#corruptcare — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #corruptcare, aggregated by home.social.
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EVIDENCE SUGGESTS UCP JOINED APRIL 16 CENTURION PROJECT MEETING; FORMER PREMIER’S DATA SHARED
https://www.albertandpcaucus.ca/news/post/evidence-suggests-ucp-joined-april-16-centurion-project-meeting-former-premier-s-data-shared
A connection is alleged between the UCP and the Centurion Project’s Elections Alberta Data Leak.
>EDMONTON — Alberta’s NDP Caucus has obtained video evidence that appears to show that a senior member of the United Conservative Party (UCP) party executive and a member of the UCP Caucus staff, people that are in the Premier’s inner circle, attended the April 16 online meeting of the Centurion Project. This meeting provided training to volunteers on how to use the separatists’ project database that is at the centre of this data breach of three million Albertans’ electoral data.
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>The Alberta NDP Caucus obtained a recording of the Centurion Project’s April 16 online meeting, attended by 80 individuals. The attendee list and a video recording of the call identify that a ‘Rob Smith’ and an ‘Arundeep Sandhu’ were in attendance. The President of the UCP is named Rob Smith and the UCP Caucus Director of Stakeholder Relations is named Arundeep Sandhu.
>
>Alberta’s New Democrats have passed this recording on to the RCMP as they continue their investigation.
#EthicalFading #CorruptCare #UCP #democracy #ElectionsAlberta #surveillance #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #MickeyAmery #DavidParker #DaleNally #Centurion #ElectionsAlbertaDataLeak #GordonMcClure #CameronDavies #ArundeepSandhu #RobSmith
#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 7 -
EVIDENCE SUGGESTS UCP JOINED APRIL 16 CENTURION PROJECT MEETING; FORMER PREMIER’S DATA SHARED
A connection is alleged between the UCP and the Centurion Project’s Elections Alberta Data Leak.
EDMONTON — Alberta’s NDP Caucus has obtained video evidence that appears to show that a senior member of the United Conservative Party (UCP) party executive and a member of the UCP Caucus staff, people that are in the Premier’s inner circle, attended the April 16 online meeting of the Centurion Project. This meeting provided training to volunteers on how to use the separatists’ project database that is at the centre of this data breach of three million Albertans’ electoral data.
The Alberta NDP Caucus obtained a recording of the Centurion Project’s April 16 online meeting, attended by 80 individuals. The attendee list and a video recording of the call identify that a ‘Rob Smith’ and an ‘Arundeep Sandhu’ were in attendance. The President of the UCP is named Rob Smith and the UCP Caucus Director of Stakeholder Relations is named Arundeep Sandhu.
Alberta’s New Democrats have passed this recording on to the RCMP as they continue their investigation.
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https://thewalrus.ca/how-did-an-alberta-separatist-group-get-its-hands-on-the-voter-list/
At this point, Canadians are witnessing one of the worst crashes on the public stage in history. A UCP embroiled in allegations of corruption with CorruptCare now sees separatist organizations responsible for one of the greatest data leak in Canadian history. Even more concerning is how the separatist organizations are all led by individuals affiliated with the UCP, and in some ways either travel in the same circles as Danielle Smith or have relationships with the Alberta Premier.
Justice Minister Mickey Amery looks to stand nearly at the eye of the hurricane, with allegations of conflicts of interest arising from the Corrupt Care scandals mixing with his role in these legislative amendments leading up to the Elections Alberta Data Leak.
The Walrus’ Patrick Lennox brings a review of events leading up to the Elections Alberta Data Leak, and an opinion of the seriousness of this breach. I’ll share a highlight below. I would add that these amendments to how Elections Alberta operated came at a time when Justice Minister Mickey Amery may have been seen interfering with the active EA investigations upon Sam Mraiche and others in the Corrupt Care scandals.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-alberta-justice-minister-sam-mraiche-investigation/
https://archive.ph/bXXb9
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/381433/alberta-justice-minister-curtailed-election-regulator-when-sam-mraiche-was-under-investi
#EthicalFading #CorruptCare #democracy #ElectionsAlberta #surveillance #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #MickeyAmery #DavidParker #DaleNally #Centurion #ElectionsAlbertaDataLeak #GordonMcClure #CameronDavies
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/438166/how-did-an-alberta-separatist-group-get-its-hands-on-the-voter-list-the-walrus
#AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 6 -
How Did an Alberta Separatist Group Get Its Hands on the Voter List? | The Walrus
At this point, Canadians are witnessing one of the worst crashes on the public stage in history. A UCP embroiled in allegations of corruption with CorruptCare now sees separatist organizations responsible for one of the greatest data leak in Canadian history. Even more concerning is how the separatist organizations are all led by individuals affiliated with the UCP, and in some ways either travel in the same circles as Danielle Smith or have relationships with the Alberta Premier.
Justice Minister Mickey Amery looks to stand nearly at the eye of the hurricane, with allegations of conflicts of interest arising from the Corrupt Care scandals mixing with his role in these legislative amendments leading up to the Elections Alberta Data Leak.
The Walrus’ Patrick Lennox brings a review of events leading up to the Elections Alberta Data Leak, and an opinion of the seriousness of this breach. I’ll share a highlight below. I would add that these amendments to how Elections Alberta operated came at a time when Justice Minister Mickey Amery may have been seen interfering with the active EA investigations upon Sam Mraiche and others in the Corrupt Care scandals.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-alberta-justice-minister-sam-mraiche-investigation/
But outrage and disbelief at the civil servants who staff Elections Alberta is misplaced. In May of 2025, after the Liberal Party secured a minority Parliament, the UCP switched into full MAGA mode and started passing legislation that seemed geared to bring on a secession referendum. It also started tinkering in anti-democratic ways with the rules around elections. One example of this—amongst many—was Bill 54, which became the Election Statutes Amendment Act, 2025. It did three things of relevance to this discussion. The first was it set Elections Alberta’s investigative bar beyond that which common citizens’ complaints could reasonably expect to reach.
The response to Gerson is exhibit A. But it could very well be exhibit ZZZ. We know about Gerson’s complaint, because, well, she’s Jen Gerson. We don’t know how many other complaints have been concluded in the same way without investigation because Elections Alberta was unauthorized to investigate.
The second was to make it mandatory for Elections Alberta to inform anyone they were investigating that they were, in fact, investigating them. Combined with the first change, the effect was to cripple the agency by stripping investigators of the ability to conduct discreet inquiries, thus giving targets time to coordinate stories, pressure witnesses, or destroy evidence. A third change limited the length of time Elections Alberta had to investigate a complaint to a single year, down from three.
Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure warned at the time that this would make things difficult for the regulator. He argued that none of the significant investigations Elections Alberta had conducted over the previous five years would have concluded under the new authorities. He noted in documents sent to Justice Minister Mickey Amery that “we are not aware of any other jurisdiction in Canada that has imposed a similar standard to initiate investigations.” …
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CBC’s Jason Markusoff and Joel Dryden follow up on the Alberta CorruptCare scandal. Here, CorruptCare continues to broil as two podcasters return to court for allegations that they carried out a campaign of harassment and intimidation of former AHS CEO, Athana Mentzelopoulos, and former AHS board member, Sandy Edmonstone. The article discusses how Edmonstone noted the similarities between the harassment he experienced, and the allegations of harassment that Globe and Mail reporter, Carrie Tait, experienced.
Edmonstone learned that “the phone number that had been associated with the photos taken of him also was associated with an anonymous X account that had posted the photos of Tait.”
CorruptCare watchers will find interesting that Bryan Ward, a lawyer associated with Quixotic capitalist, Sam Mraiche, is the subject of a contempt application. Bryan Ward being another person of interest in the other court case involving the UCP Recovery Centres, the Semashkewiches, Sam Mraiche, Sam Jaber, Jitendra Prasad, Mike Eldassouki, and others.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #UCP #SamMraiche #CarrieTait #DavidWallace #JamesDiFiore #SandyEdmonstone #BryanWard #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #SamJaber #DougWylie #AuditorGeneral
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 132
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/athana-mentzelopoulos-ahs-lawsuit-9.7166738
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/404229/former-ahs-ceo-wants-podcasters-held-in-contempt-for-harassment-campaign-cbc-news -
CBC’s Jason Markusoff and Joel Dryden follow up on the Alberta CorruptCare scandal. Here, CorruptCare continues to broil as two podcasters return to court for allegations that they carried out a campaign of harassment and intimidation of former AHS CEO, Athana Mentzelopoulos, and former AHS board member, Sandy Edmonstone. The article discusses how Edmonstone noted the similarities between the harassment he experienced, and the allegations of harassment that Globe and Mail reporter, Carrie Tait, experienced.
Edmonstone learned that “the phone number that had been associated with the photos taken of him also was associated with an anonymous X account that had posted the photos of Tait.”
CorruptCare watchers will find interesting that Bryan Ward, a lawyer associated with Quixotic capitalist, Sam Mraiche, is the subject of a contempt application. Bryan Ward being another person of interest in the other court case involving the UCP Recovery Centres, the Semashkewiches, Sam Mraiche, Sam Jaber, Jitendra Prasad, Mike Eldassouki, and others.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #UCP #SamMraiche #CarrieTait #DavidWallace #JamesDiFiore #SandyEdmonstone #BryanWard #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #SamJaber #DougWylie #AuditorGeneral
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 132
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/athana-mentzelopoulos-ahs-lawsuit-9.7166738
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/404229/former-ahs-ceo-wants-podcasters-held-in-contempt-for-harassment-campaign-cbc-news -
CBC’s Jason Markusoff and Joel Dryden follow up on the Alberta CorruptCare scandal. Here, CorruptCare continues to broil as two podcasters return to court for allegations that they carried out a campaign of harassment and intimidation of former AHS CEO, Athana Mentzelopoulos, and former AHS board member, Sandy Edmonstone. The article discusses how Edmonstone noted the similarities between the harassment he experienced, and the allegations of harassment that Globe and Mail reporter, Carrie Tait, experienced.
Edmonstone learned that “the phone number that had been associated with the photos taken of him also was associated with an anonymous X account that had posted the photos of Tait.”
CorruptCare watchers will find interesting that Bryan Ward, a lawyer associated with Quixotic capitalist, Sam Mraiche, is the subject of a contempt application. Bryan Ward being another person of interest in the other court case involving the UCP Recovery Centres, the Semashkewiches, Sam Mraiche, Sam Jaber, Jitendra Prasad, Mike Eldassouki, and others.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #UCP #SamMraiche #CarrieTait #DavidWallace #JamesDiFiore #SandyEdmonstone #BryanWard #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #SamJaber #DougWylie #AuditorGeneral
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 132
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/athana-mentzelopoulos-ahs-lawsuit-9.7166738
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/404229/former-ahs-ceo-wants-podcasters-held-in-contempt-for-harassment-campaign-cbc-news -
CBC’s Jason Markusoff and Joel Dryden follow up on the Alberta CorruptCare scandal. Here, CorruptCare continues to broil as two podcasters return to court for allegations that they carried out a campaign of harassment and intimidation of former AHS CEO, Athana Mentzelopoulos, and former AHS board member, Sandy Edmonstone. The article discusses how Edmonstone noted the similarities between the harassment he experienced, and the allegations of harassment that Globe and Mail reporter, Carrie Tait, experienced.
