The Alberta health care procurement controversy, explained

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More than a year after allegations of government interference in Alberta Health Services’ contracting process rocked the agency, the provincial Health Ministry and Premier Danielle Smith’s office, multiple search warrants executed by the RCMP have renewed attention on the controversy.

The affair began in February, 2025, when former AHS chief executive officer Athana Mentzelopoulos alleged in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit that some of the agency’s private surgical contracts contained inflated prices and may have been tainted by conflicts of interest, and that political officials pressured her to proceed with the deals. She also said she raised concerns with some of the agency’s dealings with MHCare Medical Corp., owned by Edmonton businessman Sam Mraiche. Finally, she alleged that when she launched an investigation to look into her concerns, the Smith government shut it down and fired her.

The government denies these allegations and alleges it fired Ms. Mentzelopoulos for incompetence. None of the allegations have been tested in court.

Reporting by The Globe and Mail has revealed that Mr. Mraiche’s connections to the Premier, some cabinet ministers and procurement officials go far deeper – and have existed for longer – than previously known.

As investigations continue, here are answers to the four biggest questions about the controversy.

Who are the key people and organizations involved?

MHCare Medical Corp.

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An Edmonton-based medical-supply company formed during the pandemic. It is owned by businessman Sam Mraiche and has been awarded approximately $614-million in contracts by Alberta Health Services since 2020. Its $70-million contract to import children’s medication from Turkey is one of the deals at the heart of the controversy. The company’s Edmonton office was searched by the RCMP in March. MHCare denies any wrongdoing.

• Sam Mraiche, owner of MHCare and part owner of two proposed private surgical clinics that were negotiating contracts with AHS before the government cancelled those talks in late November. He also allegedly played a hidden role in the building of three addiction recovery centres funded with provincial dollars, according to a recent lawsuit. Mr. Mraiche has denied all allegations of wrongdoing in his business dealings and relationships with government, and has denied having any role in the building of the addiction recovery centres. Prior to the controversy, he had ties to Danielle Smith’s government, including hosting the Premier, seven cabinet ministers and senior government officials at NHL games. The Globe also reported last year that Mr. Mraiche had been under investigation by Elections Alberta over alleged illegal political donations.
• Sam Jaber, listed as MHCare’s chief financial officer in its 2022 organizational chart and appointed to the board of Invest Alberta by Ms. Smith in 2023. The office for one of his accounting and tax preparation businesses, Jaberson & Associates, was searched as part of the RCMP’s criminal probe. Corporate records show his accounting businesses have acted as registering agents for several of Mr. Mraiche’s business ventures. “He has not been charged with any offence and steadfastly maintains his innocence,” Mr. Jaber’s lawyer Matthew Nathanson said on March 19. After the police search, Mr. Jaber informed Invest Alberta he was taking a leave of absence from his duties, according to a note posted on Invest Alberta’s website.

Alberta Surgical Group

A private surgical provider contracted by Alberta Health Services to run a clinic in Edmonton, controlled by doctors D’Arcy Durand, Kenneth Hawkins and Leslie Scheelar.

Under both Jason Kenney and Ms. Smith, the United Conservative Party had touted private surgical facilities as key to easing Alberta’s backlog of ailing patients. These private clinics perform operations such as knee and hip replacements, paid for by the public purse.

ASG’s contract was extended in 2024 despite Athana Mentzelopoulos’s allegation that the deal contained inflated prices. Adriana LaGrange, then health minister, issued a ministerial order mandating an extension and dictating the terms.

Prairie Surgical and numbered companies

Prairie Surgical is a business venture consisting of the numbered companies behind a pair of proposed private surgical facilities in Red Deer and Lethbridge.

The three physicians who control ASG also own part of Prairie Surgical, alongside Mr. Mraiche and former AHS procurement official Blayne Iskiw and his wife.

Alberta Health Services

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Until recently, Alberta Health Services was Canada’s largest provincial integrated health system, offering care at more than 800 facilities across the province and employing more than 100,000 people. Ms. Smith’s government reorganized the province’s health care system, creating four new agencies and stripping Alberta Health Services of much of its decision-making power.

