Starting in early 2024, there have been increasing allegations of improper dealings relating to AHS service contract payments and product purchases. (What the NDP are branding “Corrupt Care“). This page is an attempt to document the various events specific to that chronologically (noting that later news articles bring to light much earlier events). There are currently several open investigations and ongoing court cases, so many of the entries are alleged by one or more parties. Entries on this page are going to be brief rather than encompassing, so Google is your friend for accuracy or context.
For a more detailed breakdown, see Nate Pike’s article in albertaviews, or the page by ABResistance (alternate link). Videos available include Ryan Jesperson, Spoke Media, or The Breakdown.
2020
April
April 9: AHS Board approves purchase of PPE from oilfield supplier Mraiche Holding Corporation
May
May 7: Alberta doctors sign open letter over medical mask concerns: “These masks are of poor quality”
2022
April
April: Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s investigations show Jitendra Prasad retires from AHS, to become an AHS contractor.
November
Nov 22: Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s investigations show Mr. Prasad having an MHCare email address
December
Dec 9: MHCare originally issued purchase order for children’s pain medication, later delivered as brand-name Parol. MHCare is, at some point, pre-paid $21.2-million
2023
May
May 1: Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis appoints close business associate of Sam Mraiche Dr. Jayan Nagendran to Edmonton Police Commission.
July
July 10: Hospitals directed to halt use of imported medicine
July 24 / 26: MHCare issued additional supply agreement, “trigger[ing] a final deposit of $28-million from AHS to MHCare”
December
Dec 7: Athana Mentzelopoulos announced as new AHS President and CEO
2024
Early 2024: Danielle Smith chief of staff Marshall Smith describes Mr Prasad to Ms. Mentzelopoulos as “his guy”, working at Alberta Health to “get contracting right”.
Early 2024: Mr Prasad contacts Ms. Mentzelopoulos – Ms. Mentzelopoulos feels he’s working on procurement and contract issues that are her mandate only.
May
May 10: Danielle Smith and members of the UCP government are photographed in an NHL playoff skybox with MHCare owner Sam Mraiche.
Summer
Summer of 2024: Mr. Tremblay texts Mrs. Mentzelopoulos asking her to fire supposed government critics.
Summer of 2024: In support of Mr Tremblay, Minister LaGrange’s chief of staff Nichole Williams sends Mentzelopoulos a screenshot of a Tweet that had been “liked” by a staff member.
Summer of 2024: Mrs. Mentzelopoulos alleges in her lawsuit filing that Marshall Smith pressured her to fire government critic Nate Pike
Late Summer: Marshall Smith tells Mentzelopoulos of Twitter account “Hansard the Cat”, which the government has used “detectives, lawyers, and (apparently) hackers” to investigate.
August
Aug 29: A numbered company listing Mr Mraiche as director sells a property to Alberta Infrastructure at the behest of the Public Safety ministry, only 3 months after initially purchasing it, netting $300k.
October
Oct 1: Ms. Mentzelopoulos sends Darren Hedley (now deputy minister of health), a draft letter prepared for Health Minister Adriana LaGrange showing some CSF charging double AHS’s costs.
Early Oct: Minister LaGrange issues order moving CSF contract decisions to government, with rates Mentzelopoulos later determined were in excess
Oct 27: “Unboxing” video shows manufacturer knew medicine to be non-standard when made
Oct 27: The Breakdown podcast breaks a FOIP-based story alleging over $250M in sole-sourced contacts
Oct 30: Alberta Infrastructure minister Peter Guthrie admits to accepting Oilers playoff tickets from MHCare
Oct 30: After concerns about Prasad arise, Assistant Deputy Minister of Health Darren Hedley asks “to quietly get it set up to put JP on leave and shut down his access” Mentzelopoulos opines “that both LaGrange
and likely also Premier Smith were aware, via their respective Chiefs of Staff, of concerns around Prasad.“
November
Early Nov: Ms. Mentzelopoulos initiates an external forensic audit by the law firm Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Nov 25: Ms. Mentzelopoulos alleges that, in relation to her ongoing investigation, Health Minister LaGrande directed her to “wrap it up”.
December
Dec 2: LaGrange meets with Mentzelopoulos, says “I think you’ve done some phenomenal things in Alberta Health Services, like honestly I really do“
Dec 6: Health Minister Adriana LaGrange says that Turkish company Atabay holds the outstanding balance from $49 million paid, as only ~1/3 the originally requested product was delivered.
Dec 13: LaGrange meets with Mentzelopoulos, preliminary investigation results are brought up.
Dec 19: Mentzelopoulos updates the AHS Board of Directors on the investigation and forensic audit. One topic: Can we get $$$ back from MHCare?
