Alberta Health Services calls wrongful dismissal suit filed by former CEO ‘groundless and vexatious’

Alberta Health Services has responded to the wrongful dismissal suit filed by their former CEO, Athana Mentzelopoulos, stating that the allegations are baseless and an attempt to extort a larger severance payment. In a statement of defence filed in Edmonton’s Court of King’s Bench, the provincial health agency cited that Mentzelopoulos was terminated due to her failure to fulfill her duties.

Mentzelopoulos, a former Alberta government employee who previously served as deputy minister of finance, filed the lawsuit against AHS and Health Minister Adriana LaGrange last month. She claims that she was fired just two days before a scheduled meeting with Alberta’s auditor general regarding surgical contracts that she believed were connected to government officials.

The former CEO alleges that her termination was linked to her initiation of an investigation and forensic audit into the prices of surgical contracts, including concerns about conflicts of interest in procurement practices. She also expanded the investigation to include AHS’s procurement with medical supply company MHCare, which secured a $70-million contract to import children’s pain medication from Turkey during a national drug shortage. However, much of the medication was never delivered, and the majority of the product remains unused and stored by AHS.

Mentzelopoulos further claims that AHS board members were troubled by her potential conflict of interest findings and recommended that she take her findings to the RCMP. Shortly after, she alleges that a government official instructed her to terminate her investigation and transfer all information about contracting to Alberta Health.

In response, AHS stated in their statement of defence that they had lost confidence in Mentzelopoulos’s abilities. They alleged that she displayed an “alarming lack of strategic vision” that hindered necessary reforms and progress within the organization. Despite being hired in December 2023 to lead the transition of AHS into four new entities as part of a government restructuring plan, AHS claims that Mentzelopoulos was ineffective in her role.

The statement of defence also refuted claims of government interference in the termination of Mentzelopoulos’s employment, denying that the health minister demanded her firing or that the board refused any such demand. Health Minister Adriana LaGrange also denied the allegations against the provincial government, stating that Mentzelopoulos was resistant to implementing the government’s restructuring plan and was overly focused on internal investigations.

The Alberta RCMP and auditor general are currently investigating the allegations, with the province appointing a former chief judge to lead a third-party investigation into AHS and Alberta Health’s procurement practices. Mentzelopoulos is seeking a $1.7-million settlement, while AHS and LaGrange are requesting the lawsuit to be dismissed and for the plaintiff to cover all legal costs.