Mentzelopolous yet to be interviewed in Alberta's delayed procurement probe

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2 days ago

The former head of Alberta Health Services (AHS) says she has yet to have the chance to share her side of the story with the province's delayed probe into procurement processes at the health agency, while the government insists investigators have made multiple efforts to schedule an interview with her.
Athana Mentzelopoulos states those claims in a letter, dated Aug. 8 and shared with media, that is addressed to Christopher McPherson, the deputy minister for jobs, economy, trade and immigration.
McPherson selected Raymond Wyant in March to lead the province's probe into Alberta's procurement of pharmaceuticals and the services offered by chartered surgical facilities, but Mentzelopoulos says she has yet to be invited to meet with the retired Manitoba judge.
'I have received no such request,' her letter reads. 'In fact, I have been waiting since March to hear from judge Wyant and remain fully open to meeting with him.'
Her letter claims her lawyer, Dan Scott, determined that McPherson's office sent requests for a meeting to someone 'who is not currently in the office' but that no follow-up attempts were made to contact anyone else.
She notes her personal contact information remains on file at AHS and that her lawyer's contact details were listed on multiple court filings.
Mentzelopoulos also claims she took it upon herself to contact investigators, but received no reply.
'Because I had not been contacted to meet with Judge Wyant, I also called your office twice — on May 21 and 23, 2025 — to request your email address,' it reads.
'I intended to email you to ensure you had my contact information. I left voicemail messages with my personal cell number but I received no response from your office.'
'We are unaware of any details'
In response to media requests, the government released later on Friday a letter from McPherson in reply to Mentzelopoulos where he claims three attempts were made on two different dates to reach her via her lawyer to schedule an interview.
It claims that no reply, out-of-office email, or bounce-back reply was received but that McPherson since understands that lawyers for Mentzelopoulos have since been in touch with Wyant to schedule an interview.
It does not address alleged issues with the investigation and suggests she contact Wyant to address any issues.
'You should raise any concerns that you may have about Judge Wyant's process to him directly.'
Postmedia emailed Scott earlier Friday seeking comment but received an automated email reply indicating he was out of office through next week.
Wyant report delayed
On May 30, the same day Wyant's interim report was initially due, it was announced his work had been delayed by several months, with the interim report now due on Sept. 24 and final report now be completed by Oct. 15, a delay of three months and 16 days.
Allegations of impropriety within health procurement and contracting were first raised in Mentzelopoulos's $1.7-million wrongful dismissal lawsuit where she claims she was improperly fired after investigating those claims.
Her allegations have not been tested in court. The government has denied wrongdoing and claims she was fired for incompetence.
Critics, including Opposition New Democrats, have claimed Wyant's review is limited in scope and could be subject to political interference.
'While we respect the former justice, it's clear his work is being hampered and manipulated by this UCP government,' a statement from NDP caucus house leader Christina Gray reads.
'Once again, we are calling for a full public inquiry. A public inquiry into the CorruptCare scandal needs to be free of political interference, broad in scope, and have the powers to subpoena which the current inquiry does not have.'
Alberta's Office of the Auditor General and the RCMP are also investigating.
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