Edmonstone learned that “the phone number that had been associated with the photos taken of him also was associated with an anonymous X account that had posted the photos of Tait.”
CorruptCare watchers will find interesting that Bryan Ward, a lawyer associated with Quixotic capitalist, Sam Mraiche, is the subject of a contempt application. Bryan Ward being another person of interest in the other court case involving the UCP Recovery Centres, the Semashkewiches, Sam Mraiche, Sam Jaber, Jitendra Prasad, Mike Eldassouki, and others.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #UCP #SamMraiche #CarrieTait #DavidWallace #JamesDiFiore #SandyEdmonstone #BryanWard #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #SamJaber #DougWylie #AuditorGeneral
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 132
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/athana-mentzelopoulos-ahs-lawsuit-9.7166738
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/404229/former-ahs-ceo-wants-podcasters-held-in-contempt-for-harassment-campaign-cbc-news -
Former AHS CEO wants podcasters held in contempt for ‘harassment’ campaign | CBC News
CBC’s Jason Markusoff and Joel Dryden follow up on the Alberta CorruptCare scandal. Here, CorruptCare continues to broil as two podcasters return to court for allegations that they carried out a campaign of harassment and intimidation of former AHS CEO, Athana Mentzelopoulos, and former AHS board member, Sandy Edmonstone. The article discusses how Edmonstone noted the similarities between the harassment he experienced, and the allegations of harassment that Globe and Mail reporter, Carrie Tait, experienced.
Edmonstone learned that “the phone number that had been associated with the photos taken of him also was associated with an anonymous X account that had posted the photos of Tait.”
CorruptCare watchers will find interesting that Bryan Ward, a lawyer associated with Quixotic capitalist, Sam Mraiche, is the subject of a contempt application. Bryan Ward being another person of interest in the other court case involving the UCP Recovery Centres, the Semashkewiches, Sam Mraiche, Sam Jaber, Jitendra Prasad, Mike Eldassouki, and others.
Edmonstone has also applied to cite lawyer Ward for contempt alongside Wallace and DiFiore. When the Anton Piller order was executed at the homes of both podcasters, each said that Ward was representing them, according to court records.
Ward told authorities executing the Piller order that “his firm had retained Wallace and DiFiore on behalf of a ‘third party’ client,” court records state, but that client is not identified.
It appears that Ward and Park Law are involved with “directing or facilitating the campaign directed at Mr. Edmonstone,” the contempt application against Ward alleges.
The application argues that intimidating a prospective witness, “whether carried out personally or through the direction, instruction, or facilitation of others,” amounts to contempt of court.
Ward did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
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Former AHS CEO wants podcasters held in contempt for ‘harassment’ campaign | CBC News
CBC’s Jason Markusoff and Joel Dryden follow up on the Alberta CorruptCare scandal. Here, CorruptCare continues to broil as two podcasters return to court for allegations that they carried out a campaign of harassment and intimidation of former AHS CEO, Athana Mentzelopoulos, and former AHS board member, Sandy Edmonstone. The article discusses how Edmonstone noted the similarities between the harassment he experienced, and the allegations of harassment that Globe and Mail reporter, Carrie Tait, experienced.
Edmonstone learned that “the phone number that had been associated with the photos taken of him also was associated with an anonymous X account that had posted the photos of Tait.”
CorruptCare watchers will find interesting that Bryan Ward, a lawyer associated with Quixotic capitalist, Sam Mraiche, is the subject of a contempt application. Bryan Ward being another person of interest in the other court case involving the UCP Recovery Centres, the Semashkewiches, Sam Mraiche, Sam Jaber, Jitendra Prasad, Mike Eldassouki, and others.
Edmonstone has also applied to cite lawyer Ward for contempt alongside Wallace and DiFiore. When the Anton Piller order was executed at the homes of both podcasters, each said that Ward was representing them, according to court records.
Ward told authorities executing the Piller order that “his firm had retained Wallace and DiFiore on behalf of a ‘third party’ client,” court records state, but that client is not identified.
It appears that Ward and Park Law are involved with “directing or facilitating the campaign directed at Mr. Edmonstone,” the contempt application against Ward alleges.
The application argues that intimidating a prospective witness, “whether carried out personally or through the direction, instruction, or facilitation of others,” amounts to contempt of court.
Ward did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
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Former AHS CEO wants podcasters held in contempt for ‘harassment’ campaign | CBC News
CBC’s Jason Markusoff and Joel Dryden follow up on the Alberta CorruptCare scandal. Here, CorruptCare continues to broil as two podcasters return to court for allegations that they carried out a campaign of harassment and intimidation of former AHS CEO, Athana Mentzelopoulos, and former AHS board member, Sandy Edmonstone. The article discusses how Edmonstone noted the similarities between the harassment he experienced, and the allegations of harassment that Globe and Mail reporter, Carrie Tait, experienced.
Edmonstone learned that “the phone number that had been associated with the photos taken of him also was associated with an anonymous X account that had posted the photos of Tait.”
CorruptCare watchers will find interesting that Bryan Ward, a lawyer associated with Quixotic capitalist, Sam Mraiche, is the subject of a contempt application. Bryan Ward being another person of interest in the other court case involving the UCP Recovery Centres, the Semashkewiches, Sam Mraiche, Sam Jaber, Jitendra Prasad, Mike Eldassouki, and others.
Edmonstone has also applied to cite lawyer Ward for contempt alongside Wallace and DiFiore. When the Anton Piller order was executed at the homes of both podcasters, each said that Ward was representing them, according to court records.
Ward told authorities executing the Piller order that “his firm had retained Wallace and DiFiore on behalf of a ‘third party’ client,” court records state, but that client is not identified.
It appears that Ward and Park Law are involved with “directing or facilitating the campaign directed at Mr. Edmonstone,” the contempt application against Ward alleges.
The application argues that intimidating a prospective witness, “whether carried out personally or through the direction, instruction, or facilitation of others,” amounts to contempt of court.
Ward did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
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Former AHS CEO wants podcasters held in contempt for ‘harassment’ campaign | CBC News
CBC’s Jason Markusoff and Joel Dryden follow up on the Alberta CorruptCare scandal. Here, CorruptCare continues to broil as two podcasters return to court for allegations that they carried out a campaign of harassment and intimidation of former AHS CEO, Athana Mentzelopoulos, and former AHS board member, Sandy Edmonstone. The article discusses how Edmonstone noted the similarities between the harassment he experienced, and the allegations of harassment that Globe and Mail reporter, Carrie Tait, experienced.
Edmonstone learned that “the phone number that had been associated with the photos taken of him also was associated with an anonymous X account that had posted the photos of Tait.”
CorruptCare watchers will find interesting that Bryan Ward, a lawyer associated with Quixotic capitalist, Sam Mraiche, is the subject of a contempt application. Bryan Ward being another person of interest in the other court case involving the UCP Recovery Centres, the Semashkewiches, Sam Mraiche, Sam Jaber, Jitendra Prasad, Mike Eldassouki, and others.
Edmonstone has also applied to cite lawyer Ward for contempt alongside Wallace and DiFiore. When the Anton Piller order was executed at the homes of both podcasters, each said that Ward was representing them, according to court records.
Ward told authorities executing the Piller order that “his firm had retained Wallace and DiFiore on behalf of a ‘third party’ client,” court records state, but that client is not identified.
It appears that Ward and Park Law are involved with “directing or facilitating the campaign directed at Mr. Edmonstone,” the contempt application against Ward alleges.
The application argues that intimidating a prospective witness, “whether carried out personally or through the direction, instruction, or facilitation of others,” amounts to contempt of court.
Ward did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
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Former AHS CEO wants podcasters held in contempt for ‘harassment’ campaign | CBC News
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The Tyee's Brett Mckay brings us “The UCP Tried to Kill a Health Story with Claims That Didn’t Stand Up”
The UCP and the AB GOV clearly captured the healthcare system, and have politicized the administration of healthcare in Alberta. If the Alberta Premier’s office or the UCP have a problem with a news story, they now write from multiple letterheads. If there’s fall out, they can hide behind multiple offices. When Albertans cannot trust the data about how healthcare is delivered, it’s called Propaganda.
Healthcare is a public good, and should not be subject to oppression or suppression from the government. Otherwise Canadians will have no reliable measure of how healthcare is delivered, the effectiveness of projects or initiatives, or whether we are in fact in the midst of a crisis. Rather than an emphasis on service, the UCP healthcare system seems to focus on obedience.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #DanielleSmith #UCP
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 131
https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/04/16/UCP-Tried-Kill-Health-Story/ -
The UCP Tried to Kill a Health Story with Claims That Didn’t Stand Up | The Tyee
The Alberta government was quick to react when an Investigative Journalism Foundation investigation revealed that the amount of overtime worked by paramedics in Edmonton had increased by 81 per cent between 2021 and 2024.
The report was republished by several media outlets across Canada last summer through the Local Journalism Initiative.
Staff from Premier Danielle Smith’s office and the Ministry of Hospital and Surgical Health Services immediately began messaging reporters and editors, claiming that data had been omitted and asking that the story be rewritten or deleted. At least one news outlet complied with the government’s request.
But after filing multiple access to information requests, the IJF found that information cited in emails from the premier’s staff doesn’t line up with data from the province’s own health agencies.
That’s a serious problem, said Lorian Hardcastle, a professor in the faculties of law and medicine at the University of Calgary.
“In many cases, government is the only one with access to particular data,” she said. “And so it’s essential to government accountability to democracy for them to be honest and open and transparent with that data.”
“Where that data is false, or where that data is misleading or is manipulated in a way to make it seem more favourable, all of that is really problematic,” Hardcastle said. “And it takes away the ability of the public to hold the government’s feet to the fire to make improvements.” Inaccurate data also makes it harder for those working in the system to make needed changes, she said.
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The Globe’s Tom Cardoso and Carrie Tait bring the latest in the CorruptCare scandal, further confirming that Elections Alberta was disarmed from its role to protect the integrity of the electoral system of Alberta. But, with even more concern, Alberta’s Justice Minister appears unable to identify the conflicts of interest that arise where he is alleged to have an existing relationship with the central figure of the Corrupt Care contracts, Sam Mraiche.
Justice Minister Amery, a lawyer himself, claims he had no knowledge that Elections Alberta was investigating his “old friend”, Sam Mraiche. And, perhaps some grace can be afforded the Minister that no one from Elections Alberta sat with him to say there was such an investigation. But, given the Minister’s position, his networks within the UCP, his alleged relationship with Sam Mraiche, and Sam Mraiche’s own ties to other agents of government, Canadians are left wondering why credibility is so thin here.
