With Albertans everywhere continuing to face long wait times for health-care treatment, including in some cases for crippling, life-altering ailments, the public has every right to demand answers to outstanding questions about high paid health system executive salaries and compensation.
Yet with the entire health system operating under the authority and direction of the provincial government, whether the Redford government is truly prepared to get to the bottom of the current scandal remains an open question.
Following revelations several months ago that Allaudin Merali, a former Alberta Health Services chief financial officer, had run up almost $350,000 in expense claims, the Redford Tories announced that an audit would be conducted into the salary and compensation of senior health officials.
Now the opposition parties say the government is backtracking on that review commitment.
“It is completely outrageous for senior government officials to backtrack from a commitment made to Albertans to protect their tax dollars,” said Kerry Towle, Wildrose seniors critic. “Albertans deserve accountability and transparency from a health system that is far too often falling short of what Alberta families expect and deserve.
“We've seen this PC government time and time again continue to mismanage our health-care system and waste millions of dollars on bonuses, lavish expense accounts and gold-plated severance packages instead of improving health care,”
Like their Wildrose Official Opposition colleagues, Liberal and NDP MLAs have also been quick to question the government's commitment to getting to the bottom of the health executive pay and compensation scandal.
“AHS thinks it can slip out the back door unnoticed,” says Liberal leader Dr. David Swann. “This government promised more transparency and trust in the health system, beginning with these audits into AHS expenses, but this latest flip-flop does the exact opposite. What did this government find out that it is now trying to hide?”
NDP leader Brian Mason said: “The decision to not investigate expenses of other executives makes me question what else they're hiding. The reorganization of an institution shouldn't mean the death of transparency. The Conservatives have been giving lip service about the need for openness and transparency for far too long.”
If the Redford Tories have nothing to hide when it comes to payouts given to top health executives – all of whom answer to the PC government and no one else – then what possible harm could come from having a thorough and independent audit review conducted and the findings made public?
With health care the most important, and expensive, government department, affecting the lives and well-being of every West Central Alberta resident, can anyone argue with MLA Towle's suggestion that, “It's time for this government to deal with reality and take responsibility”?
