The CorruptCare scandal is a direct product of the Alberta Surgical Initiative, which sought to double the share of procedures conducted at the private centres to 30 per cent. Former premier Jason Kenney, who promoted the scheme, later said this was intended, at least in part, to ensure surgeries wouldn’t be done in “union-run hospitals.”

Three months after the initiative was announced in December 2019, a group of anesthesiologists at the University of Alberta established the Alberta Surgical Group, which operates a chartered surgical facility in Edmonton that opened in November 2022.

While AHS typically pays $4,044 per hip, $4,036 per knee and $4,833 per shoulder surgery, Alberta Surgical Group charged $8,303 per hip, $8,510 per knee and $11,243 per shoulder surgery prior to contract renewal negotiations, according to documents obtained by the Globe and Mail.

This trend, a recent Parkland Institute report suggests, isn’t confined to Alberta Surgical Group.