Dec 19th: MHCare and owner Mr Mraiche’s law firm files a defamation lawsuit against podcaster/podcast Nate Pike of The Breakdown
Dec 20: AHS chief financial officer Michael Lam sends a letter to MHCare asking about $49.2-million they were holding – gives them until Jan 8 to answer with “a detailed status update”
Dec 23: Mentzelopoulos receives a letter from Assistant Deputy Minister of Health Chris Nickerson instructing to wind up the internal investigation
2025
January
Jan 2: Minister Dan Williams, is “very concerned” about the AHS internal investigations – is “concerned that the investigation could lead to potential connections between various government officials and Sam Mraiche and MHCare Medical”
Jan 2: Mentzelopoulos talks to Deputy Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Evan Romanow. Romanow says that his Minister was: “freaked out about any potential connectivity or any exposure that there may be
directly or indirectly to government through through [sic] AHS”.
Also that “he’s freaked out because the connections with Metis Nation of Alberta, the builder that they’ve got building the recovery community with MNA, is the same builder with three others. And it’s, it’s connected to Sam [Mraiche] as well.“
Jan 7: MHCare asks for an extension to Michael Lam’s letter
Jan 7: Minister LaGrange meets with AHS board, demands that they fire Mentzelopoulos; they refuse.
Jan 8th: Athana Mentzelopoulos fired, Deputy minister of health Andre Tremblay appointed interim AHS President and CEO
Jan 30th: Health Cabinet committee “HPGCC” meets. Peter Guthrie would later accuse the Minister of Health (and possibly Smith) of deception during this meeting, and of the other ministers of tacit acceptance of mendacity.
Jan 31st: Investigation report ordered by former AHS head Mentzelopoulos due to be presented to AHS board
Jan 31st: Entire AHS board dismissed, Tremblay appointed Official Administrator
February
Feb 5: The Globe and Mail publishes a research article based on information from fired AHS head
Feb 6: Alberta’s auditor general has launched an investigation into procurement and contracting processes
Feb 12: Athana Mentzelopoulos files suit against AHS, Minister LaGrange
Feb 12: Tremblay “passes a formal administrator’s resolution, which allows him to unilaterally change AHS general bylaws.” – single change made requiring AHS head to be a deputy minister of health.
Feb 14: CBC obtains a memo where Peter Guthrie calls for Adriana LaGrange to be moved to ‘another unrelated ministry’
Feb 18: MHCare obtains injunction ordering halt of program, removal of content from The Breakdown
Feb 19: Andre Tremblay removed as Deputy Minister of Health, bylaw changes requiring AHS head to be a deputy minister of health reversed.
Feb 21: Alberta surgical company’s fees double public costs, according to AHS documents
Feb 24: Alberta NDP launch CorruptCare.ca demanding a judicial public inquiry
Feb 25: Infrastructure minister Pete Guthrie resigns his cabinet position
Feb 26: Danielle Smith doesn’t answer Question Period question about why forensic audit started by Ms. Mentzelopoulos was cancelled.
Feb 27: Chief Information Officer of AHS Penny Rae dismissed.
March
Mar 3: Danielle Smith names judge Raymond E Wyatt as investigator to return report in to AH/AHS procurement by June 30.
Mar 6: RCMP now formally investigating allegations against Alberta Health Services
Mar 6: Smith says calls RCMP investigation a “dispute” about whether Alberta “should have alternative service providers providing services or not”
Mar 13: AHS / Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange file Statement of Defence
Mar 19: Per 26th filing, AHS becomes aware of Mentzelopoulos retaining some emails
Mar 20: Mentzelopoulos files Reply to Statements of Defence, increasing demands to $1.7M in punitive damages.
Mar 26: AHS files amended statement of defence, claiming that retained emails are ground for firing, want to prevent their use as evidence in court.
April
April 8: MHCare Medical releases a letter asserting that “Mr. Mraiche’s interactions with government, those in elected office and senior staff, fit entirely within the established parameters of typical government relations for the CEO of a commercial entity”
Apr 9: AHS staff emailed regarding Auditor General requests – instructed to redirect to AHS legal council.
Apr 11: Health Minister LaGrange indicates that the Auditor General approved of having a legal council intermediary, but the Auditor General indicates they did not.
April 15: UCP member for Airdrie-Cochrane Peter Guthrie and former UCP member Scott Sinclair both vote with NDP for a public inquiry in to AHS corruption allegations.
April 16: Peter Guthrie expelled from UCP caucus, releases his Feb 25th cabinet resignation letter where he calls out deception in Jan 30th meeting.