Latest news with #Nenshi
Edmonton Journal
4 days ago
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
Interim report for Alberta's investigation into AHS procurement delayed four months
Article content The preliminary report of the Alberta government's investigation into procurement and contracting processes at Alberta Health Services (AHS) will be delayed by four months, and the final report by 3 1/2 months, the province announced Friday. In January, former Manitoba chief judge of the provincial court Raymond Wyant was appointed to lead the third-party investigation into Alberta's procurement of pharmaceuticals, and the services offered by chartered surgical facilities. Article content His interim report was to have been due to government on Friday, but will now be pushed back until Sept. 24, a delay of three months and 26 days. Similarly, his final report was to have been due on June 30 but will now be completed by Oct. 15, a delay of three months and 16 days, and less than two weeks before MLAs return for the fall sitting of the legislature and five days before municipal elections are held across the province. Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration Deputy Minister Christopher McPherson selected Wyant to lead the investigation and cited the large number of documents and interviews being reviewed in announcing the delay. 'In consultation with and by the mutual agreement of judge Wyant and the deputy minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, I have extended the term of the investigation,' he stated in a news release. Article content He added that the terms of reference for the investigation remain unchanged. Questions Wyant is considering include if any elected official, government of Alberta or AHS employee acted improperly during the procurement processes. Wyant's is one of several ongoing investigations into allegations of corruption within procurement practices at AHS that were raised in a $1.7-million wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed by the agency's former head, Athana Mentzelopoulos. Her allegations have not been tested in court and the government has denied wrongdoing. Alberta's Office of the Auditor General and the RCMP are also investigating. Critics, including Opposition New Democrats, have claimed Wyant's review is limited in scope and could be subject to political interference. Earlier Friday, NDP leader Naheed Nenshi issued a statement calling on the government to release the interim report and reiterating his call for a public inquiry, something the government has so far resisted citing the adequacy of the existing ongoing investigations. Article content 'Albertans know they can't trust Danielle Smith's government to protect public health care or education, or to stop the rising cost of living caused by her policies,' said Nenshi in a news release. Nenshi added, 'this was a specific promise to Albertans, it must be kept,' noting Justice Minister Mickey Amery had pledged the report would be available online on May 30 'for everybody to read.' Former cabinet minister, and current independent MLA, Peter Guthrie has spoken out against Wyant's investigation, saying it lacks the accountability needed to earn the public's 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,' he wrote in a letter he posted online in April. mblack@ Latest National Stories
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Interim report for Alberta's investigation into AHS procurement delayed four months
The preliminary report of the Alberta government's investigation into procurement and contracting processes at Alberta Health Services (AHS) will be delayed by four months, and the final report by 3 1/2 months, the province announced Friday. In January, former Manitoba chief judge of the provincial court Raymond Wyant was appointed to lead the third-party investigation into Alberta's procurement of pharmaceuticals, and the services offered by chartered surgical facilities. His interim report was to have been due to government on Friday, but will now be pushed back until Sept. 24, a delay of three months and 26 days. Similarly, his final report was to have been due on June 30 but will now be completed by Oct. 15, a delay of three months and 16 days, and less than two weeks before MLAs return for the fall sitting of the legislature and five days before municipal elections are held across the province. Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration Deputy Minister Christopher McPherson selected Wyant to lead the investigation and cited the large number of documents and interviews being reviewed in announcing the delay. 'In consultation with and by the mutual agreement of judge Wyant and the deputy minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, I have extended the term of the investigation,' he stated in a news release. He added that the terms of reference for the investigation remain unchanged. Questions Wyant is considering include if any elected official, government of Alberta or AHS employee acted improperly during the procurement processes. Wyant's is one of several ongoing investigations into allegations of corruption within procurement practices at AHS that were raised in a $1.7-million wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed by the agency's former head, Athana Mentzelopoulos. Her allegations have not been tested in court and the government has denied wrongdoing. Alberta's Office of the Auditor General and the RCMP are also investigating. Critics, including Opposition New Democrats, have claimed Wyant's review is limited in scope and could be subject to political interference. Earlier Friday, NDP leader Naheed Nenshi issued a statement calling on the government to release the interim report and reiterating his call for a public inquiry, something the government has so far resisted citing the adequacy of the existing ongoing investigations. 'Albertans know they can't trust Danielle Smith's government to protect public health care or education, or to stop the rising cost of living caused by her policies,' said Nenshi in a news release. Nenshi added, 'this was a specific promise to Albertans, it must be kept,' noting Justice Minister Mickey Amery had pledged the report would be available online on May 30 'for everybody to read.' Former cabinet minister, and current independent MLA, Peter Guthrie has spoken out against Wyant's investigation, saying it lacks the accountability needed to earn the public's 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,' he wrote in a letter he posted online in April. mblack@ Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.
