Alberta's government spent $70 million importing children's pain medication from Turkey in 2022, ignoring expert advice to involve the federal government to mitigate financial risks. This decision, despite warnings of potential losses due to oversupply and regulatory uncertainty, led to only 1.5 million bottles of the 5 million ordered being used.
The government chose the riskiest option, signing the deal before securing Health Canada approval, despite the risk of unapproved drugs and significant financial losses. This is now part of allegations of improper contracting, leading to investigations by the RCMP, Alberta's Auditor-General, and a former judge.
The surplus medication, deemed a risk to neonatal patients, was mostly unused and is now planned to be sent to Ukraine. Only a small fraction was distributed to hospitals and pharmacies.
The current Health Minister, Adriana LaGrange, defended the action as a compassionate response to a shortage. The lawyer for the company involved, MHCare, stated they only facilitated the order placed by Alberta Health Services.
Investigations are underway by multiple authorities, including the RCMP, Alberta's Auditor-General, and an appointed former judge to investigate allegations of improper contracting and procurement practices.