Alberta cabinet minister resigns, citing concerns over procurement

Alberta Infrastructure Minister Peter Guthrie has resigned from his position, citing a lack of confidence in the government's procurement practices.

Guthrie, the United Conservative Party MLA for Airdrie-Cochrane, posted his letter of resignation from cabinet to X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday morning.

"In recent months, I have voiced concerns regarding the Government of Alberta's procurement practices across all departments," Guthrie wrote.

"As Minister of Infrastructure, I had line of sight into these processes and took steps to address inconsistencies and recommend improvements as part of my fiduciary duty.

"This included introducing Bill 13 and proposing a Financial Oversight Committee to review and advise on major government contracts."

If passed, Bill 13, the Real Property Governance Act, would require provincial agencies, boards and commissions to give the province first right of refusal when they're selling surplus land and buildings.

The proposed change affects Alberta's post-secondary institutions, school jurisdictions and charter schools, Alberta Health Services and numerous government organizations, including the Alberta Social Housing Corporation.

"If implemented, such a committee could have been instrumental in preventing some of the issues we are now seeing in Alberta Health and AHS. Unfortunately, the majority of Cabinet does not appear to share my concerns," Guthrie said.

"For this reason, I have decided to step down and return to caucus as a private member, where I can continue to voice my concerns and hold Cabinet accountable with honesty and integrity."

Earlier this month, Guthrie urged Premier Danielle Smith to remove Health Minister Adriana LaGrange from her post while investigations continue into serious allegations a fired Alberta Health Services CEO has made about major health contracts.

In a memo sent to his cabinet colleagues, Guthrie urged quick action, and a readiness to hand any potential criminal matters to the RCMP.

In a written statement, Smith said she accepted Guthrie's resignation. She went on to repeat her past promises to ensure the government co-operates with the auditor general's probe into contracting and procurement, and to find a third party to investigate the matter. 

"I want to reiterate that I was not involved in these procurement decisions nor am I aware of any wrongdoing with regards to the issues raised by the former CEO," Smith wrote.

"My actions were straightforward: the government made a policy decision to expand surgical facilities to tackle the critical issue of wait times, and we all trusted that that direction would be acted upon and implemented by AHS."

Question period queries

Lisa Young, a political science professor at the University of Calgary, said Guthrie's resignation is bad news for Smith. She said that it is rare for Canadian cabinet ministers to step down on principle. 

"It sends a huge statement and Pete Guthrie has been quite clear about the statement that he wants to send. And I think this really does suggest that there is dissent inside the United Conservative Party caucus, and that is going to potentially be quite difficult for Danielle Smith to manage."

Cabinet ministers heading into question period on Tuesday, the first day of the spring sitting, were uniform in their support for Smith and the investigations that are underway.

They said they supported the premier's decision to find a third party to investigate and to co-operate with the probe by the auditor general. Many ministers referred reporters to Smith's statement.

" I have never seen the premier involved in the procurement issue and I have the utmost confidence in the premier of Alberta," said Seniors, Community and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon. "And I think that she's laid out a process and we look forward to seeing the results of that."

Some brushed off suggestions that Guthrie's resignation was an indictment of the government. 

"A guy quit, that's all I can tell you. He had the right to do that," Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver said. "People quit their jobs every day."

Alberta's NDP Opposition on Tuesday used every opportunity to pepper Smith and her ministers with questions about the allegations. 

Christina Gray, NDP House leader, questioned Smith on how she learned of allegations about AHS contracting after reading media reports in February, when former CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos says she was fired on Jan. 8.

Smith replied that the timing of Mentzelopoulos's termination was tied to the start of the new acute care organization, one part of Alberta Health Services that became a separate entity on Feb. 1. 

"We now have four different organizations that are stood up and as a result, we need to have a CEO in that position that is going to be relentlessly focused on being a hospital service provider," Smith said. "That is what we're looking for in our next CEO."

Mentzelopoulos has alleged that the government pushed her out of her top job after she launched investigations into what she describes as conflicts of interest and questionable costs of AHS deals with private surgical facilities, as well as MHCare Medical, the medical supplier behind the $70-million purchase of children's pain medicine from Turkey.

Those claims reached the court earlier this month, when Mentzelopoulos filed a wrongful dismissal lawsuit against the government and AHS. The claims in the lawsuit have not been tested in court.

CBC News has reached out to Guthrie for comment.

The Globe and Mail last week reported that Sam Mraiche, the owner of MHCare, also has stakes in two private surgical facilities that were under scrutiny by Mentzelopoulos's internal investigation.

Mraiche was linked to Guthrie's department by The Tyee last week when it reported that in 2023, Mraiche purchased a parcel of land and sold it a few months later to the government, through Alberta Infrastructure, for a profit of $300,000.

On Feb. 6, Alberta Auditor General Doug Wylie launched an investigation into procurement and contracting processes within the province's health authority to address "concerns or allegations related to contracting and potential conflicts of interest."