AHS expense controversy prompts policy review
CBC News
Posted: Aug 8, 2012 4:28 PM MT
Last Updated: Aug 8, 2012 10:38 PM MT
The provincial government will review its travel and expense claim policies in the wake of a spending scandal involving Allaudin Merali, a former executive with Alberta Health Services.
"I am leading an initiative that will result in greater transparency on travel and expenses, with stricter reporting requirements for cabinet ministers, as well as executives in government and in agencies, boards and commissions," said Don Scott, the associate minister of accountability, transparency and transformation, in a news release on Wednesday.
Scott plans to consult with Jill Clayton, the province's information and privacy commissioner, to review best expense claim practices from other jurisdictions.
The province also plans to hire an independent human resources firm to improve how AHS and the provincial government hire senior executives.
Merali was fired as the health board's chief financial officer last week after documents uncovered in a CBC News investigation revealed thousands of dollars in expense claims for lavish dinners, bottles of wine and repairs to his Mercedes Benz.
Expenses totalling $346,000 were claimed between January 2005 and August 2008 when Merali was the chief financial officer for the former Capital Health region.
The expenses were approved by former Capital Health CEO Shelia Weatherill, who resigned her position on the AHS board last week.
Merali was hired back at Alberta Health Services three months ago. The province announced on Monday that he would not be paid severance and that there would be a independent forensic audit of his expenses.
Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith called on Premier Alison Redford to fire Health Minister Fred Horne. Smith believes the scandal has caused Albertans to lose confidence in Horne's ability to manage the province's health-care system.
"The superboard expense scandal is just an exclamation point on a tenure as health minister marked by failures, weak responses, half measures, cover-ups and an indifferent attitude," Smith told a news conference in Edmonton.
However, a spokesperson for Horne said he would not dignify Smith's demand with a response.
Share Tools
Latest Edmonton News Headlines
- Man accused of killing child in patio crash granted bail
- Emotions ran high in a packed Edmonton courthouse Friday as Richard Suter, accused of causing a crash into a restaurant patio that killed a young boy, was granted bail. more »
- Southside church duped by accused con man, sold in forced sale
- A bad business deal between an evangelical pastor and an accused con man has cost the church's congregation its church, school and daycare. more »
- Venus, Jupiter and Mercury to perform Dance of the Planets
- During sunset on Saturday, three planets will form a bright cluster in the western sky known as the Dance of the Planets. more »
- U of A study shows hands-free devices may not make driving safer
- Researchers at the University of Alberta have just finished a new study about the effectiveness of using hands-free technology while driving. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Will Rob Ford's supporters leave Ford Nation?
- The growing controversy over a purported video alleging to show Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine may be testing the faith of even his most die-hard supporters. But experts say Ford's policies may trump whatever personal issues he's facing, and that his supporters may rally behind him. more »
- Royal Bank pledges not to outsource jobs for cash savings
- Royal Bank has promised it will never outsource a Canadian job to a foreign worker solely to save money. more »
- Neil Macdonald: How serious is Obama about curbing the drone surge?
- In a key speech this week, the U.S. president set out a host of supposed new safeguards for America's controversial practice of remote-controlled rough justice. But as Neil Macdonald writes, the underlying rationale for drone use has not fundamentally changed. more »
- Making The Mandela Tapes
- Producer Robin Benger describes how he obtained broadcast access to interviews Nelson Mandela recorded in the 1990s. A CBC Radio Ideas program on the Mandela tapes airs May 28. more »
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denies using crack cocaine
- The mayor of Canada's largest city told a packed news conference that he doesn't use crack cocaine and isn't a crack addict. more »
- Washington police blame bridge collapse on Alberta trucker
- Man accused of killing child in patio crash granted bail
- Alleged drunk driver goes free after cop skips court
- Southside church duped by accused con man, sold in forced sale
- Mother has message for man who almost killed her daughter
- Venus, Jupiter and Mercury to perform Dance of the Planets
- Edmontonians at a loss to explain rising gas prices
- Edmonton driver, 62, charged in boy's patio death
- Abandoned building gutted by fire in downtown Edmonton
