organizers at Last Door Recovery and provide a separate revenue stream in data privatization.

Further down, the article noted “RSG owner Carson McPherson is an associate of Marshall Smith, Premier Danielle Smith's chief of staff.”

God speed, Albertans.

#EthicalFading

#comment

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 110

https://calgaryherald.com/news/alberta-health-contract-scandal-alberta-government-departments-trouble

https://albertapolitics.ca/2024/08/lakeside-recovery-community-clearly-intended-to-be-showpiece-for-ucps-controversial-alberta-recovery-model/

https://drugdatadecoded.ca/recovery-capitalists-2-public-wealth/

Albertans will look back at those halcyon days when Premier Danielle Smith was plugging for her quaint restaurant and wonder if hindsight was 20/20, and this was just an audition for things to come.

With Mr Peter Guthrie resigning as Infrastructure Minister on principle, I’d suggest that even Guthrie can see what the public has seen from their living rooms, emergency rooms, and hospitals. With conflicts of interest arising out of what seems to be even the floorboards, Albertans cannot trust Smith’s squad with any more public monies. Yet, the UCP appear again to resist even calls from within and without to clean up the conflicts of interest with pantomime courtesy.

In “LaGrange orders rule change to lock in Andre Tremblay as AHS interim CEO”, by Jason Markusoff, Albertans learn that Tremblay was given 3 powerful titles over Healthcare: Deputy Minister of Health, Interim CEO of AHS, and AHS Official Administrator:

>”There's too much concentration of power in one person," said Linquist, editor of the journal Canadian Public Administration.
>
>”There ought to be an interim board, even if it's just a caretaker board of three credible Alberta citizens that the public has confidence in."
>
>This especially holds true, he added, because Tremblay is referred to in the allegations Mentzelopoulos made in her wrongful dismissal lawsuit. Tremblay is not a named defendant in the lawsuit.

At this point, Albertans are clear that the UCP and Smith play their cards close with a very select squad. We’re also collectively looking at this group and realizing that they’re controlling all the major connections and pathways for information. The UCP will set up the third party investigation - not AHS or their lawyers. The UCP will get the Auditor General to investigate - not AHS. The UCP will get the result of the investigation - not you. There’s no way Albertans can accept that CorruptCare is an isolated incident, nor that it involved only a handful of bad seeds.

Back at Post 93, all these players want to say they didn’t do it, and they had no idea. Alberta Innovation, indeed.

Keep Calm, Carry On

Best way to remedy a disaster is to just look over the mess, and to start another one from scratch. One such project would be their “Compassionate Intervention Centres”. Netizens will see a name that has come up repeatedly throughout the CorruptCare scandal. As David Climenhaga notes in “Make no mistake, the UCP’s planned ‘compassionate intervention centres’ will be jails”

>…one doesn’t need to be an expert in addiction treatment to know from the controversy among experts surrounding this long-telegraphed plan – which seems to have been inspired by the premier’s former chief of staff, Marshall Smith – that these are highly tendentious claims.

These centres would be overseen by Mental Health and Addiction Minister, Dan Williams. Again, it’s almost like Alberta cannot find one other qualified soul to take these positions. Except, this time, the UCP want to re-enact the premise for the Mayor of Kingstown. Even the words “Compassionate Intervention Centres” evokes a feeling from George Orwell’s fictional Newspeak: an incredible, abject accomplishment.

Now, in “Danielle Smith Quietly Issued an $11 Billion Loan Guarantee for Alberta’s Biggest Bank. No One Will Say Why.”, by Stephen Magusiak, Albertans are receiving reports that Smith is preparing a lot of money while under a scandal for mishandling a lot of money.

Our doctors and nurses are overworked, understaffed, and lack supplies. Emergency rooms across the province have unbearable wait lists. Some Albertans cannot even expect their Emergency Rooms to even be open.

So…enter Peter Guthrie. He asks his fellow cabinet members to sing the same chorus: Support the Auditor General, and refer all material criminal in nature to the RCMP. He’s not asking for anything special. It’s the equivalent to New York’s See Something, Say Something.

What does he hear in reply? I don’t know.

What do we know? He resigned.