• Athana Mentzelopoulos, former CEO who alleges she was pressured to sign inflated deals for private surgical facilities, including an extension for ASG and the proposed projects in Red Deer and Lethbridge. She alleges that the government fired her in January, 2025, for her investigation into some contracts tied to chartered surgical facilities, conflicts of interest and MHCare. The government denies any wrongdoing and says she was terminated for failing to execute its vision for the health care system.
• Jitendra Prasad, the agency’s former procurement chief who once wrote in an e-mail to colleagues that he’d handled “all the dealings” with MHCare during the pandemic. Mr. Prasad retired in April, 2022, but was contracted by the health authority to act as a consultant on certain projects, including the use of private surgical centres. Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s internal probe found that in the summer of 2022, Mr. Prasad worked simultaneously as a consultant while also representing ASG in negotiations with AHS. He also joined Mr. Mraiche for a meeting with Ms. Smith, then a candidate for UCP leader, during that same summer, according to a copy of Ms. Smith’s calendar obtained by The Globe. He returned to AHS in the fall of 2022, and the agency’s internal investigation found he had an MHCare e-mail address that November. During this time, he was also briefly director of a numbered company with ties to Mr. Mraiche, along with Mr. Iskiw, The Globe found. He managed AHS’s 2022 deal to pay MHCare $70-million to import medication from Turkey. He transferred to a casual position as a special adviser six months after returning to Alberta Health Services, and the government then seconded him to manage a newly created procurement secretariat at the end of 2023. He left the government in late 2024.
• Blayne Iskiw, a former senior procurement official who was part of the health authority’s negotiations with Alberta Surgical Group and joined MHCare as a consultant days after leaving AHS in late 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile and documents obtained by The Globe. He also holds partial stakes in and is listed as a director of numbered companies behind the proposed surgical centres in Red Deer and Lethbridge. Mr. Iskiw told a retired Manitoba judge – appointed by the Premier to review select procurement practices at Alberta Health Services and the ministry – that Alberta Surgical Group’s principal owners gave him a 12-per-cent stake in the Red Deer and Lethbridge projects in exchange for taking care of the “day-to-day business.” Mr. Iskiw has said he followed “all required and documented rules” and acted “at all times with integrity and proper intention.”
• Sandy Edmonstone, former AHS board member who alleges he has been targeted by an intimidation campaign for supporting Ms. Mentzelopoulos. The Smith government dissolved the board a few weeks after Ms. Mentzelopoulos was fired. Mr. Edmonstone says he had encouraged her to take her findings to the RCMP. Ms. Smith said the change was part of the government’s planned reorganization for the health care system.

Premier’s Office and Cabinet

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The Globe has documented several ties between Mr. Mraiche and senior political figures in the Alberta government, including the Premier, cabinet ministers and political staffers.

