Comment from a rural Albertan to the top article:
oooowwwwweeeeeee! That’s a juicy one! I love that the idiot’s laptop shouldn’t be handed over because it was provided to him by CSIS! hahahahahahahahahahaha! dumb fucker …..
@thecontentkid.bsky.social:
Holy shit
@duanebratt.bsky.social Jan 6, 2026:
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/97434e9…
Podcasters who were harassing Carrie Tait and former AHS board member Sandy Edmonstone were being paid by an Edmonton lawyer with close ties to Sam Mraiche. Probably just a coincidence.
Podcaster accused of harassing former AHS board member says he was hired by Edmonton lawyer, court records show by Tu Thanh Ha, Jan 6, 2026, The Globe and Mail
A podcaster who has been accused of harassing a potential witness in a high-profile wrongful-dismissal lawsuit against the Alberta government told solicitors that he was retained by an Edmonton-based lawyer for “unspecified work,” new court records show.
That lawyer, identified in court records made public Tuesday as Bryan Ward, has acted a number of times for Sam Mraiche, an Edmonton-based medical equipment entrepreneur whose companies are at the centre of a procurement controversy that has roiled Alberta politics for the past year.
Athana Mentzelopoulos, the former chief executive of the province’s health authority, filed a wrongful-dismissal lawsuit against the government of Premier Danielle Smith, alleging she was fired because she refused to shut down an internal investigation into the agency’s procurement staff and their relationships with Mr. Mraiche’s companies. The matter is now under investigation by the RCMP.
Since launching her lawsuit, Ms. Mentzelopoulos and other individuals connected to the Alberta Health Services probe have been subject to reputational attacks by David Wallace
What a disgusting cowardly rotten fucking douche you are Mr. Wallace, a self-described political fixer who hosts a podcast called The Political Dark Arts Report.
Among the people targeted by Mr. Wallace are Globe and Mail journalists Carrie Tait and Tom Cardoso, who have written about the probe, and Sandy Edmonstone, a former board member at AHS who encouraged Ms. Mentzelopoulos to report her findings to the RCMP.
Mr. Edmonstone recently obtained a rare court order to seize evidence from the homes and electronic devices of Mr. Wallace and James Di Fiore, another podcaster who has hosted Mr. Wallace on his show.
An Alberta-based former investment banker, Mr. Edmonstone alleges that Mr. Wallace spread false rumours about him on the podcast and threatened to dig into his private life. Mr. Edmonstone successfully argued that the court order was necessary to find evidence about the “well-funded individuals and organizations” who he alleges are bankrolling the podcasters and trying to intimidate him as a potential witness in Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s lawsuit.
When lawyers descended on Mr. Wallace’s Quebec home in mid-December, armed with the court order, he disclosed that he was “retained by Bryan Ward at Park Law in AlbertaFFS!!!! to do unspecified work for him,” states a report prepared by the Ottawa law firm that supervised the search.
Public records show Mr. Ward acted as Mr. Mraiche’s counsel in a civil lawsuit, as well as in a dispute Mr. Mraiche had with Elections Alberta. Other records show Mr. Ward acted as a witness in several of Mr. Mraiche’s real estate transactions, and Mr. Ward is also listed as the registered agent for companies owned in part by Mr. Mraiche.
The Globe contacted Mr. Ward and a lawyer for Mr. Mraiche, Scott Hutchison, for comment Monday evening. Neither responded by Tuesday afternoon.
Neither Mr. Wallace nor Mr. Di Fiore responded to a request for comment. Mr. Wallace has denied on his podcast that he works for Mr. Mraiche. He has said on his podcast that he was paid by “three employers,” whom he did not identify.Me thinks it’s best not to believe a word that exits Mr. Douche Fucker Wallace’s mouth.
Lawyers with Conway Baxter Wilson, the Ottawa law firm appointed by the court to oversee the execution of the search, said in their report that two court-appointed solicitors, a bailiff and a security firm employee arrived at Mr. Wallace’s home the morning of Dec. 16.
After being served with the court papers, Mr. Wallace was asked to put on his dining-room table any devices and documents sought by Mr. Edmonstone, the report states. Mr. Wallace made references to his retainer with Mr. Ward “several other times throughout the execution process,” the report states. The contents of the report have not been proven in court.
Mr. Wallace said he needed legal advice and was provided with a cellphone because the court order prohibited him from using his own device, the report states. Mr. Wallace went into a bedroom to speak privately with Mr. Ward, the report states.
Mr. Ward later spoke with the supervising lawyers and confirmed to them that he advised Mr. Wallace to comply with the orders. “At times, Mr. Ward indicated that his firm had retained Wallace and Di Fiore on behalf of a ‘third party’ client,” the report states.