Calgary Herald
5 days ago
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Alberta NDP launches campaigns for all three byelections
The Alberta NDP is wasting no time after the province called byelections for three constituencies to be held at the end of June, kicking off campaigns on Thursday. Article content Article content Nominations for the races are open until June 5, but the Alberta NDP has already announced candidates for Edmonton-Strathcona, Edmonton-Ellerslie and Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills. Article content Edmonton-Strathcona has been vacant for nearly six months after former premier Rachel Notley stepped down as the constituency's MLA, making room for successor Naheed Nenshi to announce his candidacy for her old constituency. It's been nearly a year since Nenshi was elected as the Alberta NDP leader and, after being out of the legislature for two sittings, he might finally be getting a seat. Article content Article content 'It's time for people to be able to send a message to this government. It is a message that we don't have to settle for what they're doing. We don't have to settle for substandard public services. We don't have to settle for unbridled corruption. We don't have to settle for an incompetent government,' Nenshi said at the Thursday campaign launch. Article content Gurtej Singh Brar, the Alberta NDP candidate for Edmonton-Ellerslie, formerly held by NDP MLA Rod Loyola who stepped down in March to run for the federal Liberals, joined Nenshi at the launch. The former journalist said he's choosing to run to be a voice for Albertans. Article content 'I am a radio and TV host for the last 15 years and I know what people's feelings are, what they actually want from the government. That's not happening right now. That's why I'm here. I want to be their voice,' Brar said. Article content Article content The Alberta NDP have nominated Bev Toews for the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills constituency, which was previously held by former Alberta Speaker Nathan Cooper who will be the new Alberta representative in Washington. Article content Article content 'Bev Toews is a daughter of Olds. She understands the community. She understands her neighbours. She's been working in schools for over 25 years, working to help local businesses grow, and is just a steward of that community,' Nenshi said. Article content Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced on Monday that byelections for the three constituencies will be held on June 23. Smith previously told reporters she intended to call all three at the same time, despite calls from the Opposition to hold the Edmonton-Strathcona byelection sooner since it had been vacant the longest.
Edmonton Journal
5 days ago
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
Bell: In Alberta, Premier Danielle Smith kicks Nenshi NDP butt
Article content Support for the NDP is even dropping in the party's fortress in Edmonton. Now the NDP and UCP are virtually neck and neck in the provincial capital. Oh my. In Calgary, the NDP are also down and some NDP seats in Calgary would almost certainly fall to Smith and the UCP. Younger voters and not so young voters are more UCP than NDP. Many Albertans also appear to like Smith standing up for Alberta and taking the fight to Ottawa over Liberal anti-oil policies. It is Nenshi who slams Smith saying the premier likes to pick fights.
Epoch Times
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Alberta NDP to End Automatic Membership With Federal Party, Leader Nenshi Gets 89.5% Leadership Support
A majority of delegates at the Alberta NDP convention in Edmonton on Saturday voted to end the party's automatic membership ties to its federal counterpart. Their leader, Naheed Nenshi, also received nearly 90 percent support in his first leadership review. More than While some two or three dozen strongly opposed the change, the outcome was in line with the The vote to amend party affiliation came shortly after members cast their ballots, giving Nenshi 89.5 percent support in his first leadership review—surpassing the Prior to the leadership review vote, Nenshi addressed the charged-up crowd with a The move to decouple the provincial NDP from the federal brand was spearheaded by Nenshi, who Related Stories 12/26/2024 6/30/2024 Before the vote on Saturday, the NDP was the only party where both the provincial and federal branches were officially affiliated. This meant someone registered as an Alberta NDP member automatically became registered with the federal party as well. With the motion passed, Alberta NDP members now have the option to choose if they want to be affiliated solely with the provincial party or with both NDP branches. Speaking to reporters at the convention, Nenshi said the longstanding tradition of signing up members to the federal party was a turnoff for some potential voters and members. He said supporters had expressed concerns to him while he went knocking on doors during his latest leadership campaign. 'I did have to answer that question a lot. 'Am I automatically a member of the federal party?' And now we can say, 'You can choose,'' Nenshi With that strong support to change the status quo, Nenshi said the approval would allow him to build a bigger tent for Alberta's NDP. 'I've heard from so many people who want to join our movement. Listen, I love the Alberta New Democrats, but I vote a different way federally, and today, the party decided overwhelmingly that we will welcome those people into our movement,' he Opposition Some of the delegates who opposed the motion argued that separating from the national branch would undermine the New Democrats' unity. One delegate commented that the Alberta government, under Premier Danielle Smith of the United Conservative Party, would continue to jab at Nenshi's NDP for having ties with its federal counterpart no matter what measures it took to 'sever' the relationship. Speaking in the Alberta legislative assembly on May 1, Premier Smith Before the federal election on April 28, the federal NDP, led by Jagmeet Singh, Singh had 'We are united in our goals to take on Conservatives, to bring forward a clear vision for a government that works for people,' Singh said in June 2024, adding that the best way to achieve the goal of bringing down the competition was by being united. The NDP in Alberta had attempted at various times in the past to distance itself from the federal party on certain policy issues, particularly on matters related to the oil and gas sector. Former Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley and Singh were on opposite sides of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion decision, with Notley in favour of the project and Singh opposed. Notley, however, showed allegiance to her federal counterpart when she Chandra Philip and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
