Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #sammraiche, aggregated by home.social.
Corrupt Care refers to a cluster of deals or contracts involving Healthcare in Alberta, Alberta Health Services, and the interventions by the UCP and Danielle Smith to control how deals are negotiated and entered.
Since this story continues to evolve, the full depth of Corrupt Care is difficult to track and navigate. This wiki is intended to help as a focus of sorts. Certainly, the wiki is a work in progress, and I hope to continue building it out.
Next: Sam Mraiche
These are allegations surrounding a cluster of procurement contracts that involve a number of different parties. Information gathered here may still be developing. Please keep this in mind.
Like in any system of government, there will always be corruption. A system of government that attempts to ensure the involvement of the broadest sections of the population in the distribution of wealth would normally incentivize “democracy”. But, politicians are always incentivized to change their goal posts to ensure their re-election, and to ensure the continuity of their power. Hence there is a competing conflict of interest where the politician will always prefer to create and satisfy a lower number of power “gatekeepers”.
By simply sharing awareness of this corruption, its duality, and its balance, you too are engaging in democracy. Canadians must bring these people into account to protect the balance of power in favour of the people of this country. Was Sam Mraiche a story of personal greed? Sure. And, at the same time, one might fashion him as someone designed for even more dangerous stages if permitted. As noted below, during the Tylenot Arc, Jitendra Prasad supervised the procurement of Turkish Tylenol at quantities 10 times over the expected need.
Mraiche by this time had some how pivoted an Oil and Gas service management type company into Healthcare Procurement, and was potentially positioned to meet a shortage of children’s pain medication across Canada. But, as hindsight provides, none of this unfolded as planned. Had Mraiche succeeded, then the UCP would have fostered and mothered an incredibly lucrative private Healthcare Procurement company with deep ties with its own political party membership. But, such a birthing would have been the result of a parasitic relationship with AHS, where the Mraiche family of businesses arguably drew all of its wealth from.
Such a story would raise alarms when Canadians consider the developments in the United States of America. In the US, the billionaires have effectively taken over the country. There’s little that remains of US rule of law, rather, in its place, is rule of money. Canadians must bear with the disturbing possibility that the UCP of Alberta tried to birth their own billionaire, beholden to itself, in a series of questionable and unethical business transactions.
But, as the Wyant Report suggested, another view to take is that people were doing their best in the face of an unprecedented challenge in the COVID Pandemic. People were dying at alarming rates, and to this writing in 2026, the scientific community continues to study how exactly COVID damages the human body. So, while you continue to review and learn of the Corrupt Care scandal, I encourage you not to simply look at this as a personal interest story, but to keep some questions and points in mind.
While Sam Mraiche features prominently throughout the Corrupt Care cluster of procurement contracts that span from COVID Test Kits to Recovery Centre Construction, there were still many people within and outside of Sam Mraiche’s orbit who honestly did their utmost to save as many lives as possible. Canadians will always honour their service, and the many sacrifices that continue to be made in 2026 to meet the evolving challenges of Healthcare and COVID.
Yet, there remain actors within Corrupt Care that had “mixed motives” that included personal profit and perhaps greater national ambitions. Some questions to keep in mind: First and foremost, why Sam Mraiche at all? For those who already conclude that Mraiche must have been the “fence” between the UCP and AHS, to drain the Healthcare system’s coffers for gain, this seems like a trite question. But, for one to understand the real gaps of logic here, I suggest that the balance of power mentioned above is a tool and a guide. I think this question above all else should surface: Why Sam Mraiche? Why this one person among all others?
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #UCP #BryanWard #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #MarshallSmith
#EthicalFading
#comment
- #AbLeg #AbPoli #CdnPoli 137
https://kopitalk.net/community/canada/wiki/sammraiche
Next up we have Jitendra Prasad.
These are allegations surrounding a cluster of procurement contracts that involve a number of different parties. Information gathered here may still be developing. Please keep this in mind.
