The Globe and Mail’s Carrie Tait, Tom Cardoso, and Matthew Scace, reveal that Sam Mraiche, an alleged central figure in the CorruptCare scandals, had deeper ties to Premier Smith than previously acknowledged. I’ll include the highlights from the article, but it’s worth a read.
The Globe’s investigation, published Saturday, revealed that Mr. Mraiche’s connections to the governing United Conservative Party are more extensive than previously reported.
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Ms. Smith, speaking to reporters at the United Conservative Party’s annual meeting in Edmonton on Saturday, maintained that she treated Mr. Mraiche just as she would any other executive.
“I have always said that I have seen him socially a handful of times, as I have with many, many individuals who want to do business with our government.”
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In a letter MHCare sent to the government in April, it said: “The unspectacular truth is that Mr. Mraiche’s interactions with government, those in elected office and senior staff fit entirely within the established parameters of typical government relations for the CEO of a commercial entity.”
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The investigation, for example, found that Mr. Mraiche joined Ms. Smith’s inner circle in a hotel suite to watch the provincial election results in May, 2023.
“When you are waiting for the results to come in, especially in a close race like it was in 2023, you are surrounded only by [your] absolute closest advisers,” Mr. Nenshi said in an interview Sunday. Calgarians elected Mr. Nenshi as their mayor three times before he became leader of the NDP last year.
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The Globe’s story on Saturday revealed that Ms. Smith’s schedule included a dinner at Mr. Mraiche’s home and a Zoom call with him and a former Alberta Health Services procurement official before she became Premier.
Further, newly obtained photos show Ms. Smith, five cabinet ministers, and senior political staff with Mr. Mraiche in a box suite during the Edmonton Oilers playoff run in 2024.
This government is overwhelming in its corruption. It’s actually kind of hard to keep up.