• Premier Danielle Smith, whose relationship with Mr. Mraiche preceded her time as Premier. She had at least two meetings scheduled with him during the 2022 UCP leadership campaign: one to dine with him at his Edmonton home and another, five days later, to meet with him and Mr. Prasad on Zoom. Mr. Mraiche also joined Ms. Smith’s circle of confidants in a hotel room to watch the 2023 election returns. In 2024, she accepted playoff hockey tickets in Vancouver from Jaberson & Associates, and watched the game in a box suite with Mr. Mraiche. She also joined Mr. Mraiche in a box suite in Edmonton at a playoff game in June, 2024. She has denied allegations of wrongdoing and has blamed AHS for any procurement issues. Ms. Smith says her government has implemented several changes to procurement rules since the allegations came to light, and in March, 2025, appointed retired Manitoba judge Raymond Wyant to conduct an independent review.
• Marshall Smith, former chief of staff to Ms. Smith (no relation). Ms. Mentzelopoulos alleges that after she paused negotiations on chartered surgical facilities to pursue her investigation, Mr. Smith pressured her to speed up the awarding of certain contracts. In an affidavit filed in court, she alleged Mr. Smith told her “the proponents of the Red Deer and Lethbridge facilities were unhappy with the hold up,” and he warned her not to “mess with” these “serious people.” Mr. Smith, who is not party to Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s lawsuit, said in a separate lawsuit against her and The Globe that her description of that exchange is “false and defamatory.” During his time as chief of staff to the Premier, Mr. Smith hired multiple relatives of Mr. Mraiche; he was also living in a $1.6-million home owned by one of Mr. Mraiche’s sisters. He attended NHL games in 2023 and 2024 in Mr. Mraiche’s suite. Mr. Smith left the Premier’s office in October, 2024.
• Adriana LaGrange, Health Minister who stripped AHS of its power to negotiate private surgical contracts in October, 2024. This happened after Ms. Mentzelopoulos allegedly ramped up her investigation into concerns about a contract with Alberta Surgical Group and faced pressure from the Health Minister’s staffers to sign an extension. Ms. LaGrange’s office has denied wrongdoing and said the minister took action because repeated requests to Ms. Mentzelopoulos for documentation of her alleged findings went unanswered.
• Peter Guthrie, former infrastructure minister. He attended several 2024 NHL playoff games in Mr. Mraiche’s suite and has since expressed second thoughts about that decision. He resigned shortly after the controversy broke in February, 2025, over what he said was an insufficient government response.
• Mickey Amery, Justice Minister, long-time friend and relative through marriage of Mr. Mraiche. He also attended games with Mr. Mraiche. Mr. Amery has said his relationship with Mr. Mraiche does not conflict with his role as Justice Minister. On April 7, The Globe published an investigation into a legislative amendment that Mr. Amery pushed through in May 2025 that shortened the timeline for Elections Alberta to pursue sanctions for certain violations. When Mr. Amery announced the change, Mr. Mraiche was the subject of an investigation by Elections Alberta — a probe sparked by a complaint that Mr. Mraiche had allegedly improperly donated to political parties through other people, what is sometimes called a straw donor scheme. Mr. Amery’s change to the law means the regulator only has one year to pursue sanctions for political finance violations that stem from a complaint. Previously, it had a window of three years. When the law came into force in July, Elections Alberta had been investigating for about 14 months. Mr. Amery says he was unaware of the Elections Alberta probe when he made the amendment, and Mr. Mraiche denies the allegations of illegal political financing. 
• Nate Horner, Nathan Neudorf, Matt Jones, Joseph Schow and Mike Ellis, other cabinet ministers who were also in Mr. Mraiche’s suite for at least one game of the 2024 NHL playoffs.

What is the controversy about?

At its core, the controversy is about Athana Mentzelopoulos’s allegations that senior procurement and political officials improperly involved themselves in the awarding of public contracts benefiting Sam Mraiche and his businesses – and that when she attempted to investigate, the Danielle Smith government shut her down and fired her.

The procurement of children’s medication from Turkey in 2022 and negotiations tied to private surgical clinics are central elements. Beyond Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s allegations, there are questions surrounding real estate transactions and the construction of addiction recovery centres.

Since Ms. Mentzelopoulos made her allegations, an alleged harassment campaign – targeting a former AHS board member, Globe journalists and others – has become part of the controversy.

The allegations have also drawn attention to Ms. Smith’s push to reform Alberta’s health care system, and have brought scrutiny on how the government decides which companies get public contracts and how much the public purse pays them.

Here are the major issues and allegations at play.

Turkish painkillers import deal

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In 2022, while North America was in the throes of a surge in cold, flu and COVID-19 cases, Canada’s supply of over-the-counter children’s pain and fever medicine was all but wiped out.

In early December, 2022, Ms. Smith unveiled the province’s plan to forgo its usual reliance on the federal government and buy five million bottles of liquid children’s acetaminophen and ibuprofen from Atabay Pharmaceuticals and Fine Chemicals, a Turkish company. This was far more than what Alberta needed, but government officials hoped to resell the excess to other provinces.

Internal records show the government instructed the health agency to procure the medication despite reservations from bureaucrats, who cautioned that Health Canada had not yet approved the drugs and that five million bottles was “excessive.” Though the Alberta government did not disclose it at the time, Mr. Mraiche’s MHCare would act as a go-between, importing and selling the medication to the province.

