2 private surgery clinic contracts in limbo amid Alberta corruption allegations [Video]

Alberta’s health ministry says two proposed private surgery clinics at the centre of allegations of high-level government corruption remain in limbo.

“At this time, no agreements have been finalized for facilities in Red Deer or Lethbridge,” Jessi Rampton, press secretary to Health Minister Adriana LaGrange, said in an email this week.

“Alberta’s government is working to determine next steps and we will provide an update at a later date.”

Questions remain over who will operate the clinics. In November, an Alberta Health Services spokesperson said a service provider had been chosen, but Rampton did not identify it this week.

The sites, first proposed in 2022, would perform surgeries for patients under Alberta’s public health plan as part of government efforts to reduce wait lists.

Athana Mentzelopoulos was tasked with getting shovels in the ground when she took over as head of Alberta Health Services in December 2023. The agency has …