#CorruptCare

#EthicalFading

#comment

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 111

https://dailyhive.com/calgary/premier-danielle-smiths-restaurant-for-sale

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-cabinet-minister-resigns-citing-concerns-over-procurement-1.7467845

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/adriana-lagrange-andre-trembly-alberta-health-services-bylaw-investigation-1.7465173

https://albertapolitics.ca/2025/02/make-no-mistake-the-ucps-planned-compassionate-intervention-centres-will-be-jails/

https://pressprogress.ca/danielle-smith-quietly-issued-an-11-billion-loan-guarantee-for-albertas-biggest-bank-no-one-will-say-why/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_of_Kingstown

From “Bell: Pete Guthrie speaks his mind as he exits Premier Smith's inner circle”, by Rick Bell, a few choice quotes are highlighted of Guthrie about the CorruptCare scandal. From what little came from Bell’s interview, Guthrie suggests that the working environment amongst the cabinet is as bad as expected or worse.

Check out the article yourself, I distilled the Guthrie highlights without Bell’s commentary below.

And, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, Mike Ellis, has fallen into the CorruptCare scandal orbit with “UCP Placed Mraiche Business Partner on Edmonton Police Commission”, by Charles Rusnell. Dr Jayan Nagendran is identified as the Partner in question.

>Nagendran’s police commission appointment drew independent accusations of hypocrisy from both NDP critic Shepherd and Coun. Janz. They pointed out that city council chooses commissioners through an open process that considers hundreds of candidates. Ellis directly appoints candidates with no open competition.

>In 2022, the UCP government changed the provincial Police Act to give itself the power to appoint nearly half of the police commission members in Edmonton and Calgary. The government said it needed to rebalance the commissions, citing concerns about crime and civil disorder in the two cities.
…
>In January, Ellis ordered an investigation into city council’s appointment of two commissioners who had been publicly critical of the Edmonton Police Service. He ordered the investigation after a complaint of bias from then-chief Dale McFee.

-

From Guthrie:

>“I’m just a regular guy, seeing what’s going on and I don’t like what I see,” says Guthrie.
>
>“Something doesn’t sit right with me. It doesn’t pass the smell test, plain and simple. We should have core values and being against corruption should be one of those, right?”
…
>But Guthrie says for weeks he’s been trying to get the provincial cabinet to take the matter seriously.
>
>Guthrie admits he failed.
>
“I can’t sit around a table where a cabinet feels it’s fine that dishonesty and conflict of interest is a normal course of business. I don’t want to be a part of that.
>
>“There is no amount I could speak in that room to change anyone’s mind. That became clear to me.”
…
>He is not saying there is “anything untoward” happening but the man has seen “lapses in procedures and processes going on within government in other areas.”
…
>As we talk, Guthrie mentions a committee of cabinet where he was a member and how they were not provided all the facts to make the decision to fire the AHS board.
…
>“One thing you need to know. They have maintained an even greater stronghold than they had. Significant,” says Guthrie.
>
>“They have 100 per cent say in what’s going on.”

#CorruptCare

#EthicalFading

#comment

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 112

https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/bell-pete-guthrie-speaks-mind-exits-premier-danielle-smith-inner-circle

https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/02/26/UCP-Mraiche-Business-Partner-Edmonton-Police-Commission/

Pike returns as the RCMP begin a probe about the CorruptCare scandal.

But even in the midst of this story of Corruption and Ethical Fading, more information continues to emerge in relation to Marshall Smith. While these are allegations, Netizens can see the character decline of Marshall Smith from an obscure politician to despot.

Jeremy Appel takes us through the story with a two-part series that discusses allegations of how the University of Calgary Administration staged a brutal ambush of its students in April 2024 who voiced opposition to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The University of Calgary Administration then conspired with Calgary Police Chief, Mark Neufeld, and high ranked UCP Government Officials, to cover up the violence.

“UCalgary Palestine encampment's fate was sealed before a single tent was pitched, documents reveal”, is the first part of the series where Appel discusses the events leading up to the Calgary Police attacking students. While there are reports of people sustaining injury as a result of police conduct, UofC President “[Ed] McCauley boasted that there were “no injuries” from the encampment raid, citing assurances from police.”

>On May 14, law professors from UCalgary and UAlberta wrote an open letter to the presidents of their universities, the Calgary and Edmonton police services, and the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service arguing that the universities and police forces violated the encampment protestors’ Charter rights.

In “How the UCP covered up police violence against the U of C Palestine encampment”, the second part of the series, Appel goes on to discuss correspondence exchanged between “university's executive leadership team, campus security, Calgary police and the provincial government.“ Netizens should review both parts for themselves. I’d suggest that what should draw your attention would be the messages involving Marshall Smith, Calgary Police Chief Neufeld, and Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis.

Some highlights are:

>At 2:50 p.m. on May 13, Neufeld notes that he received a call from Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis, a former Calgary cop, informing him that the province was going to order an investigation from its police watchdog, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), which Neufeld helped establish in 2007. 
>
>According to the chief’s notes, Neufeld told the minister that “it would be helpful if it were done quickly.” 