Jitendra Prasad is alleged as the Chief Procurement Officer for Alberta Health Services, and is a central figure who oversaw a number of procurement contracts that fell to disrepute. In summary, Prasad may have had additional involvement over the course of over $600 M worth of business between AHS and Sam Mraiche. Prasad is a prominent character for the procurement of [1] COVID test kits, who then returned to AHS from retirement to oversee the [2] Tylenot procurement, was involved with the [3] Chartered Surgical Facility contracts, and is referred to during the [4] Melewka Homes Arc.
Remarkably, Prasad’s procurement procedures do not appear to provide any reasoning behind why Sam Mraiche’s family of businesses or associates should be the primary go-between or beneficiary to any of the contracts entered on behalf of AHS. There’s no explanation for this during the COVID Test Kits Arc, nor the Tylenot Arc. Canadians should also be alarmed with the knowledge provided by Peter Guthrie that the original maker of Tylenol, Johnson and Johnson, made a bid at a discount to provide children’s pain medication to meet a severe need. Why Turkish Tylenol?
While Prasad may argue that he did his job, he also may have allowed himself to become a rubber stamp in favour of a very specific set of characters, and at the expense of Canadians.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #UCP #BryanWard #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #MarshallSmith
#EthicalFading
#comment
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https://kopitalk.net/community/canada/wiki/jitendraprasad
Much like a Greek Epic, the Corrupt Care scandal has grown, with new characters and all kinds of details. So before the summer winds down (sadly!) I want to go over some highlights in a way that helps me keep track of things.
Please keep in mind that I just started this little exercise. But, I think I just finished with Marshall Smith, so I'm happy to start there. I'll leave a blurb here:
These are allegations surrounding a cluster of procurement contracts that involve a number of different parties. Information gathered here may still be developing. Please keep this in mind.
An American with a reputation for being a party boy, Marshall Smith made his way to Vancouver where he eventually entered the political scene. He pled guilty to Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Methamphetamine and Cocaine, suggesting that he may have been a supplier to a very specific clientele. As part of the fallout from that incident, he was tucked away to Prince George to oversee the Baldy Hughes Facility. But, there are allegations that Marshall Smith ran the facility like a personal mom and pop, effectively cheaping out on everything and everyone to the point of disfunction.
Baldy Hughes apparently remains, and continues to struggle with all the same issues Marshall Smith left them with. Marshall Smith was then selected by the UCP to bring this Recovery Model, along with its dubious history, province-wide across Alberta. As noted below from the Tyee, Marshall Smith moved on from Baldy Hughes, stating that he essentially wanted to leave in good times. And, while the Corrupt Care Arcs have yet to fully play out, Marshall Smith almost has the appearance of a mythical “economic hit man”. A character who goes into another jurisdiction with the objective to destroy the economy and value of a target industry, and then exfiltrates himself.
#CorruptCare #Corruption #AHS #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #UCP #BryanWard #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #MarshallSmith
#EthicalFading
#comment
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https://kopitalk.net/community/canada/wiki/marshallsmith
Smith insists Alberta recovery centres moving ahead amid tangle of legal action
The Globe’s Carrie Tait and Tom Cardoso bring us the latest from the CorruptCare scandals to explore Alberta UCP Premier Danielle Smith’s claim that the construction of recovery centres are on schedule and within budget. While three facilities were originally set to complete with a budget of $104 million, it seems that the subcontractors involved continue to report that their bills remain unpaid. Worse, there are reports that suggest that there is no scenario where any of the facilities can complete on time or within the original budget.
Albertans following this space will recall this story breaking in March 2026, where the contractors allege that they had no idea why their requests for payment were being ignored. But these same contractors understood what went wrong with the public as they read the news of the litigation containing bombshell allegations between AEHE, Melewka Homes, the Semashkewiches, Sam Mraiche, Mohamed Eldassouki, Jitendra Prasad, and Bryan Ward.
Reference links below.
Instead, Albertans learn that the litigation continues:
Meanwhile, Melewka and its subcontractors have filed liens exceeding $10-million against the Métis Nation project in hopes of recouping money for work on that recovery centre. Subcontractors also allege they are owed for work performed on Enoch and Tsuut’ina, but those facilities are shielded from liens because they are on reserves. In those cases, some subcontractors are suing Melewka for the money.
