After calling out his own party over how it was handing the investigation into allegations of corruption in multimillion-dollar health contracts, Alberta MLA Peter Guthrie has been kicked out of the United Conservative Party caucus.
“MLA Guthrie has made it clear that he does not support the government’s decision to wait for the investigations of both the auditor general and judge Raymond Wyant to conclude prior to taking further action on the issue of AHS procurement practices and the allegations made by the former AHS CEO,” said a statement from the party Wednesday afternoon.
“It is also clear that he wishes to continue to publicly voice his opposition to the government on that issue.”
Guthrie will now sit as an independent MLA for the riding of Airdrie-Cochrane.
The move comes almost two months after the former infrastructure minister stepped down from cabinet over the government’s handling of the scandal, becoming a UCP backbencher.
In a resignation letter to his constituents posted on social media, Guthrie said he would remain a private member of the government caucus, where he can “hold cabinet accountable with honesty and integrity.”
Guthrie said that as minister of infrastructure, he had “line of sight” into the provincial government’s procurement practices and “inconsistencies” and claimed he recommended improvements that could have prevented some of the issues that have developed into the scandal, and allegations of corruption now facing the UCP government.
Alberta’s former infrastructure minister returns to legislature
On Tuesday, Guthrie said as a he backbencher, he remained under a UCP caucus gag order.
He used the routine tabling of reports to say in the legislature that having lawyers involved in the auditor general’s review amounts to the “muzzling of government officials.”
The government has instructed public servants to contact a lawyer to co-ordinate if auditor general Doug Wylie requests an interview as part of his probe, as seen in an email released by the NDP (see below.)
Guthrie told reporters it is “obstructionist.”
“I would like to see people feel free to be able to share their thoughts with the auditor general without feeling that (there) may be retribution for them,” he said.
Guthrie also said he agreed with the NDP, and other critics, who have called for a full judicial public inquiry.
“If we have nothing to hide, we should take that path.”
New Democrats have said Wyant’s investigation was hamstrung by the government from the start, and that calling a full public inquiry is the only way to ensure the full story is unearthed.
Health critic Sarah Hoffman continued that push Monday with a vote in the house.
While the UCP used its majority to defeat her motion, Opposition members didn’t stand alone.
Both Guthrie and former UCP member Scott Sinclair supported calling a public inquiry.
Sinclair, who now sits as an Independent member for Lesser Slave Lake, was kicked out of UCP caucus for threatening to vote against the government’s budget.
–with files from Jack Farrell,The Canadian Press
— More to come…