>At 3:20 p.m., Neufeld logged a phone call with Marshall Smith. According to Neufeld’s notes, Smith assured him that “ASIRT won’t investigate,” but would instead do a preliminary probe to determine if there was “serious injury.”

>Just five months later, in late October, Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness spokesperson Arthur Green announced the result of ASIRT’s "limited scope investigation," which found there were no “serious injuries” at either encampment. 

Other names of interest were raised in the article, but the point is Ellis, Smith, and other high ranked members of the UCP and Provincial Cabinet, are repeatedly alleged to engage in behaviour that is unprincipled and corrupt.

#CorruptCare

#EthicalFading

#comment

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 113

https://globalnews.ca/news/11069826/rcmp-probe-alberta-health-services-allegations/

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-breakdown-podcast-nate-pike-alberta-health/

https://www.readtheorchard.org/p/ucalgary-palestine-encampments-fate?triedRedirect=true

https://www.readtheorchard.org/p/how-the-ucp-covered-up-police-violence

“Alberta mulling plan to ship pain medication imported from Turkey to Ukraine“, by Carrie Tait and Alanna Smith, discuss the UCP’s hope to conclude the Tylenot Boondoggle, attached to a cluster of scandals referred to as CorruptCare, by sending the humiliating leftovers of acetaminophen and ibuprofen to Ukraine.

By now it seems the original deal was for $70M for roughly 5M bottles of Tylenot. In the end, Alberta paid $20.4M for 1.4M bottles, and it’s not very clear how much of this was actually used. As far as AHS is concerned, what Alberta does have in storage is worthless.

Worse, “MHCare has held $49.2-million in government money tied to the Turkish deal for “well over a year,” AHS said in a letter, obtained by The Globe, to the Edmonton-based medical supplier in December.”

Also, “Alberta estimates it would cost $275,000 to transport the 512 pallets to Ukraine using a commercial freight company, according to the documents.”

The UCP, Smith, and LaGrange, have basically spent their time cosplaying as Carmen Sandiego. They’re going door to door asking people to take unwanted pain medication at probably any price they feel the medication is worth. If this is what the UCP mean by running government like a business, this is a disgrace.

Danielle Smith, nor her squad, should be handling anything related to the CorruptCare cluster of contracts. Who’s making these arrangements?

#CorruptCare

#EthicalFading

#comment

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 114

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-mulling-plan-to-ship-pain-medication-imported-from-turkey-to/

https://archive.ph/rq7gw

“Add Another $5.5 Million to the Cost of Smith’s ‘Tylenot’ Folly”, by David Climenhaga, adds $5.5 Million dollars to the Tylenot Boondoggle in storage fees. Apparently the unwanted and worthless pain medication is held in a private warehouse, along with PPE masks from MHCare Medical.

#CorruptCare

#EthicalFading

#comment

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 115

https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025/03/13/Cost-Smith-Tylenot-Folly/

As if CorruptCare isn’t bizarre enough as it is, “Alberta’s Smith says province still working to import pain medication from Turkey”, by Alanna Smith, raises more questions.

> Premier Danielle Smith says Alberta is still working to import additional medication from Turkey to fulfill a $70-million deal signed over two years ago, but Health Canada says it has yet to receive an application from the province or any of the companies associated with the agreement.

Netizens might be able to understand the need to “mitigate” losses by storing the as yet to expire, worthless pain medication for $5 Million dollars. But for the UCP and Premier Smith to now say they’re still working to fulfill the $70 Million dollar contract with MHCare? Bizarre, outrageous, dumbfounding.

To what end? Alberta no longer faces any shortage of this pain medication, we have better quality medication readily available, and the contract is already the subject of corruption allegations. Instead of recovering Canadian money that sits in a bank account, the UCP want to realize maximum losses by storing more worthless, unwanted pain medication in Albertan warehouses?

Perhaps the truth just stares us all in the face. Maybe the point is to drain AHS resources, and shatter the system at the complete expense of Canadians.

#CorruptCare

#EthicalFading

#comment

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 116

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-albertas-smith-says-province-still-working-to-import-pain-medication/

https://archive.ph/sqVau

The Corrupt Care cluster continues to grow, the latest addition being the DynaLife story. While Netizens can recall that this story was mainly notable for the extremely long backlogs for lab work as a result of this private provider, more details emerge from Freedom of Information Act requests. “DynaLife insolvent less than 90 days into contract for lab services, government documents show”, by Taylor Lambert, takes us through the reveal.

Highlight here is the timeline.

Dec 2020 - Proposals for privatization contract was issued.