Mr. Dehari’s company, Inso-Energie Inc., was subcontracted to work on the recovery facilities for the Métis Nation and Enoch. He said his business completed roughly 60 per cent of its work at the Métis Nation’s recovery centre, and had yet to be paid for any of it. He estimates the bill amounts to roughly $180,000 after interest.
He also said he had not been paid for roughly 20 per cent of his company’s work on Enoch’s recovery centre.
Also, CorruptCare expands as Tsuut’ina allegedly raised additional accusations against the Intrepid Champion of Late Stage Capitalism, Sam Mraiche:
Tsuut’ina did not address questions about its timeline and budget, citing litigation. The First Nation is suing its former lawyer over alleged irregularities in the procurement process for its recovery centre. Tsuut’ina, in a lawsuit first reported by The Globe in July, alleged lawyer Terry Braun worked with Mr. Mraiche to sole-source the construction contract for its facility.
Tsuut’ina alleges its recovery centre project has been marred by “red flags,” including circumvented procurement processes, overpayments and duplicated invoices, according to its statement of claim.
Mr. Braun did not respond to a request seeking comment. Mr. Mraiche is not party to that lawsuit and his lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. None of the allegations have been tested in court.
In the face of these conflicting versions of how these three recovery facilities are coming along, we have to take in the obvious: Alberta has literally risked $104 Million for three facilities, and potentially has nothing to show for it besides empty promises, partially completed buildings, and local businesses holding the bag. There are clear Conflicts of Interest that arise for some members of the UCP, and Premier Danielle Smith. And, while the articles make clear that these are allegations yet to be explored fully in court, Alberta remains trapped with UCP politicians who refuse to follow convention to offer their resignations.
Any UCP politician involved with the CorruptCare scandal must know that they will one day be asked for sworn statements. People will be studying this scandal with care. Where will you possibly go? Texas?
https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/03/19/Accusations-Fly-Newly-Surfaced-Legal-Fight-Sam-Mraiche/
A Warning For the West
The separatist petition is a farce, babied and nurtured every step of the way by the UCP. Now, the Europeans express concern that the US may interfere with their own elections. As Alberta endures its siege, let the world bear witness to how the US can indeed interfere with its allies.
#EthicalFading #CorruptCare #Corruption #UCP #AlbertaUnderSiege #SamMraiche #DanielleSmith #CarrieTait #RCMP #RaymondWyant #AthanaMentzelopoulos #MickeyAmery #MelewkaHomes #DougWylie #AuditorGeneral #comment
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https://kopitalk.net/c/[email protected]/p/920512/danielle-smith-in-the-estranger
Danielle Smith, in The Estranger.
Alberta remains under siege, presenting an unprecedented threat to Canada, and an attack pattern roadmap for countries around the world.
Alberta’s United Conservative Party introduced a Citizen Initiative Act in 2021, which claims to enable regular citizens to propose legislative and policy changes, and referendum questions. While this may appear to be a laudable motivation, the decades of Western democracy has revealed a severe flaw: the politician.
Specifically, Politicians who have been incentivized to seek re-election at the expense of all else - including the voters who they presumably should focus on. Politicians have increasingly become self-interested players with no meaningful regulation, and this self-interest allows them to focus entirely on changing the goal posts for their re-election. In the event of controversy or scandal, politicians have been expected to offer their resignations - immediately limiting any fallout damage from conflicts of interest. Such an action however, is a “convention”, or an expectation. There’s nothing that actually requires the Politician to take this action.
Danielle Smith
Such an event indeed unfolded before Canadians in the form of CorruptCare. Then AHS CEO, Athana Metzelopoulous, a whistleblower, turned the public spotlight to a cluster of healthcare related procurement contracts at a time when there was a brief shortage of children’s pain medication across Canada in and around 2021. During this time, the allegations suggest that political interference, from those in Premier Smith’s orbit, directed the AHS procurement process in favour of a local businessman, Sam Mraiche.
Such allegations were explosive, and normally should be career ending events. But Premier Danielle Smith has thrown the game, refusing to follow convention, and instead engaging in a campaign of lawfare against Canadians. She insists on the barest minimums in terms of accountability to run her term, and to impose a new set of policies that the UCP simply did not run an election for.