Around the same time, two other lawyers, a bailiff and two Ontario Provincial Police officers executed the order at Mr. Di Fiore’s home in Ontario.
According to the report, Mr. Di Fiore told the search party that Mr. Ward was one of his lawyers.
Mr. Di Fiore objected to the search, arguing that it constituted a violation of freedom of the press, and that one of his phones and a laptop shouldn’t be searched because “those devices were provided to him by CSIS,”Roaring laughter! the report states.
Eventually, both Mr. Wallace and Mr. Di Fiore handed over their devices, which were returned to them the next day after their contents had been copied.
Bryan Ward acted for Mraiche in a property flipped to the Alberta government for a $300,000 profit.
@takforalt.bsky.social:
Whatever is in the details of the CorruptCare and Mraiche saga, it must be bad. IMO, the entire upper echelons of the #UCP are in this up to their eyeballs. Mr. Mraiche seems to have his mitts in absolutely everything that involves public money.
@calgarycanuck.bsky.social:
Sam Mraiche’s name just keeps coming up over and over. Who will throw who under the bus first?
@jmitchelldalton.bsky.social:
Dani would rather throw Alberta under the bus.
@craecan.bsky.social:
Oh OooooOooooH Oh. Oh.
So Mraiche is about to get fully thrown under, run over, backed over, then run over again by the Danielle Smith booby bus. All while she’s blindfolded cuz of course she’s never met him or whatever.
What a ridiculous place. But thank you for getting ours eyes on this.
@igm1200.bsky.social:
Seems like an admission of guilt.
And a reaction bordering on highly spooked.
Former AHS board member alleges he was harassed for pushing back against Smith government, court records show by Tu Thanh Ha, Jan 6, 2026, The Globe and Mail
A former director on the board of Alberta’s health authority alleges he was singled out in a campaign of harassment and intimidation because he pushed back against Premier Danielle Smith’s government and its decision to fire the agency’s chief executive officer.
In a recently unsealed affidavit, Sandy Edmonstone, who served on the board of Alberta Health Services until January of 2025, details how someone surveilled him and took surreptitious photos they threatened to distribute to his partner, as well as multiple reputational attacks he has faced online from David Wallace, who has described himself in the past as a political dirty tricks operator.
Mr. Edmonstone relied on the affidavit to obtain an extraordinary court order that authorized lawyers to seize electronic devices from Mr. Wallace and James Di Fiore, a podcaster who has featured Mr. Wallace on his show, to find out who is funding their activities. The searches were conducted in mid-December.
Mr. Edmonstone alleges that the podcasters’ commentary is designed to undermine him as a potential witness in the lawsuit former AHS chief executive Athana Mentzelopoulos filed against the health authority and the Alberta government.
In January, Ms. Mentzelopoulos was fired amid her investigation into improper procurement practices at AHS. She alleges that she was pressed to shut down the probe by Ms. Smith’s government and urged to proceed with deals with certain private companies. The government says it fired her for failing to execute its vision for health care in the province.
In the 20-page affidavit, Mr. Edmonstone states that other AHS directors supported Ms. Mentzelopoulos, but that he was “at the forefront” of the board’s actions. “I believe I may be the predominant target of these individuals as I openly challenged the Minister of Health” and her staff, Mr. Edmonstone said.
“My outspoken and direct manner of conducting myself while taking steps to protect and uphold good and proper governance on behalf of Albertans and their tax dollars has made me a target,” he also said in the affidavit.
The allegations have not been tested in court.
A spokeswoman for Adriana Lagrange said the then-health minister wouldn’t comment on the affidavit because the matter is before the courts.
Craig Alcock, a lawyer for Mr. Wallace and Mr. Di Fiore, did not respond to questions about the affidavit, but he previously told The Globe and Mail his clients look forward to responding in court.
The matter is scheduled to be heard at the Edmonton courthouse on Tuesday.
When asked last week about Mr. Edmonstone’s allegations, Ms. Smith said, “I know nothing about it. So that’ll be a question for the courts.”
After her firing, Ms. Mentzelopoulos was replaced by Andre Tremblay, who was then the deputy minister of health.
In her statement of claim, Ms. Mentzelopoulos alleged Mr. Tremblay had played a role in her dismissal, had put pressure on her to terminate purported critics of the government and had cancelled a scheduled meeting with the province’s Auditor-General.
Mr. Edmonstone’s affidavit reveals that the board took steps to limit Mr. Tremblay’s executive powers after his appointment because it was concerned he was in a position of conflict of interest. “I was the one who notified Mr. Tremblay that he was being recused of oversight and decision-making” when dealing with matters related to Ms. Mentzelopoulos, her lawsuit, the probes she initiated and interactions with the Auditor-General, the affidavit states.
