Alberta Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange, left, and Premier Danielle Smith are pictured in Calgary on Feb. 19.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Alberta is weighing a plan to ship hundreds of pallets of children’s medicine it imported from Turkey to Ukraine, offloading the drugs that were part of a $70-million deal that is under scrutiny, according to government briefing notes obtained by The Globe and Mail.
The province has been storing roughly 1.4 million bottles of acetaminophen and ibuprofen, manufactured by Turkey’s Atabay Pharmaceuticals, at a third-party warehouse, according to the government briefing documents, after officials in 2023 halted use of some of the medicine as a safety precaution. Alberta estimates it would cost $275,000 to transport the 512 pallets to Ukraine using a commercial freight company, according to the documents.
Premier Danielle Smith, in one of her first major announcements after assuming office in the fall of 2022, unveiled a $70-million deal to purchase the generic medication in response to a North American shortage spurred by a brutal cold and flu season. Alberta prepaid a premium for five million bottles of the medicine, but the province only received 1.5 million bottles, weeks after the shortage subsided. The government distributed just 13,700 bottles of the medication and it is unclear how much of that was consumed.
Alberta determined the acetaminophen from Turkey could increase the risk of a life-threatening illness in neonatal patients when administered through feeding tubes and ordered a halt to its use in May, 2023.. Canadian kids also disliked the taste of the thicker formula, which left some children gagging. Further, by the time the Turkish products arrived in Alberta, the shortage had eased across the country, and consumers opted for familiar brands at cheaper prices.
Alberta Health Services wrote off the Turkish inventory in 2023-24, valuing the massive stockpile at $0, according to the documents. Alberta paid roughly $20.4-million for the 1.4 million bottles of acetaminophen and ibuprofen it is now looking to unload, according to the documents.
The documents also note the drugs expire in 2026, between January and March. In October, 2023, Health Minister Adriana LaGrange’s then-press secretary told The Globe the ibuprofen approved for hospitals expires in November, 2025.
The company that facilitated the original importation deal, MHCare Medical, figures prominently in allegations, contained in a lawsuit, that government insiders exerted pressure on AHS to strike deals favouring private businesses. The allegations have not been tested in court and lawyers for MHCare and its owner, Sam Mraiche, have previously stated their clients have done no wrong and allegations or insinuations to the contrary are unjustified and unwarranted.
The RCMP said Thursday it is investigating allegations of inflated contracts and improper procurement procedures in the province’s health care system. Auditor-General Doug Wylie in early February said he is examining the same issues at AHS and Alberta Health, and specifically will review the deal to import pain relievers from Turkey.
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.
It is unclear whether Alberta has signed an agreement to jettison the medication to Ukraine and who is brokering the potential export deal.
Health Canada confirmed Alberta is trying to find a use for the medication.
“Alberta Health Services has contacted Health Canada about options for the remaining Turkish supply of children’s pain medication,” Marie-Pier Burelle, a spokeswoman for the federal agency, said in a statement Thursday. “An application is currently being assessed.”
Jessi Rampton, a spokeswoman for Ms. LaGrange, did not address specific questions about the proposed Ukraine deal.
“Alberta’s government is exploring options for use of the remaining supply of children’s pain medication,” she said in a statement on Wednesday.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022, eight years after the aggressor annexed Crimea and started a proxy war in Ukraine’s southeastern Donbas region. Ms. Smith, last September, said 70,000 refugees from Ukraine have come to Alberta since the war escalated. In Alberta, roughly 8 per cent of the population identified as having Ukrainian heritage in the 2021 census.
If Alberta ships the pediatric medicine to Ukraine by sea, it will require about 20 containers, costing between $5,400 to $13,600 each, totalling $108,000 to $272,000, the government estimates.
“The wide range in cost is due to the changing situation in Ukraine and complexity associated with entry through neighbouring countries,” the documents note, citing Poland as an example. It would take six to eight weeks to ship the medication to Ukraine, according to the documents.
Alberta noted there are risks associated with packaging and shipping the medication to Ukraine. The province could mitigate these risks by obtaining a “commitment from Ukraine or third-party organization to fund the costs,” according to the documents. The risks could also be managed by donating to a non-governmental organization, which would then execute the international transfer.
Alberta, however, recognized outsourcing its medical charity work may not be possible.
“The 512 pallets and nature of the produce may be outside their capacity and ability,” the documents note.