The article goes on to share a time line of events for when the Elections Alberta investigation began, to when Justice Minister Amery introduced his amendments to further disarm Elections Alberta, and how these amendments coincidentally worked in Sam Mraiche’s favour.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #MickeyAmery #UCP
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 130
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-alberta-justice-minister-sam-mraiche-investigation/
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/381433/alberta-justice-minister-curtailed-election-regulator-when-sam-mraiche-was-under-investi -
Alberta Justice Minister curtailed election regulator when Sam Mraiche was under investigation
The Globe’s Tom Cardoso and Carrie Tait bring the latest in the CorruptCare scandal, further confirming that Elections Alberta was disarmed from its role to protect the integrity of the electoral system of Alberta. But, with even more concern, Alberta’s Justice Minister appears unable to identify the conflicts of interest that arise where he is alleged to have an existing relationship with the central figure of the Corrupt Care contracts, Sam Mraiche.
Justice Minister Amery, a lawyer himself, claims he had no knowledge that Elections Alberta was investigating his “old friend”, Sam Mraiche. And, perhaps some grace can be afforded the Minister that no one from Elections Alberta sat with him to say there was such an investigation. But, given the Minister’s position, his networks within the UCP, his alleged relationship with Sam Mraiche, and Sam Mraiche’s own ties to other agents of government, Canadians are left wondering why credibility is so thin here.
The article goes on to share a time line of events for when the Elections Alberta investigation began, to when Justice Minister Amery introduced his amendments to further disarm Elections Alberta, and how these amendments coincidentally worked in Sam Mraiche’s favour.
Of interest, there are 6 names that stood out for Elections Alberta due to their lack of cooperation. Elections Alberta then applied for these individuals, and Mraiche, to be held in contempt. The day after Justice Minister Mickey Amery’s amendments were introduced, their lawyer wrote to Elections Alberta that they considered the issue concluded. Canadians have to start wondering if these individuals were waiting the clock, and what exactly informed them of the time left?
Also, with how sophisticated some of the targets of investigation are for Elections Alberta, I ask why should they be restricted to 1 year? Here in Canada, people can be charged for crime with no time limit. When the Justice System itself acknowledges its racism, and actively tries to mitigate it, why then should White Collar criminals be treated with such privilege?
Six people whose names are listed – Ali Haymour, Houssam Ismail, Kamal Mansour, Khawla Al-Tamimi, Majida Kiki and Salim Kherbatly – were found in contempt by an Alberta court in July after Elections Alberta said they had not made themselves available for an interview related to an investigation. Court records for their and Mr. Mraiche’s contempt cases show that both matters concerned a straw-donor investigation launched on April 30, 2024, and shared the same internal Elections Alberta case file number.
Documents filed in the six individuals’ cases show that on May 16 – the day after Mr. Amery’s changes passed in the legislature – their lawyer, George Samia, wrote to Elections Alberta to point out the new time limit.
“Given that the events under investigation occurred more than one year ago, and considering the legislative intent to enforce a one-year limitation period, we submit that the window for investigation into this matter has closed and the investigation has been rendered moot,” he said. “Therefore, our Clients will not be submitting to any further questioning or investigations related to this case.” Mr. Samia did not respond to a request for comment.
The six individuals each agreed to pay the elections authority $1,445 in early January as part of their contempt cases, court records show. They have received no penalty related to the alleged illegal donations, according to Elections Alberta’s website. -
The Tyee’s Charles Rusnell follows up on the fallout from CorruptCare’s expansion into the Recovery Centres.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #MickeyAmery #SandyEdmonstone #JitendraPrasad #SamJaber #BryanWard #Semashkewich #MelewkaHomes
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 129
https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/03/25/Unpaid-Subcontractors-Recovery-Centres/
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/347861/unpaid-subcontractors-for-recovery-centres-say-ucp-abandoned-them -
The Tyee’s Charles Rusnell follows up on the fallout from CorruptCare’s expansion into the Recovery Centres.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #MickeyAmery #SandyEdmonstone #JitendraPrasad #SamJaber #BryanWard #Semashkewich #MelewkaHomes
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 129
https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/03/25/Unpaid-Subcontractors-Recovery-Centres/
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/347861/unpaid-subcontractors-for-recovery-centres-say-ucp-abandoned-them -
The Tyee’s Charles Rusnell follows up on the fallout from CorruptCare’s expansion into the Recovery Centres.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #MickeyAmery #SandyEdmonstone #JitendraPrasad #SamJaber #BryanWard #Semashkewich #MelewkaHomes
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 129
https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/03/25/Unpaid-Subcontractors-Recovery-Centres/
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/347861/unpaid-subcontractors-for-recovery-centres-say-ucp-abandoned-them -
The Tyee’s Charles Rusnell follows up on the fallout from CorruptCare’s expansion into the Recovery Centres.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #MickeyAmery #SandyEdmonstone #JitendraPrasad #SamJaber #BryanWard #Semashkewich #MelewkaHomes
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 129
https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/03/25/Unpaid-Subcontractors-Recovery-Centres/
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/347861/unpaid-subcontractors-for-recovery-centres-say-ucp-abandoned-them -
The Tyee’s Charles Rusnell follows up on the fallout from CorruptCare’s expansion into the Recovery Centres.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #MickeyAmery #SandyEdmonstone #JitendraPrasad #SamJaber #BryanWard #Semashkewich #MelewkaHomes
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 129
https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/03/25/Unpaid-Subcontractors-Recovery-Centres/
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/347861/unpaid-subcontractors-for-recovery-centres-say-ucp-abandoned-them -
Unpaid Subcontractors for Recovery Centres Say UCP Abandoned Them
The Tyee’s Charles Rusnell follows up on the fallout from CorruptCare’s expansion into the Recovery Centres.
Subcontractors, who have not been paid for months, are blaming the government of Premier Danielle Smith for first failing to provide oversight on more than $100 million of taxpayers’ money and then failing to help resolve the impasse as they struggle to survive.
“This will probably bankrupt us if I don’t get paid,” said one Edmonton subcontractor who hasn’t been paid in more than two months. “I’m about a million dollars out so that is a pretty heavy hit.”
Another Edmonton subcontractor told The Tyee she has been owed more than $500,000 since July 2025.
“This shows to me that the government doesn’t have our back, that we can’t trust the government.
“We can’t trust them with our taxpayers’ money. We can’t trust them on a government-funded project.”
…
“Nobody told us anything, and we were just told, ‘Don’t worry, you will get paid,’” said the Métis Nation subcontractor.
“So we kept working. The only reason we finally went off site is because we weren’t believing the bullshit anymore.”
She said it wasn’t until she read The Tyee story that she understood what was going on.
“When I read it, then it became crystal clear to me what the problems were. I was like, ‘OK that is why we haven’t been paid.’ And I was thinking, ‘That is why everyone has been stonewalling me and not telling the truth.’
“None of us subtrades would have known any of this unless we had read your article.”
-
Unpaid Subcontractors for Recovery Centres Say UCP Abandoned Them
The Tyee’s Charles Rusnell follows up on the fallout from CorruptCare’s expansion into the Recovery Centres.
Subcontractors, who have not been paid for months, are blaming the government of Premier Danielle Smith for first failing to provide oversight on more than $100 million of taxpayers’ money and then failing to help resolve the impasse as they struggle to survive.
“This will probably bankrupt us if I don’t get paid,” said one Edmonton subcontractor who hasn’t been paid in more than two months. “I’m about a million dollars out so that is a pretty heavy hit.”
Another Edmonton subcontractor told The Tyee she has been owed more than $500,000 since July 2025.
“This shows to me that the government doesn’t have our back, that we can’t trust the government.
“We can’t trust them with our taxpayers’ money. We can’t trust them on a government-funded project.”
…
“Nobody told us anything, and we were just told, ‘Don’t worry, you will get paid,’” said the Métis Nation subcontractor.
“So we kept working. The only reason we finally went off site is because we weren’t believing the bullshit anymore.”
She said it wasn’t until she read The Tyee story that she understood what was going on.
“When I read it, then it became crystal clear to me what the problems were. I was like, ‘OK that is why we haven’t been paid.’ And I was thinking, ‘That is why everyone has been stonewalling me and not telling the truth.’
“None of us subtrades would have known any of this unless we had read your article.”
-
Unpaid Subcontractors for Recovery Centres Say UCP Abandoned Them
The Tyee’s Charles Rusnell follows up on the fallout from CorruptCare’s expansion into the Recovery Centres.
Subcontractors, who have not been paid for months, are blaming the government of Premier Danielle Smith for first failing to provide oversight on more than $100 million of taxpayers’ money and then failing to help resolve the impasse as they struggle to survive.
“This will probably bankrupt us if I don’t get paid,” said one Edmonton subcontractor who hasn’t been paid in more than two months. “I’m about a million dollars out so that is a pretty heavy hit.”
Another Edmonton subcontractor told The Tyee she has been owed more than $500,000 since July 2025.
“This shows to me that the government doesn’t have our back, that we can’t trust the government.
“We can’t trust them with our taxpayers’ money. We can’t trust them on a government-funded project.”
…
“Nobody told us anything, and we were just told, ‘Don’t worry, you will get paid,’” said the Métis Nation subcontractor.
“So we kept working. The only reason we finally went off site is because we weren’t believing the bullshit anymore.”
She said it wasn’t until she read The Tyee story that she understood what was going on.
“When I read it, then it became crystal clear to me what the problems were. I was like, ‘OK that is why we haven’t been paid.’ And I was thinking, ‘That is why everyone has been stonewalling me and not telling the truth.’
“None of us subtrades would have known any of this unless we had read your article.”
-
Unpaid Subcontractors for Recovery Centres Say UCP Abandoned Them
The Tyee’s Charles Rusnell follows up on the fallout from CorruptCare’s expansion into the Recovery Centres.
Subcontractors, who have not been paid for months, are blaming the government of Premier Danielle Smith for first failing to provide oversight on more than $100 million of taxpayers’ money and then failing to help resolve the impasse as they struggle to survive.
“This will probably bankrupt us if I don’t get paid,” said one Edmonton subcontractor who hasn’t been paid in more than two months. “I’m about a million dollars out so that is a pretty heavy hit.”
Another Edmonton subcontractor told The Tyee she has been owed more than $500,000 since July 2025.
“This shows to me that the government doesn’t have our back, that we can’t trust the government.
“We can’t trust them with our taxpayers’ money. We can’t trust them on a government-funded project.”
…
“Nobody told us anything, and we were just told, ‘Don’t worry, you will get paid,’” said the Métis Nation subcontractor.
“So we kept working. The only reason we finally went off site is because we weren’t believing the bullshit anymore.”
She said it wasn’t until she read The Tyee story that she understood what was going on.
“When I read it, then it became crystal clear to me what the problems were. I was like, ‘OK that is why we haven’t been paid.’ And I was thinking, ‘That is why everyone has been stonewalling me and not telling the truth.’
