[Fuzz]

“AHS retained this law firm but not to represent individual employees,” Mr. Engel stated in his post. “This should be referred to the Law Society, along with the issue of obstructing the AG’s investigation.”

Indeed, the question of conflicts is so important, and there are so many situations in which conflicts could potentially arise, that the society’s Code of Conduct devotes 23 full pages to the topic, and at that I daresay that is not exhaustive.

“A conflict of interest exists when there is a substantial risk that a lawyer’s loyalty to or representation of a client would be materially and adversely affected by the lawyer’s own interest or the lawyer’s duties to another client, a former client, or a third person,” the Code explains. “A substantial risk is one that is significant and, while not certain or probable, is more than a mere possibility. A client’s interests may be prejudiced unless the lawyer’s advice, judgment and action on the client’s behalf are free from conflicts of interest.”

Put simply, Alberta Health (as the Health Department is confusingly known) is a legal entity that has different interests in the AG’s investigation than its employees do.

For example, what if an employee, fearing retribution, asked for her identity to be protected because she has information about a dodgy contract? How can a lawyer representing the department, which is being sued for wrongful dismissal by a former CEO, represent the interests of both the employee and the employer?

Common sense suggests the government’s lawyer simply cannot.

https://albertapolitics.ca/2025/04/h...investigation/

They sure are doing a lot of sketchy things while claiming they want to get to the bottom of it.