Alberta Health Services has received a court-backed order to provide documents to law enforcement, according to a senior executive at the agency. The order comes as RCMP continues investigating allegations that procurement decisions inside Alberta’s health system were mishandled in ways that benefited private businesses.
Former AHS chief executive Athana Mentzelopoulos has alleged she was removed after scrutinizing procurement files and supplier relationships. Her allegations remain unproven in court.
Premier Danielle Smith has denied wrongdoing, and reporting on the file has said other parties connected to the controversy have also rejected allegations of misconduct.
The Alberta auditor general opened an examination in February 2025 into procurement and contracting at Alberta Health and AHS. The review covered chartered surgical facilities, children’s medication and COVID-19 personal protective equipment.
A separate government-commissioned review led by former Manitoba chief judge Raymond Wyant focused on procurement processes, practices and outcomes. His final report did not conclude that Smith, ministers or political staff improperly interfered in the reviewed contracts.
Wyant found that some deals reviewed by his team were not handled in line with AHS policy. He also identified conflict-management failures involving former AHS employees Jitendra Prasad and Blayne Iskiw, whose relationships with the health authority and private suppliers had become central to the controversy.
The report made 18 recommendations, including tighter conflict rules, a vendor code of conduct, improved whistleblower protections and clearer limits around former AHS employees who later work with suppliers.
The most visible financial flashpoint remains the children’s medication deal involving MHCare Medical Corp. Alberta turned to MHCare during a shortage of children’s pain medication, with the province seeking five million bottles.
Global News reported that an addendum from Wyant showed AHS did not receive roughly $42 million worth of product under the arrangement by mid-2023 while receiving fewer than 1.5 million bottles of the five million ordered. Hundreds of thousands of bottles were later reported to have been discarded after nearing or passing expiry.
The scandal lands at a sensitive point for Alberta’s health strategy. The province has leaned on private providers and outside suppliers to ease pressure in the public system, including in surgical services and emergency procurement.
The RCMP investigation puts that promise under pressure. If the records show that procurement controls were bypassed, conflict concerns were left unresolved or supplier access shaped public decisions, the damage will extend beyond one company or one former CEO.
It would also raise a harder question about Alberta’s health model: whether the government can move quickly with private businesses while still documenting, defending and policing the use of public funds.
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