“None of us subtrades would have known any of this unless we had read your article.”
-
Unpaid Subcontractors for Recovery Centres Say UCP Abandoned Them
-
Canadians may be witnessing one of the greatest corruption scandals to rock a province in generations. From the mind boggling dollar figures, to the depth of the group alleged behind the corruption, the scandal touches every man, woman, and child of Alberta.
CorruptCare originally referred to allegations of a cluster of procurement contracts involving AHS and a number of UCP members in relation to Tylenot, bad PPE, and some suspicious bids for chartered surgical facilities. And, now, the scandal continues to expand to construction contracts in relation to the recovery centres at the heart of the UCP’s forced treatment programming (that I dub Residential Schools 2.0).
The Tyee’s Charles Rusnell brings us the deep dive into the allegations between the Semashkewiches, Sam Mraiche, Sam Jaber, Jitendra Prasad, Mike Eldassouki, Aaron Barner, and others. As always, the article itself deserves a read, and I’ll leave some highlights below.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #MickeyAmery #SandyEdmonstone #JitendraPrasad #SamJaber #BryanWard #Semashkewich #MelewkaHomes
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 128
https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/03/19/Accusations-Fly-Newly-Surfaced-Legal-Fight-Sam-Mraiche/
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/347793/accusations-fly-in-newly-surfaced-legal-fight-involving-sam-mraiche -
Canadians may be witnessing one of the greatest corruption scandals to rock a province in generations. From the mind boggling dollar figures, to the depth of the group alleged behind the corruption, the scandal touches every man, woman, and child of Alberta.
CorruptCare originally referred to allegations of a cluster of procurement contracts involving AHS and a number of UCP members in relation to Tylenot, bad PPE, and some suspicious bids for chartered surgical facilities. And, now, the scandal continues to expand to construction contracts in relation to the recovery centres at the heart of the UCP’s forced treatment programming (that I dub Residential Schools 2.0).
The Tyee’s Charles Rusnell brings us the deep dive into the allegations between the Semashkewiches, Sam Mraiche, Sam Jaber, Jitendra Prasad, Mike Eldassouki, Aaron Barner, and others. As always, the article itself deserves a read, and I’ll leave some highlights below.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #MickeyAmery #SandyEdmonstone #JitendraPrasad #SamJaber #BryanWard #Semashkewich #MelewkaHomes
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 128
https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/03/19/Accusations-Fly-Newly-Surfaced-Legal-Fight-Sam-Mraiche/
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/347793/accusations-fly-in-newly-surfaced-legal-fight-involving-sam-mraiche -
Canadians may be witnessing one of the greatest corruption scandals to rock a province in generations. From the mind boggling dollar figures, to the depth of the group alleged behind the corruption, the scandal touches every man, woman, and child of Alberta.
CorruptCare originally referred to allegations of a cluster of procurement contracts involving AHS and a number of UCP members in relation to Tylenot, bad PPE, and some suspicious bids for chartered surgical facilities. And, now, the scandal continues to expand to construction contracts in relation to the recovery centres at the heart of the UCP’s forced treatment programming (that I dub Residential Schools 2.0).
The Tyee’s Charles Rusnell brings us the deep dive into the allegations between the Semashkewiches, Sam Mraiche, Sam Jaber, Jitendra Prasad, Mike Eldassouki, Aaron Barner, and others. As always, the article itself deserves a read, and I’ll leave some highlights below.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #MickeyAmery #SandyEdmonstone #JitendraPrasad #SamJaber #BryanWard #Semashkewich #MelewkaHomes
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 128
https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/03/19/Accusations-Fly-Newly-Surfaced-Legal-Fight-Sam-Mraiche/
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/347793/accusations-fly-in-newly-surfaced-legal-fight-involving-sam-mraiche -
Canadians may be witnessing one of the greatest corruption scandals to rock a province in generations. From the mind boggling dollar figures, to the depth of the group alleged behind the corruption, the scandal touches every man, woman, and child of Alberta.
CorruptCare originally referred to allegations of a cluster of procurement contracts involving AHS and a number of UCP members in relation to Tylenot, bad PPE, and some suspicious bids for chartered surgical facilities. And, now, the scandal continues to expand to construction contracts in relation to the recovery centres at the heart of the UCP’s forced treatment programming (that I dub Residential Schools 2.0).
The Tyee’s Charles Rusnell brings us the deep dive into the allegations between the Semashkewiches, Sam Mraiche, Sam Jaber, Jitendra Prasad, Mike Eldassouki, Aaron Barner, and others. As always, the article itself deserves a read, and I’ll leave some highlights below.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #MickeyAmery #SandyEdmonstone #JitendraPrasad #SamJaber #BryanWard #Semashkewich #MelewkaHomes
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 128
https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/03/19/Accusations-Fly-Newly-Surfaced-Legal-Fight-Sam-Mraiche/
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/347793/accusations-fly-in-newly-surfaced-legal-fight-involving-sam-mraiche -
Canadians may be witnessing one of the greatest corruption scandals to rock a province in generations. From the mind boggling dollar figures, to the depth of the group alleged behind the corruption, the scandal touches every man, woman, and child of Alberta.
CorruptCare originally referred to allegations of a cluster of procurement contracts involving AHS and a number of UCP members in relation to Tylenot, bad PPE, and some suspicious bids for chartered surgical facilities. And, now, the scandal continues to expand to construction contracts in relation to the recovery centres at the heart of the UCP’s forced treatment programming (that I dub Residential Schools 2.0).
The Tyee’s Charles Rusnell brings us the deep dive into the allegations between the Semashkewiches, Sam Mraiche, Sam Jaber, Jitendra Prasad, Mike Eldassouki, Aaron Barner, and others. As always, the article itself deserves a read, and I’ll leave some highlights below.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #MickeyAmery #SandyEdmonstone #JitendraPrasad #SamJaber #BryanWard #Semashkewich #MelewkaHomes
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 128
https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/03/19/Accusations-Fly-Newly-Surfaced-Legal-Fight-Sam-Mraiche/
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/347793/accusations-fly-in-newly-surfaced-legal-fight-involving-sam-mraiche -
Accusations Fly in Newly Surfaced Legal Fight Involving Sam Mraiche
Canadians may be witnessing one of the greatest corruption scandals to rock a province in generations. From the mind boggling dollar figures, to the depth of the group alleged behind the corruption, the scandal touches every man, woman, and child of Alberta.
CorruptCare originally referred to allegations of a cluster of procurement contracts involving AHS and a number of UCP members in relation to Tylenot, bad PPE, and some suspicious bids for chartered surgical facilities. And, now, the scandal continues to expand to construction contracts in relation to the recovery centres at the heart of the UCP’s forced treatment programming (that I dub Residential Schools 2.0).
The Tyee’s Charles Rusnell brings us the deep dive into the allegations between the Semashkewiches, Sam Mraiche, Sam Jaber, Jitendra Prasad, Mike Eldassouki, Aaron Barner, and others. As always, the article itself deserves a read, and I’ll leave some highlights below.
His involvement, Mraiche said, was simply as an informal adviser to his brother-in-law and he had no relationship with Semashkewich nor any involvement in any of the projects.
“Over the years, Mraiche, as a business owner, would regularly provide his brother-in-law, Eldassouki, with casual, unofficial, and informal business advice,” his statement of defence says.
Mraiche said he was not the controlling mind of Melewka Construction and he had no authority, legal or otherwise, to make decisions on behalf of his brother-in-law or his company.
…
Eldassouki allegedly told Semashkewich he wanted to set up a distinct corporate entity from Melewka Homes that would be the general contractor for projects with Melewka Homes being its subcontractor. Semashkewich said he declined the proposal.
Semashkewich alleges that without his knowledge or consent, Eldassouki incorporated Melewka Construction on Nov. 3, 2022.
…
Shortly after Eldassouki set up Melewka Construction, the amended counterclaim states, Faour introduced Semashkewich to “Fred,” who “advised that he controlled how much Melewka Homes would get paid from the projects, had connections, and that he could pull the projects at any time.”
“It was made apparent to [Semashkewich] that ‘Fred’ had considerable control over the projects, the government officials behind them, and could interfere with Melewka Homes’ contractual relationship with those entities,” the amended counterclaim states.
“[Semashkewich] later discovered that ‘Fred’ was actually Mraiche, and that Eldassouki was Mraiche’s brother-in-law. Eldassouki frequently copied Mraiche on internal Melewka Construction correspondences and sought Mraiche’s approval for material decisions.”
…
Between late 2023 and early 2024 Melewka Homes through Melewka Construction entered into negotiations to design and build three recovery centres — one each for the Métis Nation of Alberta and the Enoch and Tsuut’ina First Nations.
These recovery centres were to be entirely funded with grants from the Alberta government. The MNA and Tsuut’ina projects would each cost about $36.5 million including GST while the Enoch project cost about $31.5 million for a total of about $104.5 million.
…
There was another alleged meeting on May 3, 2024, held by Mraiche at the offices of MHCare involving Semashkewich and his son John, Eldassouki and Ward.
“The meeting was very heated with Mraiche demanding an exorbitant amount of money,” the amended counterclaim states.
“Further, Mraiche wanted the money paid at once in upfront payments from the 60 per cent or 50 per cent in pre-construction payments…. [Semashkewich] said this could not happen as this would amount to fraud since these funds would not be directed toward construction,” the amended counterclaim states.
This is when Mraiche is alleged to have again claimed he had the government connections to pull all of Melewka Homes’ projects and called Alberta Health Services procurement chief Jitendra Prasad and put him on speaker phone.
…
Lawyer Bryan Ward, who has also acted for Mraiche, denies every allegation and denies he was in a conflict of interest or breached his fiduciary duty. He also denies he was acting on instructions from Mraiche, and that he delayed the release of trust funds.
…
In January, the Globe and Mail revealed Ward had allegedly hired a podcaster and a self-described political hit man who had allegedly harassed former Alberta Health Services director Sandy Edmonstone, former AHS CEO Athana Mentzelopolous and Globe reporter Carrie Tait.
Edmonstone, who alleges he was surveilled and surreptitiously photographed, has sought a contempt order against Ward.
-
Accusations Fly in Newly Surfaced Legal Fight Involving Sam Mraiche
Canadians may be witnessing one of the greatest corruption scandals to rock a province in generations. From the mind boggling dollar figures, to the depth of the group alleged behind the corruption, the scandal touches every man, woman, and child of Alberta.
CorruptCare originally referred to allegations of a cluster of procurement contracts involving AHS and a number of UCP members in relation to Tylenot, bad PPE, and some suspicious bids for chartered surgical facilities. And, now, the scandal continues to expand to construction contracts in relation to the recovery centres at the heart of the UCP’s forced treatment programming (that I dub Residential Schools 2.0).
The Tyee’s Charles Rusnell brings us the deep dive into the allegations between the Semashkewiches, Sam Mraiche, Sam Jaber, Jitendra Prasad, Mike Eldassouki, Aaron Barner, and others. As always, the article itself deserves a read, and I’ll leave some highlights below.
