Good morning,

On Thursday, The Globe and Mail published its latest scoop from Alanna Smith and Carrie Tait on the ongoing questions and allegations around contracts and procurement in Alberta health care.

In a letter obtained by The Globe, Alberta Health Services chief financial officer Michael Lam wrote to MHCare Medical on Dec. 20, and said the company had been holding $49.2-million of government money for “well over a year” as part of the unfulfilled contract to import medication from a supplier in Turkey. He demanded to know whether the company was taking steps to additionally import intravenous acetaminophen – a plan that had been in the works for well over a year.

MHCare had facilitated a $70-million deal to import children’s ibuprofen and acetaminophen from Istanbul-based Atabay Pharmaceuticals during a global shortage three years ago. Only 1.5 million of five million bottles of medication were ever delivered, despite the fact the province had paid upfront. The $49.2-million referred to in Lam’s letter was what was left of the prepayment to MHCare.

Lam, in his letter addressed to MHCare’s chief operating officer, Keri Shannon, said it was unclear whether the contract was being “performed in accordance with its terms and conditions.” He said MHCare was required in its contract to initiate the process with Health Canada to import intravenous acetaminophen and keep AHS informed of its progress.

Last week, Health Canada told The Globe it had not received any proposals from the Alberta government, MHCare or Atabay Pharmaceuticals to import intravenous acetaminophen to the province.

Jessie Bakker, a lawyer representing MHCare and its CEO, Sam Mraiche, said in a statement Tuesday that “any allegations or insinuations of wrongdoing on the part of MHCare Medical Corporation and/or Sam Mraiche are unwarranted and unjustified. We reiterate that our clients have acted properly at all times.”

Lam, in his letter, gave MHCare until Jan. 8 to provide “a detailed status update” of its outstanding commitments, in addition to a “full accounting and reconciliation of the prepayments.”

Shannon replied on Jan. 7 and said MHCare needed an extension and would reply within one month. “Time is needed to put the information together, and we will need to consult legal counsel to make sure all information being requested needs to be legally provided,” she said in an e-mail obtained by The Globe.

It is unclear if any information or documentation was provided to AHS. Holly Budd, a spokesperson for the health authority, declined to comment.

MHCare is a key player in allegations from former AHS chief executive Athana Mentzelopoulos that government officials interfered in contract negotiations on behalf of private companies. Those allegations, first reported by The Globe earlier this month and later detailed in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit, are now under review by the province’s Auditor-General and prompted the government to announce its own investigation.

Mentzelopoulos was fired on Jan. 8 and is now suing AHS and Health Minister Adriana LaGrange for wrongful dismissal. She is seeking $1.7-million – what she would have been paid had her four-year contract not been cut short after just one year.

Mentzelopoulos has not commented on any of the stories published in the last two weeks.

None of the allegations have been proven in court and LaGrange says she will file a statement of defence soon.

The government has insisted that all decisions around contracts and procurement were made by AHS, a message hammered home by Premier Danielle Smith and LaGrange at their first press conference on Wednesday.

This is the weekly Alberta newsletter written by Alberta Bureau Chief Mark Iype. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters here.