Brett McKay, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Investigative Journalism Foundation

Airdrie Mayor Peter Brown provided extensive behind the scenes help to a controversial private health care centre, according to emails obtained by the Investigative Journalism Foundation.

The City of Airdrie has publicly claimed it did not help develop a proposal for the centre, which would be Alberta’s first urgent care centre not run by the government and a major step in the United Conservative government’s goal of privatizing health care.

But in fact, Brown and a small circle of city staff helped craft and pitch plans for a publicly funded, privately delivered health-care complex proposed by One Health Associate Medical and developer Qualico Communities, according to the emails, which the IJF obtained via freedom of information requests.

The emails also show Brown shared early proposal drafts with a contact in the premier’s office and took steps to conceal his role in the project from the public and members of Airdrie city council.

The initial One Health proposal included asking the province to reallocate funds previously set aside for upgrades to the community health centre, documents reveal.

These details, along with the lack of transparency from local and provincial governments, suggests the province is using the project as a way to test new models of health-care delivery rather than fix health-care deficiencies, said Chris Gallaway, executive director of public health-care advocacy group Friends of Medicare.

“The fact that there’s such a close relationship between those involved and the government, and that it was all behind closed doors, that it all moved quickly, that we still don’t know the details of the proposal, of the funding model, of a timeline: This shows me that it’s really a political push behind this more than it is about providing the health-care services that folks in Airdrie need,” said Gallaway.

For years, health-care advocates have been pushing the province to build a hospital in Airdrie, a city of nearly 90,000 people north of Calgary. To help address service gaps experienced by residents and accommodate the city’s growing population, Alberta’s government allocated $8.4 million in 2023 to expand the existing Airdrie Urgent Care Centre.

Without any formal public announcement, these planned renovations were temporarily paused by the province in January 2024 to consider a proposal from One Health and Qualico, raising questions from health-care advocates about how the project was so quickly prioritized by Alberta’s health ministry without following normal procurement processes.

Billed as a campus-style health-care complex, One Health’s custom-built facility would house an urgent care department alongside offices for primary care physicians.

The provincial government has given $2 million to One Health, and renovations at the existing urgent care centre are ongoing. While One Health has been confirmed as the primary care provider for the new facility, the urgent care operator hasn’t been named by the province.

Brown told media in early 2024 he was aware a group from the Airdrie region had brought a proposal to Alberta Health, and a statement issued by the city said it “was not part of creating the proposal” and only “facilitated meetings” between the group and Alberta’s health minister.

However, internal emails show Brown and city staff were directly involved in planning discussions with One Health representatives in August 2023, six months before the city issued that denial.

In an Aug. 1, 2023, email Airdrie’s intergovernmental liaison Leona Esau shared a draft ministerial briefing note on the initiative with Brown and One Health physician Dr. Julian Kyne, and indicated the city was working to “obtain operating and equipment costs for [Airdrie Urgent Care Centre]” from Alberta Health Services Calgary Zone and the deputy minister of health to add to the proposal.

Over the next two weeks, draft documents were updated to include “Peter’s corrections,” and reworked in exchanges between Mayor Peter Brown, city staff, Kyne, One Health consultant Doug Smith, regional vice president of Qualico Communities Claudio Palumbo and vice president of Qualico Communities Calgary Thilo Kaufmann.

Emails show Brown had also met with Kyne by this point and texted about the project with Palumbo.

Before a meeting was scheduled with Alberta’s health minister, Brown reached out to then-executive director of the premier’s office and former Airdrie MLA Rob Anderson.

Anderson is currently chief of staff to Premier Danielle Smith.

Brown’s assistant emailed Anderson on Aug. 18, saying she understood “the mayor has reached out to you” and asking Anderson to review the briefing note and provide feedback before the team met with then-health minister Adriana LaGrange.

The One Health proposal estimated the total cost to build and equip the new facility would be $20 million, which would partially be covered by redirecting government funding allocated for the public health centre renovations.

“Airdrie will get a new larger purpose-built urgent care, that is fully integrated with primary care, for the [$8.4 million] that is to be spent to reno the existing waiting room and treatment space,” Smith explained in a separate email.

Esau messaged Brown on Aug. 31, 2023, saying she had incorporated feedback in an updated version of the briefing note: “Call me with any changes/edits and questions. I’ll make them as we speak and then we can forward to Rob.”

Later the same day, Brown told Anderson in an email “we have updated the document and [hope] the updates meet your expectations.”

Anderson told the IJF in an email he “shared the proposal with the [minister of health’s] office and left it with her team to assess its viability…. The decision to proceed or not with the project is up to the minister, cabinet and treasury board.”

LaGrange did not directly respond to questions about what communication or direction regarding the proposal came from Anderson or the premier’s office.

“To support the health needs in Airdrie, Alberta Health approved a proposal by One Health Airdrie for an additional health-care facility in the community. We are currently working with One Health Airdrie to finalize details as we work to increase acute care and primary care services in the community,” she said.

Jill Iverson, communications team lead for the city of Airdrie, said it is a role of all municipalities to connect with different levels of government to advance key initiatives.

“Setting up meetings, providing reviews of letters to ministers and, in some cases, reviewing proposals (not creating, but providing a municipal perspective) are all part of the supports we typically provide,” Iverson said.

On Sept. 19, the team behind the One Health project met with LaGrange in Edmonton. Before the meeting, Brown, Kyne and Smith coordinated through email who would present which slides in the presentation, with Brown reminding the others “the key to success is our ability to convince the minister this is an easy win for her ministry.”

Throughout the fall, Brown continued to meet with the same people from Qualico and One Health to plan and “[make] sure we are completely aligned and moving in the right direction” before subsequent meetings with Alberta Health officials.

But it appears that Airdrie city councillors weren’t being similarly informed.

In an Oct. 6, 2023 email, Esau told Brown that council was being copied on a follow-up letter to LaGrange, but details of the prepared briefing note and project proposal hadn’t been shared with council. She asked if these documents could be forwarded to councillors or if the information could be presented at an upcoming council meeting.

Council records and internal documents suggest that no presentation was made to Airdrie council until early February 2024, after local media reported on the pause in urgent care centre renovations.

Emails show media outlet Discover Airdrie requested an interview with Brown on Jan. 30 to discuss the renovation pause. Brown’s office declined the interview request, saying the mayor “cannot comment on provincial government decisions.”

Brown forwarded the email from local media to One Health’s Kyne and Smith and commented that the media attention “is exactly why I am concerned as to the narrative…. In my mind we stay vague and [use] generalities however that coms plan could elicit even more questions.

“Gents we need a communication plan and fast,” said Brown.

Later the same day, Brown’s assistant emailed Kyne and Smith asking when they would be ready to make a presentation on the project to council and the city’s senior leadership team. Brown also personally emailed Smith and Kyne, asking them to “take our logo off the presentation slides until further notice,” and inquiring if they could be ready to present to council the following Monday.

Early on Jan. 31, Brown’s assistant emailed Smith and Kyne follow-up questions from a reporter “for review and for a co-ordinated response.”

Brown did not directly respond to questions about why he took steps to hide or obscure his involvement with One Health and Qualico, when city councillors were informed about the project, or why he contacted Anderson about the proposal before meeting with the health minister.

“The way I have supported this initiative is the same way I have supported many other areas of advocacy to the province such as the need for more safety codes officers, schools, changes to the [Municipal Government Act], or funding for high growth communities,” Brown told the IJF.

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