Wednesday, December 31, 2025
ADVT 
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 granted extra $1M for health procurement probe

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

MORE National ARTICLES

B.C. cancels $1,000 grocery rebate and pauses some hiring over Trump's tariff threats

B.C. cancels $1,000 grocery rebate and pauses some hiring over Trump's tariff threats
The British Columbia government is cancelling a promised $1,000 grocery rebate and will freeze hiring of some public service positions to "find dollars" in its budget as it prepares for "four years of unpredictability" from the United States, Finance Minister Brenda Bailey says. Bailey said Thursday that the impacts of the "reckless" and "destabilizing" tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump are impossible to predict.

B.C. cancels $1,000 grocery rebate and pauses some hiring over Trump's tariff threats

GST break brought a lot of work but little — if any — gains for businesses

GST break brought a lot of work but little — if any — gains for businesses
About two months after the federal government temporarily knocked the GST off a holiday-centric array of goods, Dave Doyon says he considers the move “a gift” even though a hoped-for flurry of sales never fully materialized.

GST break brought a lot of work but little — if any — gains for businesses

Two men arrested for fake taxi scam targeting B.C. universities, shopping centres

Two men arrested for fake taxi scam targeting B.C. universities, shopping centres
Metro Vancouver Transit Police say two men from Ontario have been arrested for taking part in a fake taxi scam that targeted people at universities and shopping centres in B.C.'s Lower Mainland. They say in a news release that the scam involves one of the suspects posing as a taxi passenger who asks passersby for help covering the charge.

Two men arrested for fake taxi scam targeting B.C. universities, shopping centres

Vancouver plans to tackle 'humanitarian crisis' of crime in Downtown Eastside

Vancouver plans to tackle 'humanitarian crisis' of crime in Downtown Eastside
Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighbourhood is in the grip of a "humanitarian crisis" of crime and violence that has reached a tipping point, Mayor Ken Sim said as he unveiled a taskforce to tackle organized crime. Sim stood alongside Vancouver police Chief Adam Palmer to announce what the mayor called a "long-term, sustained effort to disrupt criminal networks, hold offenders accountable and make our streets safer."

Vancouver plans to tackle 'humanitarian crisis' of crime in Downtown Eastside

B.C. minimum wage increases by 45 cents per hour starting June 1

B.C. minimum wage increases by 45 cents per hour starting June 1
The British Columbia government says the province's lowest-paid workers are getting a wage boost to keep pace with inflation. The Ministry of Labour says the minimum wage will increase from $17.40 to $17.85 per hour starting in June.

B.C. minimum wage increases by 45 cents per hour starting June 1

Earthquake felt on southern Vancouver Island is latest B.C. tremor

Earthquake felt on southern Vancouver Island is latest B.C. tremor
Residents across southern Vancouver Island reported feeling a 3.8 magnitude earthquake that struck off the southern coast, the latest in a string of tremors in British Columbia this week. Earthquakes Canada says it happened around 10 p.m. on Thursday.

Earthquake felt on southern Vancouver Island is latest B.C. tremor