Despite the best efforts of unions, legacy media and activist groups to chip away at Danielle Smith’s premiership, they haven’t been able to crack her support in Alberta. The coronation of Naheed Nenshi as NDP leader garnered them no new traction. While Smith’s government hasn’t been surging in the polls, they haven’t had much to fear from the moribund NDP. That all might change and fast.The recipe for a perfect storm is coming together and if it blows up, it could spell the demise of the Smith government.Alberta’s legacy media outlets and the NDP are salivating now.The story is one of possible corruption within the ranks of the provincial cabinet. Procurements and contracts may have been improperly awarded and senior bureaucrats might have been pressured and even fired for resisting pressure to direct funds toward certain service providers.That story on its own sounds bad enough. With the issue emanating from the health department it becomes a potential catastrophe. Healthcare is a sacred cow.Citizens hate seeing public funds being misappropriated though you would think they would be getting used to seeing it in Canada. They hate it even more when the misdoings appear to be happening on the healthcare file. This sort of thing can lead to a collapse in public support for a party and fast.The recently fired CEO of Alberta Health Services has filed a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal and it’s packed with troubling allegations. She is seeking $1.7 million and is strongly motivated to take a run at the government to get it.Is it a case of a bureaucrat scorned and taking it out on the government or is she a whistleblower exposing deep rot in government practices? Right now, what is lacking is solid evidence.Anybody can make allegations in a lawsuit. Until they are proven in court, they are nothing more than allegations. The file has been passed to the auditor general and the RCMP. So far, the RCMP hasn’t indicated they have seen any criminal wrongdoing yet though that may come.Naheed Nenshi is trying his hardest to make hay from the issue. He has ridiculously and prematurely demanded the resignation of the premier. In his zeal, he has already undermined his credibility on the affair. That doesn’t mean there is nothing there though and if Nenshi manages to get his hands on some solid evidence, people may start nodding their heads in agreement when he calls for resignations.Premier Smith must get on top of this issue and stay there. It took precious days before she addressed it at all when it broke, and she has avoided commenting on it when possible. On a weekend radio show, Smith reiterated that she welcomes the investigation by the auditor general. Since then, she has announced the government is seeking a credible third party to lead an investigation. They had best find that person quickly and offer a short timeline for the process.The UCP government can’t try to rag the puck on this issue and hope it fades over time. That tactic works well with federal scandals, but it won’t cut it in Alberta. The issue will only grow and internal party dissent will begin to spring up. Conservative MLAs are testy sorts. It’s believable that the allegations made came more from spite than fact. Smith has been trying to reform the bloated healthcare bureaucracy in Alberta and many insiders are eager to derail those efforts. If that’s the case though, it must be fought, not deferred. Premier Smith must come out swinging rather than trying to stay in the background. So far Premier Smith is unapologetic and has accused AHS of trying to delay reforms. She must stay on the offensive. The pending trade war and tariff issues have granted the UCP some cover with the issue. A scandal at the top levels of healthcare management would typically top the headlines for weeks, but it’s struggling for notice as national issues overshadow it. The scandal won’t go away though, it’s just festering in the background.Alberta’s healthcare system needs heavy reforms. It would be tragic if Smith backed off from battling that monster due to the potential scandal of today. She has backed off on a provincial police force and a provincial pension plan. If she shies away from healthcare reforms, she won’t have accomplished much of substance in her first term as premier despite coming in with high aspirations.Albertans must see decisive action from the premier. We need transparency to expose exactly what has happened and some heads must roll if there indeed is malfeasance. If the government tries to hunker down and let this blow over, it will lead to a rot which may return the NDP to power in two more years. This is the biggest challenge Premier Smith has faced since assuming the leadership. Let’s hope she doesn’t let it become the one that brings her down.
