. . . at Queen's Park, across Ontario and elsewhere.

* Allaudin Merali, a former top official at eHealth Ontario, has resigned a senior post at Alberta Health Services in Edmonton after troubles with his expenses in Ontario and in a previous job in Alberta became known.

Merali became chief financial officer and executive vice-president with Alberta Health Services last May. He resigned after it became known that he was previously a consultant at eHealth, where he charged taxpayers for flights, accommodations, meals and other perks to the tune of $76,000.

It also became known that prior to his eHealth job, he racked up more than $346,000 in expense claims during his tenure as chief financial officer of Edmonton’s former Capital Health region. Expenses he filed included a bill to taxpayers for almost $1,750 to fix his Mercedes car despite an annual salary of $487,000.

Opposition parties in Alberta are fuming, saying the Progressive Conservative government should have been aware of Merali’s history in Ontario when he was hired last May.

They are also angry because Merali is eligible for one year’s salary or $425,000 plus $63,750 to cover benefits after he quit as chief financial officer for Alberta Health Services.

Merali previously received $1 million in severance in 2008 after the reorganization of Alberta’s former health regions into Alberta Health Services. At the time he also received a $1.6-million retirement plan paid over 10 years.

Alberta Health Services has asked the province’s auditor general Merwan Saher to look into its expense policies.

“Clearly, there is an issue,” said Saher told the Edmonton Journal, adding he would have reviewed the policies even if he were not first requested to do so. “This is a red flag.”

* Belleville Councillor Jodie Jenkins has filed a motion that calls for a referendum on whether residents support a casino for the city.

* Natural Resources Minister Michael Gravelle said Tuesday that Ontario has joined the U.S.-based Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee to work with local and state governments in the U.S. to prevent Asian carp, a harmful aquatic invasive species, from entering the Great Lakes.

Gravelle said the decision to join ACRCC fits well within the Invasive Species Strategic Plan his ministry tabled on July 3, 2012.

"There is no question that Asian carp pose a significant risk to the province and the many industries that depend on our Great Lakes," Gravelle said. "We are making every effort, along with our partners, to address this threat aggressively and work together to safeguard our biodiversity."

* The Clean Train Coalition says it will outline the details of its legal challenge against Metrolinx at a press conference Wednesday morning. The coalition is challenging the decision from Metrolinx to allow deisel trains to operate between Union Station and Pearson airport.

CTC chair Rick Ciccarelli and legal counsel Saba Ahmad will release documents filed with the Ontario Divisional Court at 11 a.m. at the Toronto Railpath footbridge on Wallace Ave.

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