Alberta Health Services chairman apologizes for executive expenses

The new chairman of Alberta Health Services offered an unequivocal apology Thursday for the controversy surrounding the inappropriate expense accounts of former health executives.

But while Stephen Lockwood committed to doing a broader internal audit of top executives with the former Calgary Health Region, including the 2005 to 2008 expenses of current CEO of Alberta’s health superboard Dr. Chris Eagle, Lockwood said no more money will be spent in trying to recuperate inappropriate expenditures if any are found.

“In light of rapidly rising costs, we are not prepared at this time to expand the scope of this work or leave it open-ended,” Lockwood said after an Alberta Health Services board meeting in Grande Prairie. “We will not redirect health dollars to reviewing any further expense claims in organizations that no longer exist.”

Already, Lockwood said $200,000 – the equivalent of 14 hip surgeries – has been spent on freedom of information requests and an Alberta Health Services external audit into the expense claims of former Capital Health executives, including Allaudin Merali, who racked up almost $350,000 on dinners, butler services and repairs to his Mercedes-Benz while he was chief financial officer of Edmonton’s former health region. Also under the microscope are the expense claims of Sheila Weatherill, who resigned from the Alberta Health Services’ board after it was revealed she personally approved many of Merali’s expenses when she was the CEO of Capital Health.

“The question is this: what is most important to Albertans? In my opinion, it is to use taxpayers’ health dollars to improve health care today,” Lockwood said. “There is no benefit to health care today in expanding the assessment of policies that are no longer applicable. There is no action we can take to recover the expenses. … The time has come to end looking in the past.”

Alberta Health Services has committed to post online the monthly expense claims for its top executives, those who report to those executives and all its board members, all of whom are expected to follow new expense rules set out by Premier Alison Redford. Employees can no longer claim alcohol as part of meal or travel expenses and must fly economy rather than business class unless prior approved.

Annual reviews of all expenses will also be done, Lockwood said. A new system is being established with defined spending thresholds that, when exceeded, will automatically trigger reviews.

“I am here today to personally apologize to all of the residents of this great province for monies that may have been spent by any predecessor organization of AHS on expenses not related to health care in Alberta,” Lockwood said Thursday. “Although we and our organization are in no way responsible for the actions of our predecessors, we are responsible today for ensuring the public trust and I am genuinely sorry that we are at the point where we must rebuild that trust.”

Eagle asked personally for the internal audit into his and other former Calgary officials to build public trust and clear his name.

“I think it’s really important for the people in Alberta Health Services to have trust in their leaders and respect the integrity and transparency of their leaders,” Eagle said.