EDMONTON — One of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s cabinet ministers is calling for Health Minister Adriana LaGrange to be moved out after allegations of high-level corruption surrounding health contracts.

Infrastructure Minister Peter Guthrie, in a memo this week obtained and reported on by the CBC, says LaGrange and the top civil servant in health, Andre Tremblay, be moved to other jobs while the scandal is investigated.

The Canadian Press has not seen Guthrie’s email but has asked Premier Smith’s office about it.

In an email, Smith’s office does not challenge the veracity of the memo but says LaGrange has the premier’s full confidence and that the government is seeking to hire an independent third party to investigate.

Alberta’s auditor general has announced he will look into the allegations, which centre around a wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed this week by the former head of Alberta Health Services, Athena Mentzelopoulos.

In her statement of claim, Mentzelopoulos says LaGrange fought her and ultimately fired her after she balked at signing off on excessively lucrative contracts between the government and private surgery clinics – claims that LaGrange rejects.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2025.

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press