His involvement, Mraiche said, was simply as an informal adviser to his brother-in-law and he had no relationship with Semashkewich nor any involvement in any of the projects.
“Over the years, Mraiche, as a business owner, would regularly provide his brother-in-law, Eldassouki, with casual, unofficial, and informal business advice,” his statement of defence says.
Mraiche said he was not the controlling mind of Melewka Construction and he had no authority, legal or otherwise, to make decisions on behalf of his brother-in-law or his company.
…
Eldassouki allegedly told Semashkewich he wanted to set up a distinct corporate entity from Melewka Homes that would be the general contractor for projects with Melewka Homes being its subcontractor. Semashkewich said he declined the proposal.
Semashkewich alleges that without his knowledge or consent, Eldassouki incorporated Melewka Construction on Nov. 3, 2022.
…
Shortly after Eldassouki set up Melewka Construction, the amended counterclaim states, Faour introduced Semashkewich to “Fred,” who “advised that he controlled how much Melewka Homes would get paid from the projects, had connections, and that he could pull the projects at any time.”
“It was made apparent to [Semashkewich] that ‘Fred’ had considerable control over the projects, the government officials behind them, and could interfere with Melewka Homes’ contractual relationship with those entities,” the amended counterclaim states.
“[Semashkewich] later discovered that ‘Fred’ was actually Mraiche, and that Eldassouki was Mraiche’s brother-in-law. Eldassouki frequently copied Mraiche on internal Melewka Construction correspondences and sought Mraiche’s approval for material decisions.”
…
Between late 2023 and early 2024 Melewka Homes through Melewka Construction entered into negotiations to design and build three recovery centres — one each for the Métis Nation of Alberta and the Enoch and Tsuut’ina First Nations.
These recovery centres were to be entirely funded with grants from the Alberta government. The MNA and Tsuut’ina projects would each cost about $36.5 million including GST while the Enoch project cost about $31.5 million for a total of about $104.5 million.
…
There was another alleged meeting on May 3, 2024, held by Mraiche at the offices of MHCare involving Semashkewich and his son John, Eldassouki and Ward.
“The meeting was very heated with Mraiche demanding an exorbitant amount of money,” the amended counterclaim states.
“Further, Mraiche wanted the money paid at once in upfront payments from the 60 per cent or 50 per cent in pre-construction payments…. [Semashkewich] said this could not happen as this would amount to fraud since these funds would not be directed toward construction,” the amended counterclaim states.
This is when Mraiche is alleged to have again claimed he had the government connections to pull all of Melewka Homes’ projects and called Alberta Health Services procurement chief Jitendra Prasad and put him on speaker phone.
…
Lawyer Bryan Ward, who has also acted for Mraiche, denies every allegation and denies he was in a conflict of interest or breached his fiduciary duty. He also denies he was acting on instructions from Mraiche, and that he delayed the release of trust funds.
…
In January, the Globe and Mail revealed Ward had allegedly hired a podcaster and a self-described political hit man who had allegedly harassed former Alberta Health Services director Sandy Edmonstone, former AHS CEO Athana Mentzelopolous and Globe reporter Carrie Tait.
Edmonstone, who alleges he was surveilled and surreptitiously photographed, has sought a contempt order against Ward.
-
Accusations Fly in Newly Surfaced Legal Fight Involving Sam Mraiche
Canadians may be witnessing one of the greatest corruption scandals to rock a province in generations. From the mind boggling dollar figures, to the depth of the group alleged behind the corruption, the scandal touches every man, woman, and child of Alberta.
CorruptCare originally referred to allegations of a cluster of procurement contracts involving AHS and a number of UCP members in relation to Tylenot, bad PPE, and some suspicious bids for chartered surgical facilities. And, now, the scandal continues to expand to construction contracts in relation to the recovery centres at the heart of the UCP’s forced treatment programming (that I dub Residential Schools 2.0).
The Tyee’s Charles Rusnell brings us the deep dive into the allegations between the Semashkewiches, Sam Mraiche, Sam Jaber, Jitendra Prasad, Mike Eldassouki, Aaron Barner, and others. As always, the article itself deserves a read, and I’ll leave some highlights below.
His involvement, Mraiche said, was simply as an informal adviser to his brother-in-law and he had no relationship with Semashkewich nor any involvement in any of the projects.
“Over the years, Mraiche, as a business owner, would regularly provide his brother-in-law, Eldassouki, with casual, unofficial, and informal business advice,” his statement of defence says.
Mraiche said he was not the controlling mind of Melewka Construction and he had no authority, legal or otherwise, to make decisions on behalf of his brother-in-law or his company.
…
Eldassouki allegedly told Semashkewich he wanted to set up a distinct corporate entity from Melewka Homes that would be the general contractor for projects with Melewka Homes being its subcontractor. Semashkewich said he declined the proposal.
Semashkewich alleges that without his knowledge or consent, Eldassouki incorporated Melewka Construction on Nov. 3, 2022.
…
Shortly after Eldassouki set up Melewka Construction, the amended counterclaim states, Faour introduced Semashkewich to “Fred,” who “advised that he controlled how much Melewka Homes would get paid from the projects, had connections, and that he could pull the projects at any time.”
“It was made apparent to [Semashkewich] that ‘Fred’ had considerable control over the projects, the government officials behind them, and could interfere with Melewka Homes’ contractual relationship with those entities,” the amended counterclaim states.
“[Semashkewich] later discovered that ‘Fred’ was actually Mraiche, and that Eldassouki was Mraiche’s brother-in-law. Eldassouki frequently copied Mraiche on internal Melewka Construction correspondences and sought Mraiche’s approval for material decisions.”
…
Between late 2023 and early 2024 Melewka Homes through Melewka Construction entered into negotiations to design and build three recovery centres — one each for the Métis Nation of Alberta and the Enoch and Tsuut’ina First Nations.
These recovery centres were to be entirely funded with grants from the Alberta government. The MNA and Tsuut’ina projects would each cost about $36.5 million including GST while the Enoch project cost about $31.5 million for a total of about $104.5 million.
…
There was another alleged meeting on May 3, 2024, held by Mraiche at the offices of MHCare involving Semashkewich and his son John, Eldassouki and Ward.
“The meeting was very heated with Mraiche demanding an exorbitant amount of money,” the amended counterclaim states.
“Further, Mraiche wanted the money paid at once in upfront payments from the 60 per cent or 50 per cent in pre-construction payments…. [Semashkewich] said this could not happen as this would amount to fraud since these funds would not be directed toward construction,” the amended counterclaim states.
This is when Mraiche is alleged to have again claimed he had the government connections to pull all of Melewka Homes’ projects and called Alberta Health Services procurement chief Jitendra Prasad and put him on speaker phone.
…
Lawyer Bryan Ward, who has also acted for Mraiche, denies every allegation and denies he was in a conflict of interest or breached his fiduciary duty. He also denies he was acting on instructions from Mraiche, and that he delayed the release of trust funds.
…
In January, the Globe and Mail revealed Ward had allegedly hired a podcaster and a self-described political hit man who had allegedly harassed former Alberta Health Services director Sandy Edmonstone, former AHS CEO Athana Mentzelopolous and Globe reporter Carrie Tait.
Edmonstone, who alleges he was surveilled and surreptitiously photographed, has sought a contempt order against Ward.
-
Accusations Fly in Newly Surfaced Legal Fight Involving Sam Mraiche
Canadians may be witnessing one of the greatest corruption scandals to rock a province in generations. From the mind boggling dollar figures, to the depth of the group alleged behind the corruption, the scandal touches every man, woman, and child of Alberta.
CorruptCare originally referred to allegations of a cluster of procurement contracts involving AHS and a number of UCP members in relation to Tylenot, bad PPE, and some suspicious bids for chartered surgical facilities. And, now, the scandal continues to expand to construction contracts in relation to the recovery centres at the heart of the UCP’s forced treatment programming (that I dub Residential Schools 2.0).
The Tyee’s Charles Rusnell brings us the deep dive into the allegations between the Semashkewiches, Sam Mraiche, Sam Jaber, Jitendra Prasad, Mike Eldassouki, Aaron Barner, and others. As always, the article itself deserves a read, and I’ll leave some highlights below.
His involvement, Mraiche said, was simply as an informal adviser to his brother-in-law and he had no relationship with Semashkewich nor any involvement in any of the projects.
“Over the years, Mraiche, as a business owner, would regularly provide his brother-in-law, Eldassouki, with casual, unofficial, and informal business advice,” his statement of defence says.
Mraiche said he was not the controlling mind of Melewka Construction and he had no authority, legal or otherwise, to make decisions on behalf of his brother-in-law or his company.
…
Eldassouki allegedly told Semashkewich he wanted to set up a distinct corporate entity from Melewka Homes that would be the general contractor for projects with Melewka Homes being its subcontractor. Semashkewich said he declined the proposal.
Semashkewich alleges that without his knowledge or consent, Eldassouki incorporated Melewka Construction on Nov. 3, 2022.
…
Shortly after Eldassouki set up Melewka Construction, the amended counterclaim states, Faour introduced Semashkewich to “Fred,” who “advised that he controlled how much Melewka Homes would get paid from the projects, had connections, and that he could pull the projects at any time.”
“It was made apparent to [Semashkewich] that ‘Fred’ had considerable control over the projects, the government officials behind them, and could interfere with Melewka Homes’ contractual relationship with those entities,” the amended counterclaim states.
“[Semashkewich] later discovered that ‘Fred’ was actually Mraiche, and that Eldassouki was Mraiche’s brother-in-law. Eldassouki frequently copied Mraiche on internal Melewka Construction correspondences and sought Mraiche’s approval for material decisions.”
…
Between late 2023 and early 2024 Melewka Homes through Melewka Construction entered into negotiations to design and build three recovery centres — one each for the Métis Nation of Alberta and the Enoch and Tsuut’ina First Nations.
These recovery centres were to be entirely funded with grants from the Alberta government. The MNA and Tsuut’ina projects would each cost about $36.5 million including GST while the Enoch project cost about $31.5 million for a total of about $104.5 million.
…
There was another alleged meeting on May 3, 2024, held by Mraiche at the offices of MHCare involving Semashkewich and his son John, Eldassouki and Ward.
“The meeting was very heated with Mraiche demanding an exorbitant amount of money,” the amended counterclaim states.
“Further, Mraiche wanted the money paid at once in upfront payments from the 60 per cent or 50 per cent in pre-construction payments…. [Semashkewich] said this could not happen as this would amount to fraud since these funds would not be directed toward construction,” the amended counterclaim states.
This is when Mraiche is alleged to have again claimed he had the government connections to pull all of Melewka Homes’ projects and called Alberta Health Services procurement chief Jitendra Prasad and put him on speaker phone.
…
Lawyer Bryan Ward, who has also acted for Mraiche, denies every allegation and denies he was in a conflict of interest or breached his fiduciary duty. He also denies he was acting on instructions from Mraiche, and that he delayed the release of trust funds.
