Chants of "LaGrange has got to go" could be heard in Red Deer, as Alberta's health minister faces calls to step down over allegations of high-level corruption in health contracts.
For the second straight week, Public Interest Alberta hosted a rally on the sidewalk next to the constituency office of Red Deer-North MLA and Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange. About 100 people attended the first rally on Saturday, Feb. 8 and an estimated 100-150 people were expected to attend the second rally on Saturday, Feb. 15.
"We're calling for LaGrange's resignation," said Brad Lafortune, executive director of Public Interest Alberta, which is described as a non-profit, non-partisan, province-wide organization focused on education and advocacy on public interest issues.
Former Alberta Health Services CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos is suing the province and health minister, alleging she was fired for looking into high-level government interference and overpays on multimillion-dollar contracts. Mentzelopoulos also accuses LaGrange of twice trying to shut down an investigation into questionable deals and conflicts of interest before engineering what she describes as her illegal dismissal last month.
She alleges LaGrange signed off on a fee structure that represents “significant” overpays for surgery contracts. Mentzelopoulos made the allegations in a statement of claim filed in court this past week. The allegations have not been proven in court and a statement of defence has not been filed.
"The allegations that we're seeing ... are very concerning," Lafortune said.
"This is not the kind of governance that Albertans expect. Trust has been broken. Red Deer is showing up and that's fantastic to see. This is a gathering of concerned citizens, every-day people, saying, 'Enough is enough.'"
Lafortune said Public Interest Alberta has contacted the RCMP about these allegations.
"They said they're reviewing the allegations and if they open an investigation, they'll be in touch — we hope that happens. We also need to see a public inquiry. We want to see LaGrange step aside and resign. Quite frankly, we want to see the premier resign as well, at least until the conclusion of this investigation," he said.
LaGrange said in a statement Wednesday, Feb. 12 that many of the allegations in the lawsuit are “clearly false, while others will need to be investigated further as part of the auditor general’s work and the government’s internal review of this matter.” Smith said the same day that LaGrange still had her full confidence, and on Thursday, Feb. 13 her spokesman Sam Blackett said the premier stands by that statement. Smith's government and Alberta’s auditor general are investigating the allegations.
Infrastructure Minister Peter Guthrie reportedly sent a memo to his cabinet colleagues on Thursday, saying LaGrange and the top civil servant in health, Andre Tremblay, should be moved to other jobs while the scandal is investigated.
Lafortune said he wouldn't be surprised if more rallies are scheduled in other communities across Alberta.
"We've had a few people reach out in Medicine Hat and Calgary asking how they can get involved. I think you'll start seeing these pop up organically. There's a lot of interest in the public putting pressure on the government," said Lafortune.
—With files from The Canadian Press
