Friday Focus: What is Danielle Smith Hiding?

Something deeply troubling is happening in our province—something that raises serious questions about transparency and accountability in Alberta’s healthcare system and in our government.

A lawsuit against the government by the recently dismissed CEO of Alberta Health Services claims she was fired for investigating sketchy contracts with private surgical companies.  High-ranking government officials — maybe even from the Premier’s office — may have intervened to approve contracts that cost Albertans more, spending taxpayer dollars to benefit private interests and undermining public healthcare. There are also allegations government officials directed that some of its critics be fired.

Giving sweetheart deals to private companies behind closed doors, and silencing anyone who gets in the way is not how government should be run.

We need answers. We need transparency. And we need accountability. That is what the Alberta Liberal Party is calling for.

Albertans need:

✅ An independent, public inquiry: Albertans deserve to know who was involved, what they did and why these contracts were pushed through.

✅ A halt to any questionable contracts. No more secret deals while this investigation unfolds.

✅ Protections for whistleblowers: If government insiders are willing to speak out, they should be protected, not punished. The UCP wants this to go away. They want us to stop asking questions. 

But we won’t let that happen. 

We need to know what happened and who’s responsible. But we also shouldn’t jump the gun and demand abrupt actions before a proper investigation is done, as the NDP demands. Serious allegations need to be taken seriously, and dealt with seriously, but until proven they remain as allegations.