…
In January, the Globe and Mail revealed Ward had allegedly hired a podcaster and a self-described political hit man who had allegedly harassed former Alberta Health Services director Sandy Edmonstone, former AHS CEO Athana Mentzelopolous and Globe reporter Carrie Tait.
Edmonstone, who alleges he was surveilled and surreptitiously photographed, has sought a contempt order against Ward.
-
Accusations Fly in Newly Surfaced Legal Fight Involving Sam Mraiche
-
Accounting firm owned by Smith government appointee searched by RCMP
Globe and Mail’s Carrie Tait, Tom Cardoso, Matthew Scace, and Jana G. Pruden, and Alanna Smith, with the latest updates on the RCMP conducting searches of properties associated with Sam Jaber, Jitendra Prasad, and Sam Mraiche.
A marked RCMP vehicle was parked in front of Jaberson & Associates, a tax preparation and accounting firm owned by Sam Jaber. In November, 2023, Ms. Smith appointed him to the board of Invest Alberta, which focuses on attracting capital investment to the province.
Mr. Jaber has also served as the chief financial officer of MHCare Medical Corp., a private company owned by Sam Mraiche, a businessman at the centre of the province’s procurement controversy.
…
On Thursday, a Globe reporter spoke with a neighbour of Jitendra Prasad, one of the former Alberta Health Service procurement officials who was part of Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s probe.
The neighbour told The Globe that RCMP officers had attended at Mr. Prasad’s home throughout the day on Tuesday.
…
Mr. Jaber owns two tax and accounting businesses, corporate records show – Jaberson & Associates and Tax Pros, both based in Edmonton.
Corporate filings show that Mr. Jaber and his accounting businesses have acted as registering agents for several of Mr. Mraiche’s business ventures.
Mr. Jaber was appointed to Invest Alberta’s board at the behest of the Premier’s Office, according to records obtained by The Globe through an access to information request.
In a series of e-mails, government staff discuss Mr. Jaber’s potential appointment. In an e-mail dated Oct. 26, 2023, one official wrote that the Premier’s Office “has indicated this is a priority for immediate action.” Mr. Jaber was appointed to the board by an order-in-council signed by the Premier four weeks later. His term is set to expire next January.
Invest Alberta declined to comment.
The Premier in the summer of 2024 confirmed that Jaberson & Associates furnished her office with tickets to watch the Edmonton Oilers play the Vancouver Canucks in British Columbia during the NHL playoffs that year. Mr. Mraiche joined Ms. Smith in a box suite to watch the game, a photo taken by The Canadian Press shows.
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Smith defends government after RCMP executes search warrants in health care procurement probe
Globe and Mail’s Carrie Tait, Matthew Scace, and Tom Cardoso, with the latest in the CorruptCare scandal, with the RCMP pushing further in their investigation.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #MickeyAmery
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 127
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/330021/smith-defends-government-after-rcmp-executes-search-warrants-in-health-care-procurement
https://archive.is/r85Ok -
Smith defends government after RCMP executes search warrants in health care procurement probe
Globe and Mail’s Carrie Tait, Matthew Scace, and Tom Cardoso, with the latest in the CorruptCare scandal, with the RCMP pushing further in their investigation.
The article deserves a read, and highlights included here.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith defended her government on Thursday during her first appearance in the legislature since police executed search warrants as part of their criminal investigation into the province’s health care procurement controversy.
The RCMP this week searched the head office of MHCare Medical Corp., one of the government suppliers at the centre of the controversy.
The company, which has received $600-million in contracts from Alberta Health Services, is owned by Edmonton businessman Sam Mraiche. Mr. Mraiche had ties with Ms. Smith and members of her government, as well as public servants at Alberta’s health authority.
…
During Question Period at the Alberta Legislature on Thursday, Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi highlighted the relationship between the government and Mr. Mraiche, who played host to cabinet ministers and political officials in a box suite during Edmonton Oilers games.
“It is the biggest government scandal in Alberta history,” Mr. Nenshi said. He noted that the RCMP searches are now in their third day.
-
Here, the allegations take us to Melewka Homes Ltd, owned by Lewis Semashkewich and John Semashkewich. The pair did business with a Mohamed Eldassouki. Plot twist: Eldassouki apparently is the brother-in-law of the perpetual protagonist of capitalism, Sam Mraiche. The Semashkewiches go on to allege that Mraiche introduced himself as Fred, and suggested that he had connections with high ranked officials, and he could pull contracts awarded to Melweka at any time. Fred went on to make demands for large sums of money.
Unfortunately, some of these contracts appear to involve the Addiction Recovery Centres that were once handled by AHS. But, since AHS may have been shattered into pieces for allegedly investigating the CorruptCare cluster of contracts, it has since been replaced by Recovery Alberta in 2024. At this point, it beggars belief that the UCP, Danielle Smith, and her caucus do not either resign or at least take steps to mitigate what is clearly an out-of-control conflicts of interest.
#CompassionateCareAct #InvoluntaryTreatment #ForcedTreatment #CorruptCare #HealthCare #Corruption #Alberta #AlbertaSeparation #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #JitendraPrasad #BryanWard #MohamedEldassouki #Melewka #RecoveryAlberta
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 126
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/328242/alberta-construction-company-alleges-sam-mraiche-played-hidden-role-in-building-of-addic
https://archive.is/ztn4Y -
Here, the allegations take us to Melewka Homes Ltd, owned by Lewis Semashkewich and John Semashkewich. The pair did business with a Mohamed Eldassouki. Plot twist: Eldassouki apparently is the brother-in-law of the perpetual protagonist of capitalism, Sam Mraiche. The Semashkewiches go on to allege that Mraiche introduced himself as Fred, and suggested that he had connections with high ranked officials, and he could pull contracts awarded to Melweka at any time. Fred went on to make demands for large sums of money.
Unfortunately, some of these contracts appear to involve the Addiction Recovery Centres that were once handled by AHS. But, since AHS may have been shattered into pieces for allegedly investigating the CorruptCare cluster of contracts, it has since been replaced by Recovery Alberta in 2024. At this point, it beggars belief that the UCP, Danielle Smith, and her caucus do not either resign or at least take steps to mitigate what is clearly an out-of-control conflicts of interest.
#CompassionateCareAct #InvoluntaryTreatment #ForcedTreatment #CorruptCare #HealthCare #Corruption #Alberta #AlbertaSeparation #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #JitendraPrasad #BryanWard #MohamedEldassouki #Melewka #RecoveryAlberta
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 126
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/328242/alberta-construction-company-alleges-sam-mraiche-played-hidden-role-in-building-of-addic
https://archive.is/ztn4Y -
Here, the allegations take us to Melewka Homes Ltd, owned by Lewis Semashkewich and John Semashkewich. The pair did business with a Mohamed Eldassouki. Plot twist: Eldassouki apparently is the brother-in-law of the perpetual protagonist of capitalism, Sam Mraiche. The Semashkewiches go on to allege that Mraiche introduced himself as Fred, and suggested that he had connections with high ranked officials, and he could pull contracts awarded to Melweka at any time. Fred went on to make demands for large sums of money.
Unfortunately, some of these contracts appear to involve the Addiction Recovery Centres that were once handled by AHS. But, since AHS may have been shattered into pieces for allegedly investigating the CorruptCare cluster of contracts, it has since been replaced by Recovery Alberta in 2024. At this point, it beggars belief that the UCP, Danielle Smith, and her caucus do not either resign or at least take steps to mitigate what is clearly an out-of-control conflicts of interest.
#CompassionateCareAct #InvoluntaryTreatment #ForcedTreatment #CorruptCare #HealthCare #Corruption #Alberta #AlbertaSeparation #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #JitendraPrasad #BryanWard #MohamedEldassouki #Melewka #RecoveryAlberta
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 126
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/328242/alberta-construction-company-alleges-sam-mraiche-played-hidden-role-in-building-of-addic
https://archive.is/ztn4Y -
Here, the allegations take us to Melewka Homes Ltd, owned by Lewis Semashkewich and John Semashkewich. The pair did business with a Mohamed Eldassouki. Plot twist: Eldassouki apparently is the brother-in-law of the perpetual protagonist of capitalism, Sam Mraiche. The Semashkewiches go on to allege that Mraiche introduced himself as Fred, and suggested that he had connections with high ranked officials, and he could pull contracts awarded to Melweka at any time. Fred went on to make demands for large sums of money.
Unfortunately, some of these contracts appear to involve the Addiction Recovery Centres that were once handled by AHS. But, since AHS may have been shattered into pieces for allegedly investigating the CorruptCare cluster of contracts, it has since been replaced by Recovery Alberta in 2024. At this point, it beggars belief that the UCP, Danielle Smith, and her caucus do not either resign or at least take steps to mitigate what is clearly an out-of-control conflicts of interest.
#CompassionateCareAct #InvoluntaryTreatment #ForcedTreatment #CorruptCare #HealthCare #Corruption #Alberta #AlbertaSeparation #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #JitendraPrasad #BryanWard #MohamedEldassouki #Melewka #RecoveryAlberta
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 126
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/328242/alberta-construction-company-alleges-sam-mraiche-played-hidden-role-in-building-of-addic
https://archive.is/ztn4Y -
Here, the allegations take us to Melewka Homes Ltd, owned by Lewis Semashkewich and John Semashkewich. The pair did business with a Mohamed Eldassouki. Plot twist: Eldassouki apparently is the brother-in-law of the perpetual protagonist of capitalism, Sam Mraiche. The Semashkewiches go on to allege that Mraiche introduced himself as Fred, and suggested that he had connections with high ranked officials, and he could pull contracts awarded to Melweka at any time. Fred went on to make demands for large sums of money.
Unfortunately, some of these contracts appear to involve the Addiction Recovery Centres that were once handled by AHS. But, since AHS may have been shattered into pieces for allegedly investigating the CorruptCare cluster of contracts, it has since been replaced by Recovery Alberta in 2024. At this point, it beggars belief that the UCP, Danielle Smith, and her caucus do not either resign or at least take steps to mitigate what is clearly an out-of-control conflicts of interest.
#CompassionateCareAct #InvoluntaryTreatment #ForcedTreatment #CorruptCare #HealthCare #Corruption #Alberta #AlbertaSeparation #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #JitendraPrasad #BryanWard #MohamedEldassouki #Melewka #RecoveryAlberta
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 126
https://kopitalk.net/c/canada/p/328242/alberta-construction-company-alleges-sam-mraiche-played-hidden-role-in-building-of-addic
https://archive.is/ztn4Y -
Alberta construction company alleges Sam Mraiche played hidden role in building of addiction sites
Globe and Mail’s Tom Cardoso and Carrie Tait give us the deep dive on the latest in the CorruptCare scandal, revealing allegations that Sam Mraiche continued to use his connections to the UCP to shake down other businesses for payments in exchange for government contracts.
