Court letter details RCMP probe of Alberta health contracts

EDMONTON – The RCMP’s investigation into contracting at Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services covers alleged fraud, breach of trust and money laundering, according to an Oct. 15 letter from an Ontario Crown prosecutor filed in court, as reported by The Canadian Press, CBC News and The Globe and Mail, which first reported it.

No charges have been announced. The letter refers only to charges that may arise, gives no specifics about the alleged offences and does not identify a subject of the investigation, those outlets reported. None of the allegations has been proven.

The RCMP said that to protect the integrity of the investigation it has no further comment, The Canadian Press reported. The force has been looking into a complaint about contracting practices at AHS since February 2025 and carried out multiple search warrants earlier this year, CBC News reported. Canada News Media found no newer public statement from the RCMP, the Alberta government or the auditor general as of Nov. 3.

The letter, signed by Crown counsel Tom Andreopoulos, says the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General is responsible for support and prosecution of any charges arising from the investigation. It was sent to lawyers for the Alberta government, AHS and Athana Mentzelopoulos, the former AHS chief executive, and was filed in her wrongful dismissal lawsuit against the province and the agency.

Mentzelopoulos alleges she was fired after looking into health contracts and procurement. The government and AHS say she was dismissed because she was not doing her job. None of the claims from either side has been tested in court. Our earlier coverage includes the agency’s defence in the lawsuit.

The letter also deals with a dispute over documents. Justice Michael Lema ruled in September that Mentzelopoulos could not keep or use certain records deemed privileged or confidential, CBC News reported. Andreopoulos wrote that the RCMP seized materials she provided after her firing and that these “may overlap” with the disputed records, so prosecutors will ask the Court of King’s Bench to appoint a case management judge to give direction.

Justice Minister Mickey Amery said the province will co-operate. “We will fully co-operate and work with them as we have from the very beginning,” he said on Oct. 27, The Canadian Press reported. Asked whether the government would challenge the release of privileged records to police, he said, “If and when that issue arises, then we’ll have an answer for you,” according to CBC News.

In the legislature that day, NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi renewed his call for a public inquiry. “The only way to clear the air is a public inquiry,” he said, according to CBC News. Premier Danielle Smith rejected the call, pointing to the review by retired Manitoba judge Raymond Wyant, and said the government would “happily co-operate in any way” with the RCMP.

Wyant, who was commissioned by the government, wrote that he found no evidence of wrongful interference by government staff, Smith or other elected officials, The Canadian Press reported. He also said his scope was limited, and he could not subpoena witnesses or compel testimony under oath. His report came out last fall.

Separately, Alberta Auditor General Phil Peters, who can compel records and testimony, said in July that he expects to finish his own investigation of health-care contracting by the end of this year. Smith’s office said in March that she had not been contacted by the RCMP.

It is not publicly known who or what specifically the RCMP is investigating, how long the probe will take or whether it will lead to charges. The province first announced an outside review of the contracts in early 2025.

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