National

Alberta's auditor general granted extra $1M for health procurement probe

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 24 Jun, 2025 09:23 AM

Alberta's auditor general has been granted his request for nearly $1 million in extra funding to dig deeper into allegations of corruption in private health care contracts.

Auditor general Doug Wylie says the scope and complexity of the probe means his office needs to hire additional help and cover legal costs.

Members from both the United Conservative Party government and Opposition NDP who sit on the legislature committee that approved the request say Wylie is doing important work.

His investigation began earlier this year as a result of allegations made by the former head of Alberta Health Services, the provincial health authority.

Athana Mentzelopoulos is suing the government for wrongful dismissal, claiming she faced political interference on the job and was fired for looking into overpriced contracts.

The allegations have yet to be tested in court and the province has denied any wrongdoing, claiming instead that Mentzelopoulos was fired for poor job performance.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Conservatives launch attacks on Mark Carney over his firm's relocation to the U.S.

Carney has become the primary target of Conservative attacks in recent weeks and the party is telling its supporters through fundraising emails that the race is a "sham" and just a "coronation."

Conservatives launch attacks on Mark Carney over his firm's relocation to the U.S.

B.C. looks at coalition of willing provinces to expand trade within Canada, Eby says

The threat of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods and services has pushed the need for improved interprovincial trade as provinces look for ways to diversify their markets to protect economies and jobs. Despite the establishment of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement in 2017, many products do not trade freely among provinces and territories.

B.C. looks at coalition of willing provinces to expand trade within Canada, Eby says

Immigrant-owned firms suffer from productivity gap for variety of factors: StatCan

Companies owned by newcomers to Canada tend to struggle taking their businesses to the next level more than Canadian-born founders, new data suggests. The report released by Statistics Canada on Wednesday explores barriers immigrants to Canada can face when starting and scaling a business. One of the most significant findings was around labour productivity — how much an individual can produce in an hour of work.

Immigrant-owned firms suffer from productivity gap for variety of factors: StatCan

Quebec caps international students but is hazy on numbers

Quebec is taking steps to cut the number of international students in the province, but can't say by how many. The government will issue a maximum of around 124,000 acceptance certificates to foreign students this year, down from more than 156,000 last year. The measure targets private colleges that the government has said are using education as a business model to sell citizenship.

Quebec caps international students but is hazy on numbers

Polls suggest a close race as federal election approaches

Multiple polls now suggest the next federal election — which could begin in a matter of weeks — will be a tight race. At least one major pollster has the Liberals in the lead and ahead of the Conservatives for the first time in nearly four years.

Polls suggest a close race as federal election approaches

Canada, Germany working on diversifying trade in face of U.S. threats

Canadian companies and diplomats are working with their European colleagues to find ways to diversify trade as the U.S. threatens to impose steep tariffs. Germany's Ambassador to Canada Tjorven Bellmann says European ambassadors in Ottawa have been in touch with corporations on both sides of the Atlantic to discuss how they can boost trade.