CorruptCare expanded to further revelations from the Melewka Homes litigation that Mraiche engaged in profiteering on building projects that are intended to one day become recovery centres. Recovery centres, by the way, that are part of the UCP’s Compassionate Intervention Act plans. I generally refer to these plans as Residential Schools 2.0.
In the wake of CorruptCare, the Auditor General, then Doug Wylie, was appointed in 2018 for an 8 year term. The UCP declined to extend Mr Wylie’s term to permit him to conclude his investigation into the CorruptCare cluster of contracts. But, perhaps alarmingly, the UCP were highlighted to essentially control all facets of any accountability that they could be subject to.
As noted by the CBC’s Michelle Bellefontaine, in “Alberta government ignores AG’s offer to stay on 2 more years, starts search for replacement”,
The motion to begin a search for an auditor general was passed by the five UCP MLAs who make up the majority on the standing committee on legislative offices that overseas the office of the auditor general, the chief electoral officer, the ombudsman and public interest commissioner, the ethics commissioner and the information and privacy commissioner.
Committee member Scott Cyr, who is the MLA for Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul, introduced the motion to set up an auditor general search committee near the end of a contentious meeting.
Cyr, and four of his UCP MLA colleagues — Nolan Dyck from Grande Prairie, Chelsae Petrovic from Livingstone-Macleod, Jackie Lovely from Camrose and Chantelle de Jonge from Chestermere-Strathmore — voted in favour of the motion.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/auditor-general-wylie-alberta-9.6965562
Alberta’s main offices to hold the Politician accountable are essentially all disarmed on their face, leaving the administration of any kind of public justice in a state of disrepute. With an active RCMP investigation, a disrupted Auditor General investigation, a half-measured investigation carried out by the Wyant Investigation, and dubious intimidation tactics upon a journalist and other involved parties, one may imagine that the Justice Minister may have some concern.
But, as it turns out, Justice Minister Amery may have some conflicts of his own. By closing ranks, and refusing to follow the political convention of resigning in the face of scandal, the UCP has elevated the Politician to become more powerful than anyone in Canadian society ever intended.
https://globalnews.ca/news/11069826/rcmp-probe-alberta-health-services-allegations/
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-danielle-smith-ucp-government-rcmp-searches-ahs/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/athana-mentzelopoulos-ahs-lawsuit-9.7166738
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-alberta-justice-minister-sam-mraiche-investigation/
Indeed, there are indirect indications the UCP acknowledge the conflict of interest is real. From Global News’ Phil Heidenreich, “Well-known conservative operative quits Alberta’s UCP, says party is ‘allergic to transparency’”,
“Let me be clear: this is no longer the party I helped build.”
Davies had also been a key player in the Wildrose Party before its members merged with members of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta (PC) to form the UCP. He also spent time as co-campaign manager for Jeff Callaway in the 2017 UCP leadership race.
“(The party) is addicted to power and allergic to transparency,” Davies wrote on Thursday. “We are not witnessing leadership — we are witnessing damage control.
https://globalnews.ca/news/11149912/alberta-ucp-letter-cameron-davies/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/marshall-smith-defamation-lawsuit-ahs-globe-1.7537552
https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/04/16/UCP-Tried-Kill-Health-Story/
Danielle Smith - The Estranger
The Edmonton Journal’s Rob Breakenridge, who rightly raises the alarm that Premier Smith’s UCP, heavily conflicted with the above career ending scandals, has mothered and steered a petition for Alberta separation.
It would be quite a lurch for Danielle Smith to go from celebrating a major win-win for Alberta and Canada to then unleashing a referendum on breaking up the country.
It would be problematic, too, given the necessary consultations with First Nations if this new pipeline project is to proceed. Disregarding a court ruling aimed at protecting treaty rights could complicate those efforts, to say the least.
The premier previously said she did not intend to be the one to put separation on the ballot, since, as she put it, “My position is we should remain in Canada. That’s the position of our government.” And, in fairness, her pursuit of an energy agreement with Ottawa has helped to bolster that position.
Smith hasn’t necessarily changed her mind here, but she seems less unequivocal in the face of last week’s court ruling, which halts the separatist petition effort.
If the petition can’t be the spark for a referendum, it’s clear the separatists see the premier as their backup plan. And, so far, she’s not closing the door on that option.