Neither Alberta Health Services nor an independent investigation by a retired judge were able to determine how Mr. Mraiche’s company was selected for the $70-million contract, but an e-mail obtained by The Globe shows Jitendra Prasad credited Mr. Mraiche with finding Atabay.

The medication deal was plagued with problems. When the arrangement was announced, MHCare did not yet have federal approval to import the products, and there were delays owing to a lack of childproof caps and bilingual packaging. The drugs also cost more than six times what the health authority typically paid for the same type of products, according to briefing documents obtained by The Globe. Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s internal investigation found Mr. Prasad had an MHCare e-mail address the same month he was negotiating the deal.

Only 1.5 million bottles were ever delivered, and less than 1 per cent of what arrived was ever used. At the end of 2024, Alberta Health Services wrote to MHCare stating that the company had been holding $49.2-million of public funds for “well over a year,” owing to the children’s medication deal and a subsequent agreement to buy other drugs. AHS demanded an update on the company’s effort to fulfill its obligations.

In October, 2025, an independent review commissioned by Ms. Smith’s government found the painkiller deal with MHCare broke AHS procurement rules and that Mr. Prasad was in a conflict of interest.

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Private surgical facilities

In her court filings, Ms. Mentzelopoulos says she halted negotiations on private surgical facilities because of her concerns about inflated prices. After the pause, Marshall Smith and staffers in the Health Minister’s office allegedly pressured her to proceed with contracts for Alberta Surgical Group’s Edmonton facility and the proposed projects in Red Deer and Lethbridge.

In October, 2024, Ms. LaGrange stripped Ms. Mentzelopoulos of her power to negotiate and finalize the surgical facility deals and ordered Alberta Health Services to immediately take steps to extend ASG’s contract.

According to a confidential memo obtained by The Globe, the Red Deer and Lethbridge owners proposed 15-year contracts worth a total of $430-million, with some prices amounting to more than double what a competitor was charging for the same procedures. Mr. Iskiw is listed as a director for the companies behind these projects.

In late 2025, the province cancelled negotiations on the proposed Red Deer and Lethbridge projects. Raymond Wyant’s review found Mr. Prasad and Mr. Iskiw “were in real or perceived conflicts of interest” regarding deals for chartered surgical facilities.

Alleged harassment and intimidation campaigns

The targeting of a Globe and Mail reporter investigating the story – including threats to reveal her sources – and an alleged intimidation campaign against Ms. Mentzelopoulos and a former AHS board member have deepened intrigue into the controversy.

This past summer, an account on X.com called “the Brokedown” posted pictures of reporter Carrie Tait with two former political staffers in Danielle Smith’s government; one meeting took place in a park and the other happened on the patio of a Mexican restaurant. Separately, someone called multiple contacts from a phone number disguised to look like Ms. Tait’s mobile number. The efforts drew condemnation from press freedom groups.

The posts also brought attention to David Wallace, a long-time political fixer and podcaster. Mr. Wallace, who referenced details of Ms. Tait’s meal in a video before the photos of her were posted, said he received the information from a tip, and denied any responsibility for the account or posts.

But in late 2025, former AHS board member Sandy Edmonstone accused Mr. Wallace and fellow podcaster James Di Fiore of engaging in a campaign of harassment and intimidation against him because of his role as a potential witness in Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s lawsuit.

Mr. Edmonstone alleges in a lawsuit that someone took surreptitious photos of him and threatened to share them with his partner to cause personal strife. On his podcast, Mr. Wallace had asserted that he would disseminate incriminating information about Mr. Edmonstone and warned that “we’re really going to start digging down and we’re going to make it unbearable for you.”

Mr. Wallace and Mr. Di Fiore have denied any wrongdoing and are currently fighting a court order that resulted in their computer and cellphones being searched. When court-appointed independent solicitors visited Mr. Wallace’s home for the search, he allegedly told them he had been retained to do “unspecified work” by an Alberta lawyer named Bryan Ward, according to a report filed in court. Public records show that Mr. Ward has acted for Mr. Mraiche on several occasions, including in a civil lawsuit, in real estate transactions and in a dispute with Elections Alberta.

