Acute Care Alberta extends contract with Edmonton surgical centre tied to procurement probes

Acute Care Alberta has extended its contract for another year with a private surgical facility at the centre of probes into health procurement and contracting.

The provincial agency confirmed to CBC News this week it has inked a new $34-million, one-year contract with Alberta Surgical Group (ASG) as of Nov. 1, 2025 until Oct. 31, 2026, to provide approximately 4,000 orthopedic surgeries.

Acute Care Alberta posted the contract on its website after CBC News asked whether that relationship was continuing past the previous contract’s expiration date.

It is the public health system’s third contract extension with ASG to provide publicly funded orthopedic surgeries — primarily hip and knee operations — at the south Edmonton facility.

Former Alberta Health Services CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos is suing AHS and the health minister for wrongful dismissal, alleging she was terminated after raising questions about irregularities she found with AHS contracting and procurement.

In court documents, Mentzelopoulos claims she was concerned that some chartered surgical facilities (CSFs) were charging much more per procedure than others. She claimed she was politically pressured to extend ASG’s contract.

In statements of defence, the government and AHS denied the allegations and said Mentzelopoulos was fired for failing to fulfil her duties. Neither the allegations in the statement of claim, nor the statements of defence, have been proven in court.

Both Alberta's auditor general and RCMP have been investigating allegations of conflict of interest and political interference in contracting.

A government-ordered report authored by retired Manitoba judge Raymond Wyant found real or perceived conflicts of interest in how AHS awarded contracts for CSFs.

The new Acute Care Alberta agency took over responsibility for CSF contracts in April as part of the provincial government’s restructuring of the health system.

Wyant’s report, which was released in October, says Alberta Health and AHS didn’t follow established policies when awarding the orthopedic surgery contract to ASG. The business had initially been unsuccessful in its bid, but was later offered a temporary contract without AHS requesting new proposals.

Acute Care Alberta and the press secretary for Hospital and Surgical Health Services Minister Matt Jones did not reply directly to emailed questions this week about why the health agency extended the contract.

Wyant found Alberta Health and AHS did not investigate a potential conflict of interest related to two former employees who left to work as consultants. One former employee, Blayne Iskiw, was providing ASG with advice after he left AHS.

Lori Williams, an associate professor of policy studies at Mount Royal University, said the ASG contract extension raises questions about why Acute Care Alberta would continue to contract with the company while other probes are still ongoing.