That’s the wrong response. Whatever pressure Smith is facing to ensure a referendum proceeds, and whatever one thinks of this court ruling, she should not be the one to call such a vote. It undermines what she’s trying to accomplish, and she arguably lacks a mandate.
Smith, facing a scandal of enormous public and personal consequence in CorruptCare, has become the family estranger. She’s gone to the Canadian family, instigated emotional abuse, personality clashes, neglect, trauma, and selectively favours some over others.
A Warning For the West
The separatist petition is a farce, babied and nurtured every step of the way by the UCP. Now, the Europeans express concern that the US may interfere with their own elections. As Alberta endures its siege, let the world bear witness to how the US can indeed interfere with its allies.
https://www.stl.news/experts-caution-that-alberta-is-highly-susceptible-to-foreign-interference/
https://www.eunews.it/en/2026/07/29/eu-now-fears-us-interference-in-european-elections/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/eby-alberta-separatism-9.7066320
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.
>
>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.
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.” …
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
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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.
https://www.europesays.com/2905607/ Public attention on the AHS scandal is waning, to the UCP’s benefit #ÅHS #AHSProcurementScandal #AlbertaHealthServices #edmonton #ErinWidmarkPickle #HealthCare #HealthCareAlberta #MhCare #SamMraiche #Scandal #ScandalNews #TheGateway #UOfA #ualberta #UCP #UnitedConservativeParty #UniversityOfAlberta #YEG
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
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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
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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.”
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
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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.
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.
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
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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.
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.
…
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.
…
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.
Alberta justices speak up about independence after premier muses about directing the courts
A few points here that are not expressed outright, but I think should be anyway:
The provinces enjoy their own judicial branches precisely because the staff - including the justices - are selected from each respective space. They are members of the community, and in that sense do reflect the values of society. Provincial governments also enjoy outsized influence over their judicial branches because of these direct societal ties to the justice system staff.
Canadians have to simply cope with the idea that in the face of the Justice System’s noble goals of fairness under the law, it remains a racist system that perpetuates systemic discrimination against vulnerable groups of people. But, the Justice System also remains aware of this live problem, and tries to build processes to resist and mitigate its worst effects.
There’s no foul to recognize a racist system. In contrast, I would personally be more disturbed if such a system instead denied any issue whatsoever, while stumbling on the hypocrisy of pursuing lofty, noble principles.
https://www.justice.gc.ca/socjs-esjp/en/ind-aut/uo-cs
Justices are indeed sensitive to the politics of the day, and part of their role is to build processes to resist the worst tendencies of those politics with expressed reasoning and specified factors. Importantly, the Justice System, in carrying out its own mission, reviews its own performance, and clearly shares its challenges.
For the Executive or Legislature to challenge that Justice System without any standard besides a self-interested pursuit of power and real politik, is a challenge to the balance between the three branches of government, and a collapse of the whole. We’ve seen that in the Philippines, we’re watching that unfold in the US. The UCP, and Danielle Smith, is a clear danger to Alberta, and Canada.
As Albertans are aware, the courts weighed in on the separatist proposal for a referendum on Alberta independence, and decided that it violates the Canadian constitution. Justice Minister Micky Amery, and the UCP, essentially tabled legislation to prevent the court from issuing its ruling at all. Additionally, Minister Amery would be protected against disciplinary action from his own Law Society.
Canadians, the UCP are already attacking the Rule of Law in Alberta. Minister Amery’s conduct is egregious, and only contributes to the long, disgraceful history of Justice Ministers from Denis, Shandro, Madu, to present day.
The UCP is mired with allegations of corruption, which normally calls for the resignations of the Executive across the board, and a full Judicial review of the CorruptCare contracts. Instead, the UCP continue to wield power in direct conflict of interest with Albertans.
With this backdrop, the UCP repeatedly used the Notwithstanding Clause, to attack teachers, and the transgendered, the UCP are no longer providing good governance. The UCP are attempting to normalize this behaviour towards the Justice System, and disarm all checks and balances on Executive and Legislative power.
