CorruptCare: The Heat Is On
UCP under pressure as allegations of wrongdoing dominate Question Period
We have all watched this CorruptCare scandal grow worse everyday.
My caucus colleagues and I know the UCP member’s non-answers in Question Period won’t shed any light on Athana Mentzelopoulos’s claims of sweetheart deals and coverups but it is clear from their squirming that they are feeling the heat and that means we must keep the pressure on.
New to the saga last week was the filing of Health Minister Adriana LaGrange's statement of defence. It claims the former AHS CEO was fired because she was failing in her job and that she was working to stop the provincial government’s mandated health reform in order to retain the power and "personal prestige" of her position.
In response, Mentzelopoulos issued a statement last week saying the public comments of LaGrange and Danielle Smith make it clear they want to damage the former CEO’s reputation and “deflect from the truth.”
The last line of Mentzelopoulos’s statement caught the attention of social media and has been circulated widely: “As CEO of AHS, I came to realize that my career would end either because I went along with this government, or because I did not.”
Certainly the former AHS CEO’s media statement and the government’s statement of defence add more chapters to this shameful CorruptCare scandal but as our party Leader Naheed Nenshi points out: “Neither of these, nor the lawsuit as a whole, give Albertans the answers we need. This is why we demand a full public inquiry now rather than the Premier’s shamvestigation.”
My caucus colleagues and I are committed to continuing that call for a full public inquiry and will gladly watch the UCP government members squirm in the house until Albertans learn the truth.
The premier goes to Florida on the taxpayer dime
As the majority of Albertans join the rest of Canada in taking the “elbows up” position regarding Donald Trump’s tariff war and his ludicrous comments suggesting Alberta become a U.S. state, our province’s premier is planning to share the stage with conservative media personality Ben Shapiro.
Smith is speaking at a $1,500-a-ticket fundraiser for PragerU, which incredibly and terribly denies the gruesome history of American slavery, on March 27. Shapiro has often said racist things such as, “Native American culture [being] inferior to Western culture…is a contention with which I generally agree.”
Smith priorities should be enriching the lives of Albertans, not hanging out with right-wing extremists in the United States.
We are calling on the premier to support Albertans and cancel her taxpayer-funded trip to the U.S. Albertans are cancelling their trips to the US right now. Smith should do the same.
Let’s talk about it tomorrow!
There are so many topics we can discuss. Join us on Thursday, March 20 for a Pints and Politics pub night at Marda Loop Brewing Co., 3523 18th St SW.
Please RSVP is you are planning to attend.