Dr. Cowell's pricey ride 'all within government policy,' Copping says

Dr. John Cowell, Danielle Smith's AHS administrator, expensed a $1,400 sedan ride on the day of Alberta's Throne Speech, but the health minister says he never stopped working.

Alberta's health minister says Dr. John Cowell's expensive road trip from Calgary to the legislature – paid for by taxpayers – allowed him to continue his work to fix the province's health-care system.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Cowell, who was chosen at the top administrator for Alberta Health Services (AHS) by Premier Danielle Smith, expensed a round-trip car ride from his home to Edmonton on Nov. 29, 2022.

According to the expense report filed on Dec. 1, 2022, which is publicly available on the AHS website, the trip using a Calgary-based company cost $1,404.

That cost included a 20 per cent gratuity of $234.

When asked about the surprising bill, Health Minister Jason Copping said Cowell followed the right guidelines as laid out by government policy.

He also said Cowell was on the clock during the 13-hour trip.

"I fully appreciate that that looks costly," he told the media in Calgary on Friday. "But, again, we hired Dr. Cowell to come in (and) drive changes faster through our health-care system, through AHS.

"The choice was made, and this is all within government policy, to hire a car so you can actually do work in the car – take calls, use confidential documents, do a bunch of meetings in-depth, including with me."

Copping says the $1,404 price tag, which allowed Cowell to drive to and from Edmonton in the same day, was "comparable" to the cumulative cost of flying and staying in a hotel.

He says Cowell's work is essential to improving Alberta's health-care system and there is already positive change happening.

"I was very pleased – earlier this week, we did the 90-day report and change is happening," Copping said. "We've stabilized the system, we have wait times coming down and we're continuing to drive forward."

As for future trips, Copping says he and Cowell strive to limit the amount of necessary travel, but with the work that needs to be done, there will be associated costs.

"We need Dr. Cowell and the whole team focused on delivering results for AHS and Alberta Health and they're doing that."