Former Alberta cabinet minister calls government health contract probe ‘whitewashing’

EDMONTON — A former Alberta cabinet minister says an investigation called by Premier Danielle Smith’s government into multimillion-dollar health contracts looks like a whitewashing exercise.

Peter Guthrie, now an Independent member of the legislature, posted a letter Wednesday afternoon, saying that, among other problems, the terms of a third-party probe by a former Manitoba judge are so narrow that it will be tough to get to the heart of what happened.

Guthrie said the United Conservative government is only hurting itself since the investigation by former Manitoba judge Raymond Wyant is unlikely to earn public trust.

“This review resembles a classic ‘Whitewash Report,’ seemingly designed to conceal wrongdoing rather than expose it – an approach that risks triggering serious accusations of a coverup,” Guthrie wrote.

He quit Smith’s cabinet in February and was expelled last week from the governing UCP caucus over his public concerns about the contracts.

It all comes after the former head of Alberta Health Services sued the government in February, alleging she was fired for investigating allegations of political meddling and questionable costs in the contracts.

The government disagrees, saying Athana Mentzelopoulos was fired because she was failing in her job and was hindering health reforms.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Smith has denied any wrongdoing, insisting her government is fully co-operating with multiple investigations to get to the bottom of it, including those by auditor general Doug Wylie and Wyant.

The matter has also prompted an RCMP investigation.

Smith’s press secretary Sam Blackett said in a statement Thursday Guthrie is entitled to hold and voice his opinions.

“We’re going to let these processes conclude and await their recommendations,” he said of the investigations currently underway.

Smith has for months bucked demands for an independent judicial inquiry.

Blackett did not directly address Guthrie’s concerns that Wyant’s investigation is confined to reviewing rules and policies and won’t have the teeth to pursue accountability.

Echoing the concerns of the Opposition NDP, Guthrie said witnesses can’t be compelled to testify by Wyant, and any information shared is tightly controlled by government officials.

“A number of key personnel and senior staff within AHS have already been dismissed, further hampering the credibility of the inquiry,” Guthrie wrote.

Alberta New Democrats have also questioned whether the work of the auditor general is being stymied by the government.

NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi has said funnelling interview requests from Wylie’s office through a lawyer amounts to a gag order on public servants.

Guthrie’s wide-ranging letter, addressed to his constituents and Albertans, raises other grievances.

In it, he accuses Smith’s cabinet of a “troubling lack of fiscal accountability,” citing this year’s multibillion-dollar budget deficit, and of undermining the very conservative causes she purports to stand for.

Guthrie writes that it appears Smith is using the federal election as an opportunity to raise her own national profile, possibly at the expense of the Conservative Party of Canada and its leader, Pierre Poilievre.

Smith has been accused of undercutting Poilievre’s campaign by suggesting he is in “sync” with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has raised ire in Canada by threatening to annex it.

Guthrie says he’s at odds with some of Smith’s other moves, alluding to her threat last month that if the next elected federal government doesn’t acquiesce to Alberta’s demands, there could be an “unprecedented national unity crisis.”

“Recent developments in her political agenda raise legitimate questions about her intentions for Alberta’s role within the Canadian federation,” writes Guthrie.

Blackett said in response: “The premier has stated on multiple occasions that she and our UCP caucus support a strong and sovereign Alberta within a United Canada.”

Nenshi said Guthrie’s letter confirms several things.

He said Smith has been flirting with Alberta separatism in the midst of a trade tariff war with the United States; her government is fiscally incompetent; and that it might be trying to cover something up.

“This is the guy who has been on the inside, and he knows where the bodies are buried,” he said of Guthrie.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2025.

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press