June 2021 - “DynaLife was selected. One year later, the contract had been finalized and was set to take effect Dec. 5, 2022.”

Two weeks before that date (late Nov, 2022 it seems) - “‘concerns with the financial viability of DynaLife emerged,’ according to a briefing note prepared for the premier in July 2023.”

Feb 2023 - “DynaLife's owners — Labcorp, a large American health-care company, and OMERS, a municipal employee pension plan in Ontario — ‘informally flagged financial concerns’ about the company, according to the briefing note to Smith.”

Mar 10, 2023 - A request of APL was denied. (During this time, DynaLife was taking on the staff of Alberta Precision Labs [APL]. APL staff were paid better than DynaLife staff so presumably DynaLife was demanding APL staff to be paid less. Naturally, if this was the request, it was likely denied)

Mar 30, 2023 - DynaLife’s owners reportedly requested $70 Million from the government. At some point both the AHS and Alberta Health decided to deny this request. In turn, DynaLIfe asked to end the privatization contract, and to sell DynaLife to AHS. As noted in the article “…[t]he 2023-24 AHS annual report breaks down the financial details of the acquisition. The government paid $31.5 million in cash and took on approximately $66 million in assumed liabilities from DynaLife.”

Oct 2023 - Alberta Auditor General Doug Wylie announces an investigation.

DynaLife appears to have sought greater profits by essentially carving into its own workers. And, what is positive as well is once DynaLife was clear it would not be able to do the same with APL workers, there was no profits or savings possible. In other words, the public operations of APL are already as efficient and effective as possible. This was implied since from the government’s point of view a “...later briefing note for health minister LaGrange states that, in addition to the one-time capital injection, DynaLife was requesting ‘a significant ongoing increase to their annual payment,’ which would eliminate ‘all potential savings from the contract.’”

Moving on to the dark zones of this story, when DynaLife attempted to consume a public organization with workers that were paid better than their own, DynaLife encountered what turned out to be an existential challenge. But, how? Surely DynaLife would have been keenly aware of what it can and cannot do. How could DynaLife then be caught by surprise knowing the number of APL workers it would take on, and the cost of paying these workers?

Surely, a casual observer would start wondering if the original plan was to get the government to buy out DynaLife from the start. And, the question arises, how much did the UCP know of this, and when? What’s the benefit to Albertans to buy out DynaLife in cash, and wash away all of DynaLife’s liabilities? Someone’s very happy with the outcome - but this wasn’t without consequences.

Albertans were waiting for lab results - in some cases perhaps their lives may have been on the line for those lab results. Now Albertans have to stomach the idea that some corporate big wigs wanted a cash out payday? 

Clearly from this smoking wreckage Netizens can see the menace of greed and deception.

There’s no way Alberta Health or the Minister of Health can even suggest that they have no say or sway upon AHS or anything else to do with Healthcare in Alberta. The UCP control all of it.

Worse, Albertans see that the Alberta Auditor General Doug Wylie started his investigation back in…October 2023. The UCP played this card already. We’re done with this can kicking for another 5-10 years. Public Judicial Inquiry for the Corrupt Care scandals.

As Dr. Luanne Metz already noted 3 of 4 “top positions in AHS are filled by government appointed bureaucrats with no clinical experience of healthcare leadership qualifications.” If they’re not picked for their qualifications, Netizens are free to guess what other qualities they were selected for.

#CorruptCare #HealthCare #Corruption #Alberta

#EthicalFading

#comment

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 117

https://bird.makeup/users/luanne_metz/statuses/1902116673697824946

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/dynalife-insolvent-less-than-90-days-into-contract-for-lab-services-government-documents-show-1.7483023

During a recent Question Period, MLA Christina Gray asks Premier Danielle Smith about Jitendra Prasad. Prasad was a prominent figure in the Corrupt Care allegations. From this clip, Danielle Smith maintains her delusional line of argument that she did not know of the Corrupt Care cluster of contracts, and that this “issue” will be investigated to uncover the truth.

What Netizens will also be aware of is that the Statement of Defence Premier Smith refers is not a response to the allegations of corruptions contained in the original Claim. The Statement of Defence is simply a next step court filing in response to the issue of wrongful dismissal of Mentzelopoulos.

So Premier Smith is essentially making jazz hands at Albertans, trying to suggest that the Statement of Defence, a tightly leashed, limited-scope inquiry by a third party lawyer, and a potentially years long investigation by the Auditor General is an actual answer to the reported corruption from within her office, some of her fellow UCP party members, and other private parties.

