Alberta government and auditor at odds over lawyer involvement in health probe

EDMONTON — The Alberta government and its auditor general are at odds over the province’s decision to bring lawyers directly into the investigation surrounding multimillion-dollar health contracts.

The issue arose after the Opposition NDP revealed a leaked email this week from Alberta Health that directs public servants to contact a lawyer to co-ordinate if auditor general Doug Wylie requests an interview as part of his investigation.

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi says funnelling interview requests through a lawyer amounts to a gag order and runs counter to the government’s promise to be open and transparent.

Alberta Health says it’s a standard process and that the auditor general’s office OK’d it, but Wylie’s office says it was surprised by the move.

“We were not aware of, nor did we endorse, that proposed action. This is not a standard practice our office typically encounters in the course of its work,” said Cheryl Schneider, a spokesperson for Wylie’s office.

“We want Albertans to understand that the auditor general will do everything necessary within his powers to ensure he has access to the information and the individuals required for his work,” she said in a Friday statement.

Multiple investigations have been launched, including one by the RCMP, since the former head of Alberta Health Services launched a lawsuit alleging she was wrongfully fired for looking into sweetheart deals, high-level political interference and corruption in health contracts.

The government and AHS have said Athana Mentzelopoulos was fired because she was failing in her job and was working to stop mandated health reform.

Allegations from either side have yet to be tested in court.

In a statement Thursday, Health Minister Adriana LaGrange’s office said the email’s instructions bringing in the lawyers reflect the normal process during investigations by the auditor general or any other independent party.

It said it’s standard for public servants to “either have legal counsel present, or ministry senior staff present when participating in interviews.”

“This is not about impeding the investigation,” it said.

The Opposition NDP has been grilling the government for details on the matter in the legislature since the Mentzelopoulos lawsuit was filed in February, alleging a coverup.

Nenshi said Thursday the government is ensuring that the auditor general, and a separate investigation being performed by retired Manitoba judge Raymond Wyant, will only get the information the government wants them to have.

“It’s time to call a public inquiry, a real public inquiry, now,” he said.

The controversy has been moving on multiple fronts.

Earlier this week, the medical supply company tied to some of Mentzelopoulos’s allegations, MHCare Medical, wrote a nine-page letter to the government in an effort to correct misinformation and to assist in the varied investigations.

MHCare, in the letter, said its CEO Sam Mraiche has been unfairly characterized by the media and Opposition NDP critics as a privileged “government insider,” benefiting from relationships rather than from the quality of MHCare’s work.

“All of this is untrue,” states the letter.

MHCare has been in the news for a controversial medication deal. In 2022, it secured a $70-million contract with the province to import pain medication during a major widespread shortage.

Alberta received about 30 per cent of the order, despite paying the full cost. In its letter, MHCare says delivering the rest of the order remains a work in progress following a challenging and complicated regulatory approval process.

Following that contract, Mraiche provided multiple cabinet ministers and government staff with luxury box tickets to Edmonton Oilers playoff games.

“The unspectacular truth is 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,” MHCare’s letter says.

The Mentzelopoulos lawsuit says AHS estimated Mraiche-related firms have completed $614 million in government contracts for goods and services.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2025.

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press