Alberta Infrastructure Minister Peter Guthrie resigned from his cabinet role on Tuesday morning, stating he’s uncomfortable with Premier Danielle Smith’s handling of AHS allegations.
Smith for the last week has been under fire after allegations government officials bullied AHS to make sweetheart deals with private businesses, which brought the province’s procurement process under scrutiny.
“I’m not going to stand by and see potential corruption exist within government and be a part of that,” said Guthrie, in a letter posted to social media.
AHS former CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos in a $1.7 million lawsuit alleges Smith’s then-chief of staff Marshall Smith is one of multiple individuals who pressured her to sign deals with private facilities. Mentzelopoulos is suing AHS and Health Minister Adriana LaGrange for wrongful dismissal.
Guthrie, MLA for Airdrie-Cochrane, in a statement posted to social media said for months he's "voiced concerns" regarding the government's "procurement practices across all departments," and said he's taken several measures to "prevent some of these issues we are not seeing in Alberta Health and AHS.
"Unfortunately, the majority of the cabinet does not appear to share my concerns.
Guthrie said he's stepping down from cabinet, but will return to caucus as a private member.
“I can continue to voice my concerns and hold cabinet accountable with honesty and integrity,” it reads.
“It is essential that the public has confidence in its government and its processes. We were elected to be open, transparent, fiscally responsible — and above all — honest with Albertans.”
Smith issued a statement Tuesday afternoon.
“I have accepted the resignation of MLA Pete Guthrie from his position of Minister of Infrastructure," Smith wrote.
“He has obviously expressed concerns regarding the allegations made by the former CEO of Alberta Health Services. As I have said repeatedly, those allegations are serious and are being fully investigated."
“We have pledged our government’s full cooperation and support to the Auditor General to expedite his review so we can have answers as soon as possible."
“I have also directed our senior civil service to retain a highly credible third party with a strong legal background capable of investigating this matter independently of government so we can understand exactly what occurred with regard to the AHS procurement processes in question."
“We also want to determine why, despite months of requests, AHS never brought any substantive evidence or documentation related to this matter to the Minister of Health or to government."
“I want to reiterate that I was not involved in these procurement decisions, nor am I aware of any wrongdoing with regard to the issues raised by the former CEO. My actions were straightforward: the government made a policy decision to expand surgical facilities to tackle the critical issue of wait times, and we all trusted that that direction would be acted upon and implemented by AHS."
“We remain committed to addressing surgical wait times and increasing the number of publicly funded surgeries performed in the province and are also committed to continuing the important work of re-focusing our health care system to better serve Albertans.”
Ndp leader Naheed Nenshi held a press conference on the issue.
""It seems Danielle Smith lovess the witch hunts, except when she might be the witch," Nehsi said.
"WE must get a judge-led public inquiry."
Nenshi also called for other UCP cabinet ministers to resign, for Smith to step aside and for the firing of Health Minister Andriana LeGrange.
Smith told the Western Standard at a press conference last week AHS has a monopoly on surgical clinics and that should be opened up to allow for more private construction. Despite provincial funding allocated to the agency, there have been few surgical clinics built to accommodate Alberta's growing population.