Newsflash: Premier Smith has either been raising any other issue under the sun to change the subject, avoid speaking of the subject, and/or serving up the equivalent to word salad. She's even run off to a bizarre, American right-wing fundraiser. Anything to possibly get away from the Corrupt Care scandal.

With UCP control over AHS so complete, as discussed Post 111 and 93, every step taken by the AHS may be politically calculated, and motivated.

In “AHS claims fired CEO kept confidential emails, seeking injunction”, by Jack Farrell, what AHS is basically saying here is they’ll toe the line with Premier Smith.

Who else had that same concern that the UCP and “they” have 100% control over everything? Oh right, Post 112, Mr Peter Guthrie.

But, besides this very concerning issue of corruption, the Alberta NDP itself may be getting the “jazz hands” by their own signal management. While entirely a speculation on my part, the mainstream media outlets are all held by strong American interests, and X is simply not generating the same access and reach to the public despite whatever stats are reported back. I grow concerned that if the NDP are not prepared to meet this challenge by boldly stepping into the Social Web and taking back the signal, they’re being suppressed.

#CorruptCare #HealthCare #Corruption #Alberta

#EthicalFading

#comment

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 118

https://bird.makeup/users/thebreakdownab/statuses/1905323279214403894

https://globalnews.ca/news/11101909/alberta-health-services-ceo-emails/

From “Well-known conservative operative quits Alberta’s UCP, says party is ‘allergic to transparency’”, by Phil Heidenreich, Cameron Davies, notorious for his involvement in the Kenney Leadership scandal, resigns his membership with the UCP

>“(The party) is addicted to power and allergic to transparency,” Davies wrote on Thursday. “We are not witnessing leadership — we are witnessing damage control.

>“Backroom deals, gag orders and purges of internal dissent have replaced open dialogue and democratic decision-making. MLAs are muzzled, caucus is sidelined, staff are silenced and the grassroots members who built this movement have been abandoned.”

This is of course in the greater context of “Auditor general denies that Alberta government using lawyer for investigation is normal”, by Nicolas Frew. Here, “some health ministry staff members received an email — which CBC News obtained — that told them to direct members of the office of the auditor general to the government's legal counsel if they are contacted as part of the investigation into the government's health-care procurement practices.”

Basically, AB GOV itself is playing damage control for stripping public funds out of the healthcare system in favour of a select few private parties - and is now potentially protecting these few (and each other) with the use of public funds. Instead of clearing the air, and avoiding conflicts of interest, like Mr Guthrie, Danielle Smith’s UCP is mired in a corruption scandal that may be unprecedented in Alberta.

#CorruptCare #HealthCare #Corruption #Alberta

#EthicalFading

#comment

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 119

https://globalnews.ca/news/11149912/alberta-ucp-letter-cameron-davies/amp/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-government-auditor-general-investigation-ahs-mentzelopoulos-1.7509049

Danielle Smith and the UCP press ahead with their Compassionate Intervention Act - otherwise known as the controversial involuntary treatment program. I’d like to set aside the issue of the merits of such a program to highlight that this is the same UCP dream team implicated in allegations of corruption - the Corrupt Care cluster of contracts.

Further, as Post 110 revealed, Marshall Smith may have had some involvements with this involuntary treatment planning, and potential conflicts of interest as this program was being laid out.

As a quick reminder, Mentzelopoulos’ Wrongful Dismissal Claim suggests that Dan Williams knows something about the alleged conflicts of interests that flow out of the Corrupt Care contracts.

Whether Netizens can even believe such a UCP group can administer this Act safely, look just at what’s being proposed here. As Climenhaga and others already pointed out, these facilities will be jails.

I’d suggest Netizens consider that this group of UCP insiders, vulnerable to group-think, and are still very much human. This group has cut social safety nets, reduced funding to outreach programs, and have eroded the effectiveness of how healthcare is provided in the province. Now, this same crack team proposes to roll out an untested, potentially Charter non-compliant piece of legislation targeting the vulnerable.

We should clarify that the vulnerable will inevitably be the coloured people, First Nations people, Metis, the women, the young, the children.

And, we also accept that police are human, and they make mistakes like any other.

Now, Netizens have to stomach the idea that those who end up targeted mistakenly will be subject to treatment they cannot refuse. Police and people some times allege that others are intoxicated - or they have the appearance of being intoxicated. But in a Criminal Justice setting these are allegations that still must eventually be proven.

What’s the burden of proof here? What if this is simply false? What if the person in question is just “different”, and not even intoxicated? Their bodies are flooded with medications that may have intended effects, and unintended outcomes. Where’s the line? What if someone’s found to have abused this Act for their own designs? Surely the reporters are coming from a position of strength relative to the actual target.