Who is investigating and what have the investigations found?

The allegations in Athana Mentzelopoulos’s lawsuit have sparked three official investigations – including a police probe – into alleged procurement irregularities.

Here is a list of who is investigating and what we know about their findings.

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RCMP

The RCMP received an official complaint on Feb. 6, 2025, the day after The Globe first reported on Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s allegations. The following month, the force confirmed it had launched a criminal probe.

Officers searched the offices of MHCare and Jaberson & Associates in mid-March, and had also been at Jitendra Prasad’s residence in Edmonton.

The police have not pressed any charges in connection to the controversy.

Scott Hutchison, a lawyer for Sam Mraiche, told The Globe his client and the company “have consistently maintained that they have not engaged in any improper conduct.”

He added: “They remain confident that any fair and objective investigation will reach that conclusion.”

A lawyer for Sam Jaber, meanwhile, said his client is a law-abiding professional who has done nothing wrong.

“He has not been charged with any offence and steadfastly maintains his innocence,” Matthew Nathanson said in a statement. “Any accusation against him, should one be made, will be vigorously contested.”

Auditor-General

Alberta’s Auditor-General, Doug Wylie, also confirmed his own investigation into the procurement allegations on Feb. 6, 2025. Ms. Mentzelopoulos alleges she was set to meet with the Auditor-General’s office about her concerns two days before she was fired.

Mr. Wylie’s term ends April 28. He does not expect to produce a report before then, though the bulk of the work will be complete. The government rejected his offer to stay on to finish the probe.

Cheryl Schneider, a spokesperson for his office, said the process has taken longer than expected because of “the ongoing receipt of relevant documentation and the availability of key interviewees.”

An Alberta legislature committee has recommended Phillip Peters take over as the next auditor-general. He already works in the office, serving as the general counsel and ethics officer.

Independent review

In March, 2025, Danielle Smith’s government appointed Raymond Wyant to review whether the Health Ministry and Alberta Health Services had followed their own procurement policies in the Turkish medication deal and during negotiations regarding chartered surgical facilities.

The retired judge’s report, released in October, 2025, determined that AHS did not follow procedure when it signed the deal with MHCare to import children’s painkillers, and that both the Health Ministry and AHS broke their own rules when signing off on the private surgical centre in Edmonton. He also found Mr. Prasad and Blayne Iskiw were in “real or perceived conflicts of interest” regarding surgical centres.

Ms. Smith and her government argue Mr. Wyant’s report clears them of wrongdoing, although his conclusion comes with a caveat.

“When I find that there was no wrongful interference by any government official in the matters concerning this report, that only means that I found no evidence of such, but I am not in a position to make a final and absolute determination,” Mr. Wyant stated.

He had no power to subpoena witnesses or hear testimony under oath, and some people declined to be interviewed or answer certain questions. While Mr. Wyant’s report indicates he interviewed Marshall Smith, he did not interview any elected officials as part of the investigation, and the Premier said he did not request an interview with her or her ministers.

What happens next?

The Auditor-General’s office says it expects to wrap up interviews and receive all the necessary documentation before Doug Wylie’s term is over. The office will prepare the final report after that.

The RCMP’s probe continues.

As for the future of the proposed private clinics in Red Deer and Lethbridge, Matt Jones, one of Alberta’s four ministers now overseeing health care, said there would be a “new competitive procurement process in early 2026.”

But the owners of those projects said they plan to push back against the cancellation of negotiations, according to a statement Blayne Iskiw provided on behalf of Prairie Surgical.

In the meantime, the province is implementing all 18 of Raymond Wyant’s recommendations and further changes to restore “public confidence,” Mr. Jones said.

The government plans to tighten the rules around health care contracting, including by banning employees from using personal e-mail while conducting government business and expanding protections for whistleblowers, he said last week.

With reports from Carrie Tait, Tom Cardoso, Alanna Smith, Tu Thanh Ha, Jana Pruden, Mark MacKinnon, Matthew Scace and Stephanie Chambers