Mr. Tremblay was also told he couldn’t deal with the termination or pay of employees who had been involved in those issues, the affidavit states. “Reprisal concerns arose due to senior AHS management and staff expressing concern about potential reprisal actions against them to independent members of the Board,” Mr. Edmonstone said.
On Jan. 31, Ms. Smith’s government dismissed the entire board and replaced it by a single administrator, Mr. Tremblay.
Mr. Tremblay, who has since taken a leave of absence from the health authority, could not be reached for comment.
In his affidavit, Mr. Edmonstone said he started being targeted days after media reported in June, 2025, that Ms. Mentzelopoulos intended to ask former AHS directors to testify in her lawsuit.
One acquaintance, former Alberta attorney-general Tyler Shandro, contacted him on June 15, saying that someone was sending him “crazy” text messages, his affidavit states.
Mr. Shandro received three photos showing Mr. Edmonstone having lunch with a woman in a restaurant. A text message accompanying the photos claimed that Mr. Edmonstone was unfaithful to his partner and threatened to expose him. “While this allegation is not true, it was unsettling to know that someone was targeting me and attempting to cause me personal strife,” Mr. Edmonstone said.
A month later, Mr. Edmonstone read an article about a covert surveillance operation that targeted Globe and Mail journalist Carrie Tait, who had been reporting on AHS. An anonymous X account, @thebrokedownab, had posted photos taken surreptitiously of Ms. Tait. “The described circumstances felt eerily like my own experiences,” Mr. Edmonstone said.
He said he had an acquaintance access the account recovery function for X. The acquaintance entered the account name @thebrokedownab, then the phone number that texted photos of Mr. Edmonstone. The X platform responded with a request for an associated e-mail address. If the account and the phone number weren’t connected, it would have resulted in an error message, the affidavit said, adding that Mr. Edmonstone had a video of his verification attempt.
By August, the affidavit said, Mr. Wallace repeatedly claimed that Mr. Edmonstone had an adulterous affair, and said he would dig further into the former board director’s life. “I can get a lot stiffer, Edmonstone, and I will. I will. Very soon,” Mr. Wallace said.
The sworn statement noted that Mr. Wallace boasted that he was working for unidentified employers.
“There appears to be a group of well-funded individuals and organizations that are implicated – or at least impacted – by the procurement issues Ms. Mentzelopoulos was investigating,” the Edmonstone affidavit says.
In November, Mr. Edmonstone turned to the judge presiding over Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s lawsuit, Justice Michael Lema of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. He obtained from Justice Lema an injunction, known as an Anton Piller order, that authorized the searches of the homes of Mr. Wallace and Mr. Di Fiore.
During the hearing to obtain the Anton Piller order, Justice Lema said he initially had concerns that Mr. Edmonstone’s affidavit revealed inside business at AHS but he concluded that “I do not find it materially undercuts the case.”
Justice Lema ordered Mr. Wallace and Mr. Di Fiore to appear before him for potential contempt of court. The pair were also told by the court to refrain from making comments “that are harassing, defamatory, or intended to intimidate.”
On Dec. 29, Mr. Wallace posted a video where he said Mr. Edmonstone’s affidavit “contains an embarrassment of riches … He invited me right in the door. You invited the devil right into your home.”
The video was removed days later.
Former AHS board member obtains rare court order, alleging intimidation by podcasters by Tu Thanh Ha, Dec 23, 2025, The Globe and Mail
A former director on the board of Alberta’s health authority says he has been subject to a campaign of harassment and surveillance because of his role as a potential witness in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit tied to the province’s health procurement controversy, court records show.
Sandy Edmonstone, who served on the board of Alberta Health Services until January, obtained a rare court order allowing him to search and seize records and electronic devices from two podcasters, David Wallace and James Di Fiore, whom he alleges have disparaged and harassed him. Those derogatory comments are part of a co-ordinated campaign funded by someone or some people, Mr. Edmonstone alleges. The search-and-seizure order is necessary, Mr. Edmonstone successfully argued, to find evidence showing who is bankrolling the podcasters.
Mr. Edmonstone alleges that the podcasts are designed to undermine him as a potentialwitness in the lawsuitformer AHS chief executive Athana Mentzelopoulos filed against the health authority and the Alberta government.
In January, Ms. Mentzelopoulos was fired amid her investigation into improper procurement practices at the provincial health authority. She alleges that she was pressed to shut down the probe by Premier Danielle Smith’s government and urged to proceed with deals with certain private companies.
The government said it dismissed Ms. Mentzelopoulos because she failed to execute its vision for the health care system.
Mr. Edmonstone and the rest of the AHS board were dismissed by Ms. Smith days after she was fired. The board supported Ms. Mentzelopoulous’s probe, and recommended she expand it and share the results with the RCMP. Theforce is now investigating the matter.