But, the targeted one can still somehow “ask” for legal counsel. Their bodies, filled with drugs they don’t ask for, they can “ask” for an advocate?

This Act is designed to turn people away from the Healthcare system - to potentially put Healthcare Workers, Police, Lawyers, and the public in impossible situations. When people die as a result of these treatments, who speaks for them?

#CompassionateCareAct #InvoluntaryTreatment #ForcedTreatment #CorruptCare #HealthCare #Corruption #Alberta

#EthicalFading

#comment

#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 120

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-introduces-controversial-involuntary-addictions-treatment-bill-1.7511051

I’d build upon a previous comment made on the subject that there’s no logic or sense for Alberta to pursue independence in any scenario. But, I wish to now correct myself: Danielle Smith’s giving Alberta Separatists a platform they may find too tempting. And, I’d suggest this is clearly for her own political survival at the expense of all else.

This attitude is illustrated in “Inside an Australian Miner’s Brawl with Alberta Regulators”, by Andrew Nikiforuk. Basically, the Alberta Energy Regulator’s experience with Australian Coal companies has been hostile, belligerent, and litigious. I would encourage Albertans to go over that article, and I suggest it simply outlines the same attitude that the UCP have adopted in its core: Take Everything, Leave Nothing.

Albertans see that attitude play out even when it’s time to clean up after the Oil and Gas industry. From the Globe “Alberta wants to accelerate cleanup of oil and gas wells with taxpayers as backstop, document shows”, by Jeffrey Jones, which basically outlines how resource companies are trying to make Albertans hold the bag on the clean up and waste left behind so they can make off with the money. And, the UCP are on board with the idea with a complicated game of musical chairs meant to leave Albertans sitting in the dirt:

>The mature asset report tallies the number of marginal, inactive or decommissioned oil and gas wells in the province at 274,215, more than half of all those licensed. Estimates to clean them up vary wildly, from $33-billion into the hundreds of billions of dollars.

Jones goes on:

>In the report, Mr. Yager, who is also an Alberta Energy Regulator director, acknowledged that “the trust has been broken” between the industry, landowners, municipalities and government as resource wealth has been taken for granted and individual rights rival or surpass what he terms “the greater good.”

I’d suggest that trust was never a part of the equation.

How about Pillage or Die in politics? That’s a complete other beast.

In the case of Smith, with serious challenges to her credibility in Corrupt Care Scandals, a “big tent” UCP threatening to break apart with disparate priorities, persistent opposition in the NDP, and a rising public sentiment that Smith has betrayed her party and Canada in general, survival is likely top of mind. Her response? Smith has now chosen to turn friend and foe alike against one another, and chooses hell in exchange for control.

I’ve pointed out before that Smith’s also been turning social safety nets against one another as a result of cuts to the Legal Aid Society of Alberta, and consequently to the Alberta Law Foundation. This sudden budget shortfall has meant organizations designed as critical components to provide support for the vulnerable, victims of crime, or the addicted, are forced to choose amongst each other as sacrifice.

She’s also persisting in her privatization plans in favour of Chartered Surgical Facilities against a shattered AHS, despite the allegations of corruption in her very cabinet that remain unanswered. Smith’s also pressing ahead with a forced treatment for addictions plan that features privatized elements yet again possibly implicated in the same Corrupt Care scandal given that the same UCP cabinet is involved.

And, now, we see Smith giving Alberta Separatists a platform - nakedly providing a route to referendum that would allow the separatists to fork out, and waste their time, energy, and funds. From “Danielle Smith's reform is nudging Alberta separation vote from 'if' toward 'when’”, by Jason Markusoff, Tim Hoven is mentioned as “a conservative grassroots organizer".

By Hoven’s own estimation “the current premier and her UCP members will stay federalist and won't help the independence movement. That would leave many conservative activists fighting on their own, and could prompt an exodus of members from the UCP”.

Smith’s strategy could not be clearer to her enemies, to her friends, and to the world. She’s a Premier, desperate to survive, vulnerable, and weak. Premier Smith is unfit to lead.