Now, the Teachers, the Doctors, the Lawyers, the Judges are sounding the alarm. Alberta, we’re in the eye of the storm.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-notwithstanding-clause-teacher-strike-9.6955608
https://globalnews.ca/news/11564162/alberta-judge-proposed-referendum-quesion-unconstitutional/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/former-alberta-justice-ministers-open-letter-9.7055104
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/emergency-doctors-alberta-deaths-patients-9.7052132
Alberta Law Foundation sees 2 directors removed, mass resignation in wake of new government powers
Justice Minister Mickey Amery is attacking the foundations upon which the Justice System is built upon with a series of power grabs on behalf of the same UCP members responsible for bringing Albertans CorruptCare.
Albertans will recall that Justice Minister Mickey Amery has close ties with the infamous Sam Mraiche, and the CorruptCare Scandal. I would note that the Scandal, and its subsequent damage to the Alberta Healthcare system, continues to rock Albertans to this very day. Worse, those implicated in the Scandal continue in key roles of government.
The Minister may now be seen grabbing for power from within the Alberta Law Foundation, an organization that notably handles the funding for many Justice system adjacent services that include Women’s Shelters, Pro Bono legal advice, and other support systems that are intended to help the vulnerable seek further help.
What is troubling here is this statement:
Jenkins’s statement said the Law Society of Alberta made its decision to replace their foundation board representatives “entirely independent of the government.” She added that the ministry believes the foundation will provide an update in the coming days about the steps it’s recently taken.
Now remember earlier in Nov 2025 when two senior Crown prosecutors were also suddenly sacked without notice. I suggest that Minister Amery carried out the same attack:
“The recent actions of the government highlight the need for our members to have employment protections that insulate them from losing their employment without articulated cause,” the statement says.
“Without this protection, Crown prosecutors are susceptible to being dismissed from their employment for improper reasons.”
At the legislature on Thursday, Justice Minister Mickey Amery said there was “no government involvement whatsoever” in the senior Crowns’ departures. He said Dale McFee, the former Edmonton police chief who is now head of the Alberta Public Service, also “had absolutely nothing to do” with it.
Dale McFee, of course, was also tied to Sam Mraiche.
https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/02/14/AHS-Scandal-How-Tight-Dale-McFee-Sam-Mraiche/
Sam Mraiche was investigated by Elections Alberta over alleged illegal political donations
https://archive.is/w03hg#selection-2755.80-2755.96
The elections regulator’s director of compliance and enforcement said in an affidavit that Mr. Mraiche was being investigated in connection with an alleged straw donor scheme – an illegal practice in which an individual circumvents donation limits by providing money through others.
“Mr. Mraiche is alleged to have given funds to other people for the purpose of having those people make contributions to a registered party,” Diane Brauer, the official, said. The alleged donations were made in the two months prior to the May, 2023, provincial election, according to her affidavit, which was filed in support of the contempt request.
Besides Mraiche joining the UCP’s Smith in a hotel suite to watch provincial election results in May 2023, and the Edmonton Oilers hockey games with the notorious skybox photo, keep in mind that Mraiche has also allegedly been tied to McFee, Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis, and Dr. Jayan Nagendran.
https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/02/14/AHS-Scandal-How-Tight-Dale-McFee-Sam-Mraiche/
https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/02/26/UCP-Mraiche-Business-Partner-Edmonton-Police-Commission/
Sam Mraiche - The Hidden Connections in the Skybox Photo - Alberta Views https://albertaviews.ca/the-hidden-connections-in-the-skybox-photo/ “Although the government tried to hide the existence of a middleman who allegedly orchestrated the entire deal, it has since been confirmed to be the importer, #MHCareMedical, the company owned by #SamMraiche. They received the $70-million from #AlbertaHealth. It is unknown how much of that they paid to Atabay for the 1.5 million bottles actually shipped. (1/3)
"I do not, not have I ever, held Mr Mraiche up to be the spokesperson - by word or behaviour - of either the Muslim or the Lebanese communities. If you are viewing the ongoing saga of Mr Mraiche through any lense other than the publicly available facts, then you are missing the point of this show, and of my work on it."
#NatePike, 2024
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#podcasts #TheBreakdown #Canada #Alberta #politics #SLAPP #journalism #SamMraiche