Here, the allegations take us to Melewka Homes Ltd, owned by Lewis Semashkewich and John Semashkewich. The pair did business with a Mohamed Eldassouki. Plot twist: Eldassouki apparently is the brother-in-law of the perpetual protagonist of capitalism, Sam Mraiche. The Semashkewiches go on to allege that Mraiche introduced himself as Fred, and suggested that he had connections with high ranked officials, and he could pull contracts awarded to Melweka at any time. Fred went on to make demands for large sums of money.
Unfortunately, some of these contracts appear to involve the Addiction Recovery Centres that were once handled by AHS. But, since AHS may have been shattered into pieces for allegedly investigating the CorruptCare cluster of contracts, it has since been replaced by Recovery Alberta in 2024. At this point, it beggars belief that the UCP, Danielle Smith, and her caucus do not either resign or at least take steps to mitigate what is clearly an out-of-control conflicts of interest.
As always, the article deserves a read, and I’ll include some highlights here. You will see that some recurring characters return to the stage, including Jitendra Prasad, and Bryan Ward.
The Semashkewiches and Mr. Eldassouki began working together in 2022, according to court records, under an arrangement in which Mr. Eldassouki would help identify projects for the Semashkewiches’ business.
Not long after that, the Semashkewiches claim in the lawsuit they were introduced to a man named Fred, who told Lewis Semashkewich he would control Melewka Homes’ payments on projects identified by Mr. Eldassouki and could put an end to them at any time. In their court submissions, the Semashkewiches said it was “made apparent” to them that Fred had “considerable control” over the construction work and the government officials behind them.
According to the Semashkewiches’ court filings, they later learned that Fred was, in fact, Sam Mraiche. In addition to being Mr. Mraiche’s brother-in-law, Mr. Eldassouki has served as a senior executive at two of Mr. Mraiche’s companies, including MHCare.
…
The Semashkewiches’ deal with Mr. Eldassouki soon led to new business, the counterclaim shows. After being selected to build two apartment complexes for the Métis Nation of Alberta in 2023, in early 2024 the contractor was tapped to build recovery centres in the three Indigenous communities.
But the arrangement between the two companies would ultimately become strained as the contractor allegedly faced demands for money from Mr. Mraiche and Mr. Eldassouki on its construction projects, according to the Semashkewiches’ claim.
During one phone call between Lewis Semashkewich and Mr. Mraiche, the latter told Mr. Semashkewich he had the government connections necessary to “pull” Melewka Homes’ projects and indicated he had ties to a senior executive at the Métis Nation, a man named Aaron Barner, the Semashkewiches’ claim alleges. “I own Barner and he will do what I say,” Mr. Mraiche is alleged to have said.
After that conversation, Mr. Barner allegedly told Mr. Semashkewich that meetings between the Métis Nation and Melewka Homes were cancelled until further notice, effectively pausing the project. According to the Semashkewiches’ submission, work only resumed after Mr. Semashkewich authorized the release of funds to Mr. Eldassouki. In his court submissions, Mr. Eldassouki denies exerting pressure on the Semashkewiches or making improper requests for payment.
Mr. Barner, for his part, says in a statement of defence that he asked that the Semashkewiches cease contact in response to “repeated and improper communications” between Melewka Homes and Métis Nation personnel. Mr. Barner also denies he is a business associate of Mr. Mraiche and Mr. Eldassouki, and says he did not act on anyone’s instruction. A lawyer for Mr. Barner did not comment.
…
During another meeting, this time at MHCare’s offices, Mr. Mraiche allegedly demanded an “exorbitant amount of money” and threatened to use his connections to cancel Melewka Homes’ projects, the Semashkewiches claim in their lawsuit. To demonstrate his influence, Mr. Mraiche allegedly called “his friend J.P.,” an Alberta government insider, and put him on speakerphone. According to the Semashkewiches’ submission, Lewis Semashkewich understands this man to be Jitendra Prasad, who was then a senior procurement official for the Alberta government. Last year, The Globe documented Mr. Prasad’s involvement in the Alberta Health Services procurement controversy and his ties to Mr. Mraiche. A lawyer for Mr. Prasad did not respond to The Globe’s requests for comment.
…
The Semashkewiches also say in their court submission that the lawyer they hired to handle payments on two of the three recovery centres – and who allegedly came at the recommendation of Mr. Eldassouki – improperly sent nearly $7-million to Mr. Eldassouki’s company. Public records show that the lawyer, a man named Bryan Ward, has acted for Mr. Mraiche on several occasions, including in a civil lawsuit, in real estate transactions and in a dispute with Elections Alberta. Mr. Ward denies having acted improperly in his statement of defence, and his lawyer did not comment.
-
Alberta construction company alleges Sam Mraiche played hidden role in building of addiction sites
Globe and Mail’s Tom Cardoso and Carrie Tait give us the deep dive on the latest in the CorruptCare scandal, revealing allegations that Sam Mraiche continued to use his connections to the UCP to shake down other businesses for payments in exchange for government contracts.
Here, the allegations take us to Melewka Homes Ltd, owned by Lewis Semashkewich and John Semashkewich. The pair did business with a Mohamed Eldassouki. Plot twist: Eldassouki apparently is the brother-in-law of the perpetual protagonist of capitalism, Sam Mraiche. The Semashkewiches go on to allege that Mraiche introduced himself as Fred, and suggested that he had connections with high ranked officials, and he could pull contracts awarded to Melweka at any time. Fred went on to make demands for large sums of money.
Unfortunately, some of these contracts appear to involve the Addiction Recovery Centres that were once handled by AHS. But, since AHS may have been shattered into pieces for allegedly investigating the CorruptCare cluster of contracts, it has since been replaced by Recovery Alberta in 2024. At this point, it beggars belief that the UCP, Danielle Smith, and her caucus do not either resign or at least take steps to mitigate what is clearly an out-of-control conflicts of interest.
As always, the article deserves a read, and I’ll include some highlights here. You will see that some recurring characters return to the stage, including Jitendra Prasad, and Bryan Ward.
The Semashkewiches and Mr. Eldassouki began working together in 2022, according to court records, under an arrangement in which Mr. Eldassouki would help identify projects for the Semashkewiches’ business.
Not long after that, the Semashkewiches claim in the lawsuit they were introduced to a man named Fred, who told Lewis Semashkewich he would control Melewka Homes’ payments on projects identified by Mr. Eldassouki and could put an end to them at any time. In their court submissions, the Semashkewiches said it was “made apparent” to them that Fred had “considerable control” over the construction work and the government officials behind them.
According to the Semashkewiches’ court filings, they later learned that Fred was, in fact, Sam Mraiche. In addition to being Mr. Mraiche’s brother-in-law, Mr. Eldassouki has served as a senior executive at two of Mr. Mraiche’s companies, including MHCare.
…
The Semashkewiches’ deal with Mr. Eldassouki soon led to new business, the counterclaim shows. After being selected to build two apartment complexes for the Métis Nation of Alberta in 2023, in early 2024 the contractor was tapped to build recovery centres in the three Indigenous communities.
But the arrangement between the two companies would ultimately become strained as the contractor allegedly faced demands for money from Mr. Mraiche and Mr. Eldassouki on its construction projects, according to the Semashkewiches’ claim.
During one phone call between Lewis Semashkewich and Mr. Mraiche, the latter told Mr. Semashkewich he had the government connections necessary to “pull” Melewka Homes’ projects and indicated he had ties to a senior executive at the Métis Nation, a man named Aaron Barner, the Semashkewiches’ claim alleges. “I own Barner and he will do what I say,” Mr. Mraiche is alleged to have said.
After that conversation, Mr. Barner allegedly told Mr. Semashkewich that meetings between the Métis Nation and Melewka Homes were cancelled until further notice, effectively pausing the project. According to the Semashkewiches’ submission, work only resumed after Mr. Semashkewich authorized the release of funds to Mr. Eldassouki. In his court submissions, Mr. Eldassouki denies exerting pressure on the Semashkewiches or making improper requests for payment.
Mr. Barner, for his part, says in a statement of defence that he asked that the Semashkewiches cease contact in response to “repeated and improper communications” between Melewka Homes and Métis Nation personnel. Mr. Barner also denies he is a business associate of Mr. Mraiche and Mr. Eldassouki, and says he did not act on anyone’s instruction. A lawyer for Mr. Barner did not comment.
…
During another meeting, this time at MHCare’s offices, Mr. Mraiche allegedly demanded an “exorbitant amount of money” and threatened to use his connections to cancel Melewka Homes’ projects, the Semashkewiches claim in their lawsuit. To demonstrate his influence, Mr. Mraiche allegedly called “his friend J.P.,” an Alberta government insider, and put him on speakerphone. According to the Semashkewiches’ submission, Lewis Semashkewich understands this man to be Jitendra Prasad, who was then a senior procurement official for the Alberta government. Last year, The Globe documented Mr. Prasad’s involvement in the Alberta Health Services procurement controversy and his ties to Mr. Mraiche. A lawyer for Mr. Prasad did not respond to The Globe’s requests for comment.
…
The Semashkewiches also say in their court submission that the lawyer they hired to handle payments on two of the three recovery centres – and who allegedly came at the recommendation of Mr. Eldassouki – improperly sent nearly $7-million to Mr. Eldassouki’s company. Public records show that the lawyer, a man named Bryan Ward, has acted for Mr. Mraiche on several occasions, including in a civil lawsuit, in real estate transactions and in a dispute with Elections Alberta. Mr. Ward denies having acted improperly in his statement of defence, and his lawyer did not comment.
-
Alberta construction company alleges Sam Mraiche played hidden role in building of addiction sites
Globe and Mail’s Tom Cardoso and Carrie Tait give us the deep dive on the latest in the CorruptCare scandal, revealing allegations that Sam Mraiche continued to use his connections to the UCP to shake down other businesses for payments in exchange for government contracts.
Here, the allegations take us to Melewka Homes Ltd, owned by Lewis Semashkewich and John Semashkewich. The pair did business with a Mohamed Eldassouki. Plot twist: Eldassouki apparently is the brother-in-law of the perpetual protagonist of capitalism, Sam Mraiche. The Semashkewiches go on to allege that Mraiche introduced himself as Fred, and suggested that he had connections with high ranked officials, and he could pull contracts awarded to Melweka at any time. Fred went on to make demands for large sums of money.
Unfortunately, some of these contracts appear to involve the Addiction Recovery Centres that were once handled by AHS. But, since AHS may have been shattered into pieces for allegedly investigating the CorruptCare cluster of contracts, it has since been replaced by Recovery Alberta in 2024. At this point, it beggars belief that the UCP, Danielle Smith, and her caucus do not either resign or at least take steps to mitigate what is clearly an out-of-control conflicts of interest.
As always, the article deserves a read, and I’ll include some highlights here. You will see that some recurring characters return to the stage, including Jitendra Prasad, and Bryan Ward.
The Semashkewiches and Mr. Eldassouki began working together in 2022, according to court records, under an arrangement in which Mr. Eldassouki would help identify projects for the Semashkewiches’ business.