#CompassionateCareAct #InvoluntaryTreatment #ForcedTreatment #CorruptCare #HealthCare #Corruption #Alberta #AlbertaSeparation

#EthicalFading

#comment

- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 121

https://coffee-time.org/@runsmooth/statuses/01JT76R5RPBE9B26J5KQRMV9JM

https://coffee-time.org/@runsmooth/statuses/01JSSX3P12MHB49JC215A900C6

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-alberta-wants-to-accelerate-cleanup-of-oil-and-gas-wells-with/

https://archive.ph/LOya4

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/ndp-releases-another-video-on-ucp-and-health-care

https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/04/30/Australian-Miner-Brawl-Alberta-Regulators/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/danielle-smith-alberta-separation-referendum-threshold-analysis-1.7524320

By 2025, Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery continues a dubious conservative trend: joining an infamous group of conservative Justice Ministers who cannot seem to stay out of controversy. From Jonathan Denis, Doug Schweitzer, Kaycee Madu, and Tyler Shandro, Amery’s contribution to this legacy is no less serious.

But, as Netizens review this situation, I suggest the important point is that Justice Minister Amery was already aware of his own potential for conflict long before the Wrongful Dismissal claim of Mentzelopoulos. Throughout it all, Amery knows he still has the same Brother-in-Law. And I’m sure there will be questions about whether the UCP cabinet, and Premier Smith were aware of this detail. Yet, when we set that all aside, what we still have is an attempt to slow or control the flow of information to the public. And, if that’s the case, can Albertans expect a fulsome investigations by Auditor General Wylie or former Honourable Justice Raymond Wyant?

From “Ousted Alberta MLA says premier knew about AHS problems”, by Michael Franklin, a few additional details emerge from the Wrongful Dismissal claim of Mentzelopoulos. Particularly:

>He also indicated concerns with Justice Minister Mickey Amery’s relationship with MHCare CEO Sam Mraiche and the business owner’s connection to former Edmonton police chief Dale McFee, who is now a deputy minister of the executive council.

From “Alberta Justice Minister has personal relationship with man whose businesses are tied to AHS investigation”, by Carrie Tait, Albertans learn that

>Mr. Amery told The Globe and Mail that he and Mr. Mraiche have been friends for “a very long time.” He confirmed they are related and, when pressed for details, said he and Mr. Mraiche are “loosely related” through marriage.

The article goes on

>Andrew Flavelle Martin, an assistant professor at Dalhousie University’s Schulich School of Law, said Mr. Amery should take steps to formally distance himself from the government’s handling of Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s lawsuit.
>
>“The question I‘d be concerned about is: How involved is he in directing the litigation around the wrongful dismissal given that his friend is involved in one of the contracts?” said Prof. Martin, whose research focuses on legal ethics for government lawyers and Attorneys General. “The optics are not good.”

Again, Danielle Smith and the UCP have not addressed the allegations of corruption that emerged from the Corrupt Care scandal. We’ve heard from Amery himself that he believes he’s onside the Conflicts and Interest Act. We’ve also heard UCP House Leader Joseph Schow saying “‘Putting your name on a ballot and getting elected to this wonderful chamber does not preclude you from having friends and relatives,’ he said.”

We’re not talking about having friends - and Amery knows the difference between the written words of legislation, AND their rationale. As the Minister of Justice, Amery should be aware of not just the need to comply with the law, but the appearance of compliance. Albertans have to grapple with the idea that former Infrastructure Minister Peter Guthrie understood the assignment when he took his job, and the Justice Minister did not.

#CompassionateCareAct #InvoluntaryTreatment #ForcedTreatment #CorruptCare #HealthCare #Corruption #Alberta #AlbertaSeparation

#EthicalFading

#comment

- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 122

https://www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/article/ousted-alberta-mla-says-premier-knew-about-ahs-problems/

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-justice-minister-has-personal-relationship-with-man-whose/

https://archive.ph/Y4wJr

Mr Guthrie gave notice to the Auditor General about a previous allegation of Ethical Fading, this time a multi-billion dollar Rail Master Plan that may have involved Premier Danielle Smith’s husband, David Moretta.

From “Why Was Premier Smith’s Husband in a Secret Megaproject Meeting?”, by Charles Rusnell, Mount Royal’s Lori Williams offered some foreshadowing of the years to come:

>“In politics, we talk about not just doing things properly, but appearing to do things properly,” she said.
>
>“And if things are happening in a way that appear to evade documentation, or people are told that information isn’t available because it wasn’t a government meeting, it raises both questions of fairness and propriety.”

I think Williams’ comments are of particular force when Albertans have to go over the last few years of Danielle Smith and her cabinet’s activities. As NDP's Nenshi has stated time and again, Albertans deserve a full Judicial Inquiry into Corrupt Care, and the Auditor General needs to be able to do his job without restrictions.

