The former head of Manitoba’s provincial court has been hired by the Alberta government to investigate allegations of improper behaviour and spending irregularities in health contracts.
The government says Raymond Wyant’s work is to begin immediately with an interim report done by the end of May.
He is to review multimillion-dollar contracts for children’s medication and for surgeries done by for-profit providers.
The scandal stems from a lawsuit from the former CEO of Alberta Health Services, who was let go in early January.
It alleges high-level government officials interfered to secure overpriced deals for private health contractors.
Alberta’s auditor general, Doug Wylie, is also looking into contracting and procurement at the authority and Health ministry.
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A wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed earlier this month by Athana Mentzelopoulos says concerns about procurement practices led her to initiate an internal investigation and a forensic audit at AHS last fall. The document says she was fired Jan. 8 before the audit was completed.
The allegations have not been tested in court. Health Minister Adriana LaGrange, who is named in the lawsuit, has said she will “vigorously” fight the claim and soon file a statement of defence.
Smith has denied any wrongdoing.
Wyant is the former chief judge of the provincial court of Manitoba, has also worked as a defence lawyer and a Crown prosecutor, and has taught law at the University of Manitoba.
The province said Wyant has been given a budget of $500,000, which can be used to retain legal and audit assistance at his discretion.
He is being paid $31,900 per month, which the province said is the same remuneration rate as the Chief Justice of the Alberta Court of Justice.
— This is a breaking news story. More to come…
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