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

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

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

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

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

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/

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

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/

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

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/

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

“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