#CompassionateCareAct #InvoluntaryTreatment #ForcedTreatment #CorruptCare #HealthCare #Corruption #Alberta #AlbertaSeparation #RailMasterPlan

#EthicalFading

#comment

- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 123

https://youtu.be/-HIOk6Q_Bhg?si=NGl-Pfp30NGcA-8P&utm_source=ZTQxO

https://thetyee.ca/News/2024/08/28/David-Moretta-Secret-Rail-Megaproject-Meeting/

Netizens following the Corrupt Care scandals will already be aware of Marshall Smith’s lawsuit against Mentzelopoulos, the Globe and Mail, Carrie Tait, and an unnamed party. For many, Smith’s lawsuit appears to be a SLAPP or Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.

Now, “Former chief of staff to Alberta Premier lived in home owned by Sam Mraiche’s sister”, by Carrie Tait, appears to raise further issues of Smith’s relationship with Sam Mraiche. Also, two other political staffers may have stayed at the same property:

>Mr. Smith lived at the property with at least two other people.
>
>Ethan Lecavalier-Kidney told The Globe he lived at the property under a sublease agreement from August, 2023 to April, 2024. He said he paid $1,118 a month, plus utilities. He did not answer questions about who collected his rent.
>
>Eric Engler also confirmed he resided at the property but did not provide details about when he lived there or the amount of rent he paid.
>
>Both said they were unaware of who owned the property. The two men worked in government as political staff.

Albertans will need real answers to what’s going on with Danielle Smith and the UCP. How deeply integrated is the UCP with Mraiche?

Netizens know that the UCP have not volunteered this information to the public. Albertans have little reason to believe any of the measures taken by Danielle Smith’s UCP are intended to address the corruption scandals in good faith.

Alberta must have a full Judicial Inquiry.

#CompassionateCareAct #InvoluntaryTreatment #ForcedTreatment #CorruptCare #HealthCare #Corruption #Alberta #AlbertaSeparation #RailMasterPlan

#EthicalFading

#comment

- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 124

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/marshall-smith-defamation-lawsuit-ahs-globe-1.7537552

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-ahs-investigations-danielle-smith-marshall-smith-home-sam-mraiche/

https://archive.ph/5dQBK

From “Alberta paid more than six times usual price for pain medications in $70-million import deal, according to government briefing note”, by Carrie Tait and Alanna Smith, Netizens learn that Alberta had options to order less of the infamous Tylenot.

To recap, Post 114 to 115 reveal that Alberta has stored the unwanted Tylenot and PPE to the tune of over $5 Million. At some point, Danielle Smith abjectly tried to offer the unwanted material to Ukraine. Albertans are also aware that Premier Smith’s government deposited $49 million dollars into an MHCare account, and the money’s been sitting there for over a year.

Albertans now find that Premier Smith maximized the boondoggle by choice. Worse, Danielle Smith has tried to change the focus off from her Corrupt Care scandals by giving Alberta Separatists a platform.

From JasonontheDrums, there’s a review of what Alberta may have been able to invest with the money squandered by Premier Smith in favour of MHCare and Mraiche.

#CompassionateCareAct #InvoluntaryTreatment #ForcedTreatment #CorruptCare #HealthCare #Corruption #Alberta #AlbertaSeparation #RailMasterPlan

#EthicalFading

#comment

- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 125

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-alberta-turkish-pain-medication-deal-prices/

https://archive.ph/fJ2d4#selection-2381.0-2381.131

https://bird.makeup/users/jasononthedrums/statuses/1926370546964484331

Here, the allegations take us to Melewka Homes Ltd, owned by Lewis Semashkewich and John Semashkewich. The pair did business with a Mohamed Eldassouki. Plot twist: Eldassouki apparently is the brother-in-law of the perpetual protagonist of capitalism, Sam Mraiche. The Semashkewiches go on to allege that Mraiche introduced himself as Fred, and suggested that he had connections with high ranked officials, and he could pull contracts awarded to Melweka at any time. Fred went on to make demands for large sums of money.

Unfortunately, some of these contracts appear to involve the Addiction Recovery Centres that were once handled by AHS. But, since AHS may have been shattered into pieces for allegedly investigating the CorruptCare cluster of contracts, it has since been replaced by Recovery Alberta in 2024. At this point, it beggars belief that the UCP, Danielle Smith, and her caucus do not either resign or at least take steps to mitigate what is clearly an out-of-control conflicts of interest.

#CompassionateCareAct #InvoluntaryTreatment #ForcedTreatment #CorruptCare #HealthCare #Corruption #Alberta #AlbertaSeparation #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #JitendraPrasad #BryanWard #MohamedEldassouki #Melewka #RecoveryAlberta

#EthicalFading

#comment

- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 126

https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/328242/alberta-construction-company-alleges-sam-mraiche-played-hidden-role-in-building-of-addic

https://archive.is/ztn4Y