Not long after that, the Semashkewiches claim in the lawsuit they were introduced to a man named Fred, who told Lewis Semashkewich he would control Melewka Homes’ payments on projects identified by Mr. Eldassouki and could put an end to them at any time. In their court submissions, the Semashkewiches said it was “made apparent” to them that Fred had “considerable control” over the construction work and the government officials behind them.
According to the Semashkewiches’ court filings, they later learned that Fred was, in fact, Sam Mraiche. In addition to being Mr. Mraiche’s brother-in-law, Mr. Eldassouki has served as a senior executive at two of Mr. Mraiche’s companies, including MHCare.
…
The Semashkewiches’ deal with Mr. Eldassouki soon led to new business, the counterclaim shows. After being selected to build two apartment complexes for the Métis Nation of Alberta in 2023, in early 2024 the contractor was tapped to build recovery centres in the three Indigenous communities.
But the arrangement between the two companies would ultimately become strained as the contractor allegedly faced demands for money from Mr. Mraiche and Mr. Eldassouki on its construction projects, according to the Semashkewiches’ claim.
During one phone call between Lewis Semashkewich and Mr. Mraiche, the latter told Mr. Semashkewich he had the government connections necessary to “pull” Melewka Homes’ projects and indicated he had ties to a senior executive at the Métis Nation, a man named Aaron Barner, the Semashkewiches’ claim alleges. “I own Barner and he will do what I say,” Mr. Mraiche is alleged to have said.
After that conversation, Mr. Barner allegedly told Mr. Semashkewich that meetings between the Métis Nation and Melewka Homes were cancelled until further notice, effectively pausing the project. According to the Semashkewiches’ submission, work only resumed after Mr. Semashkewich authorized the release of funds to Mr. Eldassouki. In his court submissions, Mr. Eldassouki denies exerting pressure on the Semashkewiches or making improper requests for payment.
Mr. Barner, for his part, says in a statement of defence that he asked that the Semashkewiches cease contact in response to “repeated and improper communications” between Melewka Homes and Métis Nation personnel. Mr. Barner also denies he is a business associate of Mr. Mraiche and Mr. Eldassouki, and says he did not act on anyone’s instruction. A lawyer for Mr. Barner did not comment.
…
During another meeting, this time at MHCare’s offices, Mr. Mraiche allegedly demanded an “exorbitant amount of money” and threatened to use his connections to cancel Melewka Homes’ projects, the Semashkewiches claim in their lawsuit. To demonstrate his influence, Mr. Mraiche allegedly called “his friend J.P.,” an Alberta government insider, and put him on speakerphone. According to the Semashkewiches’ submission, Lewis Semashkewich understands this man to be Jitendra Prasad, who was then a senior procurement official for the Alberta government. Last year, The Globe documented Mr. Prasad’s involvement in the Alberta Health Services procurement controversy and his ties to Mr. Mraiche. A lawyer for Mr. Prasad did not respond to The Globe’s requests for comment.
…
The Semashkewiches also say in their court submission that the lawyer they hired to handle payments on two of the three recovery centres – and who allegedly came at the recommendation of Mr. Eldassouki – improperly sent nearly $7-million to Mr. Eldassouki’s company. Public records show that the lawyer, a man named Bryan Ward, has acted for Mr. Mraiche on several occasions, including in a civil lawsuit, in real estate transactions and in a dispute with Elections Alberta. Mr. Ward denies having acted improperly in his statement of defence, and his lawyer did not comment.
-
Alberta construction company alleges Sam Mraiche played hidden role in building of addiction sites
Globe and Mail’s Tom Cardoso and Carrie Tait give us the deep dive on the latest in the CorruptCare scandal, revealing allegations that Sam Mraiche continued to use his connections to the UCP to shake down other businesses for payments in exchange for government contracts.
Here, the allegations take us to Melewka Homes Ltd, owned by Lewis Semashkewich and John Semashkewich. The pair did business with a Mohamed Eldassouki. Plot twist: Eldassouki apparently is the brother-in-law of the perpetual protagonist of capitalism, Sam Mraiche. The Semashkewiches go on to allege that Mraiche introduced himself as Fred, and suggested that he had connections with high ranked officials, and he could pull contracts awarded to Melweka at any time. Fred went on to make demands for large sums of money.
Unfortunately, some of these contracts appear to involve the Addiction Recovery Centres that were once handled by AHS. But, since AHS may have been shattered into pieces for allegedly investigating the CorruptCare cluster of contracts, it has since been replaced by Recovery Alberta in 2024. At this point, it beggars belief that the UCP, Danielle Smith, and her caucus do not either resign or at least take steps to mitigate what is clearly an out-of-control conflicts of interest.
As always, the article deserves a read, and I’ll include some highlights here. You will see that some recurring characters return to the stage, including Jitendra Prasad, and Bryan Ward.
The Semashkewiches and Mr. Eldassouki began working together in 2022, according to court records, under an arrangement in which Mr. Eldassouki would help identify projects for the Semashkewiches’ business.
Not long after that, the Semashkewiches claim in the lawsuit they were introduced to a man named Fred, who told Lewis Semashkewich he would control Melewka Homes’ payments on projects identified by Mr. Eldassouki and could put an end to them at any time. In their court submissions, the Semashkewiches said it was “made apparent” to them that Fred had “considerable control” over the construction work and the government officials behind them.
According to the Semashkewiches’ court filings, they later learned that Fred was, in fact, Sam Mraiche. In addition to being Mr. Mraiche’s brother-in-law, Mr. Eldassouki has served as a senior executive at two of Mr. Mraiche’s companies, including MHCare.
…
The Semashkewiches’ deal with Mr. Eldassouki soon led to new business, the counterclaim shows. After being selected to build two apartment complexes for the Métis Nation of Alberta in 2023, in early 2024 the contractor was tapped to build recovery centres in the three Indigenous communities.
But the arrangement between the two companies would ultimately become strained as the contractor allegedly faced demands for money from Mr. Mraiche and Mr. Eldassouki on its construction projects, according to the Semashkewiches’ claim.
During one phone call between Lewis Semashkewich and Mr. Mraiche, the latter told Mr. Semashkewich he had the government connections necessary to “pull” Melewka Homes’ projects and indicated he had ties to a senior executive at the Métis Nation, a man named Aaron Barner, the Semashkewiches’ claim alleges. “I own Barner and he will do what I say,” Mr. Mraiche is alleged to have said.
After that conversation, Mr. Barner allegedly told Mr. Semashkewich that meetings between the Métis Nation and Melewka Homes were cancelled until further notice, effectively pausing the project. According to the Semashkewiches’ submission, work only resumed after Mr. Semashkewich authorized the release of funds to Mr. Eldassouki. In his court submissions, Mr. Eldassouki denies exerting pressure on the Semashkewiches or making improper requests for payment.
Mr. Barner, for his part, says in a statement of defence that he asked that the Semashkewiches cease contact in response to “repeated and improper communications” between Melewka Homes and Métis Nation personnel. Mr. Barner also denies he is a business associate of Mr. Mraiche and Mr. Eldassouki, and says he did not act on anyone’s instruction. A lawyer for Mr. Barner did not comment.
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During another meeting, this time at MHCare’s offices, Mr. Mraiche allegedly demanded an “exorbitant amount of money” and threatened to use his connections to cancel Melewka Homes’ projects, the Semashkewiches claim in their lawsuit. To demonstrate his influence, Mr. Mraiche allegedly called “his friend J.P.,” an Alberta government insider, and put him on speakerphone. According to the Semashkewiches’ submission, Lewis Semashkewich understands this man to be Jitendra Prasad, who was then a senior procurement official for the Alberta government. Last year, The Globe documented Mr. Prasad’s involvement in the Alberta Health Services procurement controversy and his ties to Mr. Mraiche. A lawyer for Mr. Prasad did not respond to The Globe’s requests for comment.
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The Semashkewiches also say in their court submission that the lawyer they hired to handle payments on two of the three recovery centres – and who allegedly came at the recommendation of Mr. Eldassouki – improperly sent nearly $7-million to Mr. Eldassouki’s company. Public records show that the lawyer, a man named Bryan Ward, has acted for Mr. Mraiche on several occasions, including in a civil lawsuit, in real estate transactions and in a dispute with Elections Alberta. Mr. Ward denies having acted improperly in his statement of defence, and his lawyer did not comment.
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Globe and Mail’s Tu Thanh Ha brings us the latest in the CorruptCare scandal, following up on a thread of connections to what may be the lawfare apparatus of the UCP.
In his podcasts, Mr. Wallace had asserted that he would disseminate incriminating information about Mr. Edmonstone and warned that “we’re really going to start digging down and we’re going to make it unbearable for you.”
Instead of searching the podcasters’ devices, Mr. Alcock’s court filing said Mr. Edmonstone should have sued them for defamation and used a less-intrusive legal mechanism to gather evidence about them.
The controversy began in early 2025, when the former head of Alberta Health Services, Athana Mentzelopoulos, alleged in a wrongful-dismissal suit that she had been fired by the government of Premier Danielle Smith after she declined to wind up an internal investigation into the way AHS awarded contracts to private vendors.
Mr. Edmonstone said in a court affidavit that he was harassed because he was vocal in his support of Ms. Mentzelopoulos and had urged her to speak to the RCMP and the provincial Auditor-General. The entire AHS board was dismissed at the end of January by the Smith government.
Last November, Mr. Edmonstone turned to Alberta King’s Bench Justice Michael Lema, the judge managing the Mentzelopoulos lawsuit. He persuaded Justice Lema to grant him a court order allowing independent solicitors to search the electronic records of Mr. Wallace and Mr. Di Fiore, in a bid to identify who could have directed them.
Justice Lema also cited the two podcasters for contempt of court because Mr. Edmonstone is a potential witness in Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s litigation.The judge issued the citation for contempt and the search authorization, known as an Anton Piller order, after an ex parte hearing, meaning it happened without the knowledge of the podcasters.
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Mr. Edmonstone’s affidavit said he became aware in June, 2025, that he was being followed when someone covertly photographed him, while he lunched with a woman, and disseminated the pictures, falsely accusing him of adultery.
The affidavit said that Mr. Edmonstone discovered that the cellphone that shared photos of him was the contact number for an anonymous X account that had posted similar surveillance shots of Globe and Mail reporter Carrie Tait and threatened to expose her sources.
Meanwhile, Mr. Wallace, a self-described “political hitman,” used podcasts to direct reputational attacks at Mr. Edmonstone, Ms. Mentzelopoulos and Ms. Tait.
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During the search of Mr. Wallace’s devices, he initially refused to co-operate by saying that he was working on a retainer for an Edmonton-area lawyer, Bryan Ward.
Public records show that Mr. Ward has in the past represented Sam Mraiche, the owner of one of AHS’s suppliers, the MHCare Medical company – and one of the contractors that was the focus of the probe ordered by Ms. Mentzelopoulos.