With the Smith UCP facing allegations of high-level government interference around medical contracts and the possibility of an RCMP investigation still pending, it’s hardly surprising that the issue is garnering lots of public attention these days.
Whether the scandal will eventually lead to the premier and/or some of her minsters actually losing their jobs remains anyone’s guess.
What is known is residents here and elsewhere in the province are right to insist on detailed and transparent explanations and answers.
Former Alberta Health Services president Athana Mentzelopoulos has alleged that the UCP government engaged in conflicts of interest surrounding multi-million-dollar deals for health products and surgical procedures.
For her part, the premier has been quick to proclaim her own innocence in the matter.
“As premier, I was not involved in any wrongdoing,” Smith said. “Any insinuation to the contrary is false, baseless and defamatory.
“I have read various media stories containing allegations regarding the procurement and contracting processes of AHS. They are troubling allegations and they should be reviewed as quickly as possible.”
Health Minister Adriana LaGrange has also been quick to deny any wrongdoing and says the government is committed to uncovering the truth.
“We are going to have an external party do it, and so I am looking forward to making information public so that people know what's going on,” said LaGrange.
“People deserve to know what's going on and we want to make sure that happens.”
Not surprisingly, health-care advocates are calling for independent investigations into the allegations.
“These are some extremely serious allegations coming out, and every day they seem to get worse,” said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare. “Evidence of a government directive from the Ministry of Health interfering in contracting decisions shows this government is willing to grievously overstep their authority in order to further their privatization agenda in our health care.”
With many Alberta families continuing to struggle to access timely health-care services, only full and complete answers to these very troubling corruption allegations will be acceptable.
Dan Singleton is an editor with the Albertan.