The podcasts produced by Mr. Wallace and Mr. Di Fiore have repeatedly disparaged Mr. Edmonstone, referring to him as “scumbag” and a ”sicko,” he alleges. The court application also alleges that Mr. Wallace has made comments about hiring people to dig into Mr. Edmonstone’s life. In June, someone took surreptitious photos of Mr. Edmonstone and shared them via text message, he alleges.
Mr. Edmonstone alleges this campaign is connected to the targeting of Globe and Mail reporter Carrie Tait, who has been covering the controversy at Alberta Health Services and was also covertly followed and photographed in the summer.
Craig Alcock, a lawyer representing Mr. Wallace and Mr. Di Fiore, said his clients “are looking forward to responding to this matter in the Courts,” but would not comment further.
In addition to authorizing Mr. Edmonstone’s bid to seize records, Justice Michael Lema of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta also ordered Mr. Wallace and Mr. Di Fiore to appear before him for potentialcontempt of court.
Justice Lema said the two men need to convince him that they didn’t interfere with the administration of justice by “deterring, harassing, molesting, or influencing a prospective witness.”
The podcasts hosted by Mr. Wallace and Mr. Di Fiore have mocked and insulted people connected with the AHS controversy, including Ms. Mentzelopoulos, Mr. Edmonstone, Ms. Tait and MLA Peter Guthrie, who resigned from cabinet in protest of Ms. Smith’s handling of the issue.
On an Oct. 13 podcast, Mr. Wallace said that he “employed some professionals” to look into Mr. Edmonstone’s life. “Sandy, we have something real special for you planned,” he said.
In the court filings, Mr. Edmonstone said that someone followed him and took photos of him on June 13 and distributed those photos over text messaging. The sender threatened to share the photos with Mr. Edmonstone’s wife “in an attempt to cause personal strife and acrimony,” he alleges.
The phone number that sent those pictures was “associated” with a now-defunct X account called @thebrokedownAB, Mr. Edmonstone alleges. That same anonymous account had threatened in July to expose Ms. Tait’s sources and posted photos taken of her while she was secretly followed last summer.
The court order that Mr. Edmonstone obtained is known as an Anton Piller injunction, an exceptional measure that allows a private citizen or company to seize records from private property without the other side being notified of the hearing. Judges authorize such orders when they are persuaded there is a possibility that evidence could be destroyed.
The order against Mr. Wallace and Mr. Di Fiore says that an independent lawyer would be appointed to supervise the process, that bailiffs and a locksmith could be called to assist, and that the items to be seized could include computer systems, storage devices and cloud-based accounts.
Mr. Di Fiore lives in Ontario and Mr. Wallace in Quebec, according to the court documents.
The order became public after the documents were unsealed Monday. The records obtained by The Globe do not indicate whether the residences of Mr. Wallace and Mr. Di Fiore were searched. Citing an e-mail written by Justice Lema’s assistant, The Calgary Herald reported on Tuesday that the order was served on Dec. 16.
The two men were also instructed by Justice Lema to remove all published material that refer to Mr. Edmonstone within five days of receiving the order. Some podcast episodes that were explicitly identified in the court application are no longer promoted on the two men’s X accounts.
However, other podcasts remained online. For example, one episode that was still posted on Tuesday afternoon featured Mr. Wallace speaking directly to Mr. Edmonstone: “Sandy, you’ll be in jail or disgraced.”
Mr. Wallace has made allusions to having financial backers who he has not identified.
“I do have employers. I do. And those are people with the financial interest to make sure that the truth, the truth, no matter which way it cut, came out,” he said on Oct. 19.
On Oct. 24, he added that “I’m getting paid. I have three employers.”
In his application to the court, Mr. Edmonstone said the order he was seeking was necessary to unmask the “unnamed person or persons” funding the podcasts who he alleged “have financial interests” in the health procurement controversy.
The work of the two podcasters was mentioned in the Alberta legislature in November.
On Nov. 19, Mr. Guthrie, one of the people attacked by the podcasters, raised a point of order to complain that during question period Ms. Smith had responded to his queries by repeating an insult used against him by Mr. Wallace.
“This was from a podcast with virtually no audience which has been publishing serious threats and baseless accusations against myself; Athana Mentzelopoulos, the former CEO of AHS; and journalist Carrie Tait,” Mr. Guthrie said in the legislature.
“It is an extremely disturbing and well-funded operation. What is more troubling is that the Premier of Alberta has repeated talking points that originated from this source. I find it astonishing that the Premier would lend credence to an outlet that traffics in harassment and intimidation.”
At the request of Speaker Ric McIver, the government’s deputy house leader, Dan Williams, withdrew the remarks and apologized on behalf of the Premier.
In July, when Ms. Smith was asked about the podcasters targeting Ms. Tait, the Premier said, “I condemn it.”
With additional reporting by Jana Pruden and Stephanie Chambers.