Thread by @TheBreakdownAB

So what’s the Cole’s notes of the corrupt care scandal?

Strap in!

Because there’s a lot!

/1

Back in the early days of the pandemic, hundreds of millions of dollars of PPE and masks from a company that previously had worked in oilfield.

Allegedly, some of those masks gave healthcare workers rashes and made them sick…

/2

That didn’t stop that company from selling AHS hundreds of millions of dollars of more PPE.

According to the NDP, much of that was placed in storage as it wasn’t usable.

/3

Now the PPE piece didn’t really grow legs until very recently.

But the allegations now are that two former AHS employees had connections to that supply company, MHCare.

While working in procurement.

/4

So allegedly, the company that was selling AHS supplies also had close ties to the people who were responsible for buying it.

Which, if true, is super problematic.

/5

Fast forward to December of 2022, and despite warning that using AHS to buy medications was the riskiest option, Danielle Smith instructed AHS to spend $70 million on meds that some have argued weren’t even needed…

/6

The meds arrived late and had to be imported under exceptional circumstances by order of the CMOH, and the first batch had to be redirected to hospitals (although that was never the plan) because it didn’t meet safety standards.

/7

Smith’s plan to sell the surplus also backfired, because as it turns out between the shortage ending and the issues with the meds, no other provinces wanted them.

/8

It’s recently come to light that despite delivering less than half of the medication, MHCare allegedly recieved the full value of the contract, including $49.2 million for product that hadn’t been ordered or recieved.

Which conceivably earned some nice interest.

/9

But it gets worse…

In 2024, Smith was allegedly gifted a skybox worth of playoff seats by MHCare’s accountant, which she could only accept because she had just finished re-writing & loosening ethics laws.

Smith also hired that same accountant to the board of Invest Alberta.

/10

But it seems that the group that Smith allegedly invited includes high level members of the Metis Nation of Alberta, government staffers and also the owner of MHCare.

/11

According to the recent statement of claim by the former AHS CEO, Athana Mentzelopoulos, all of these folks are allegedly connected via the premiers chief of staff, Marshall Smith in a business network that includes construction, recovery centers & chartered surgical facilities!

/12

Speaking of those CSF’s…

A company that was trying to expand CSF’s in Alberta allegedly has the owner of MhCare as an owner of those CSF’s as well.

And one of the procurement guys we mentioned earlier is allegedly an owner as well…

/13

And it turns out that while these companies were allegedly lobbying the government, the owner of MHCare was also hosting ministers and staffers at skybox games as well.

Which they claimed was legal before the lobbying piece was revealed, almost certainly making it illegal, even under Smith’s relaxed ethics laws.

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Which brings us to the AHS CEO, who allegedly was fired for digging into all of this and who has launched a $1.7 lawsuit.

She allegedly warned the AHS board and was told to speak to the RCMP about what had been found.

And then was fired.

And so was the board.

/15

All in, there are currently at least 6 investigations into the matter, but none of the public ones have subpoena power and Danielle Smith has refused to call a public inquiry, which would be able to subpoena and compel testimony.

/16

Oh.

And MHCare and its owner is suing our show for $6 million for our coverage dating back to the announcement of the medication purchase.

/17

But it’s really worth re-highlighting these two passages with allegations from the most recent filing from the former AHS CEO.

Because allegedly even deputy ministers saw how messed up the situation was and is.

(And Danielle Smith allegedly keeps overpromising and underdelivering)

/18