Health Minister responds to AHS CEO wrongful dismissal claim

Min. LaGrange's statement of claim got one thing very right: Athana Mentzelopolous' was a much better read.

On January 8, 2025, former Alberta Health Services CEO Athana Mentzelopolous was fired by Andre Tremblay, then Deputy Minister of Health and AHS board member, but not Chair. Mr. Tremblay became AHS President and CEO that day, and then official administrator of AHS, answering to Minister LaGrange on January 31 after the Board was fired.

Before the end of the month, Ms. Mentzelopolous retained legal counsel and began working on a wrongful dismissal claim against AHS and Health Minister Adriana LaGrange, formally filed in February.

Ms. Mentzelopolous questioned the validity of her termination in her statement, as the Chair of the Board was absent from the zoom call. At the beginning of her statement of claim, Ms. Mentzelopolous stated that she was either (3a) employed by AHS, or b) the Government of Alberta after legislation around AHS changed on May 30, 2024 or, c) both AHS and Minister LaGrange after the legislation dated May 30, 2024.

The question around who her employer actually was seemed odd, and Min. LaGrange addressed this, noting with a snarky preamble that ended with “the plaintiff was never employed by the province,” (13) and “(p)ursuant to the Employment Agreement, the Plaintiff was employed only by AHS. The Province was not, nor did it ever become, a party to the Employment Agreement. The coming into force of the Provincial Health Agencies Act amendments on May 30, 2024, or any other date, did not alter the Plaintiff’s employment relationship or otherwise transform the Plaintiff into an employee of the Province.” (15)

This admission, and helpful clarification, in my non-legal but logical opinion, shines more of a light on who had the authority to terminate the contract with Ms. Mentzelopolous, which seems like an important question to be asking.

If Ms. Mentzelopolous was not ever, as Min. LaGrange asserts, an employee of the Government of Alberta, or the Minister of Health, I imagine it’s pretty hard to argue that the Deputy Minister of Health did, in fact, have the authority to terminate her contract.

I’d also argue that actions by the Ministry of Health afterwards support this.

Specifically, what was a seemingly unnecessary addition — since they’d fired the board 13 days prior — to AHS bylaws, at the direction of a ministerial order from Min. LaGrange that states: “the board [of AHS] shall not appoint any other individuals, other than the deputy minister of health, to serve as the interim president and chief executive officer of AHS during a winding-up period.”

Though the change was made on February 12, 2025, it was backdated to January 8, 2025, which suggests that the board did, at the time, maintain authority over the AHS CEO role and contract on the day Mr. Tremblay terminated her, and before he wrote himself into the role of CEO.

However, it was the meatier bits of Ms. Mentzelopolous’ claim that captivated political observers around the province.

The little scandal that could

For the current iteration of the governing party, Ms. Mentzelopolous’ allegations of political interference in AHS procurement processes and practices have been a thorn in their side. It’s also not been fantastic for a certain Edmonton-based oil and gas worker turned rockstar procurement middle-man who has managed to secure more than half a billion dollars in contracts over the past few years.

It’s this person’s part ownership of a chartered surgical facility company, Alberta Surgical Group, as well as his own company, MHCare Medical Corporation’s, fully paid, but, 19 months later, still unfulfilled contract — in addition to the political interference she alleges she was receiving on behalf of his interests specifically — that triggered Ms. Mentzelopolous’ investigation into potential irregularities in the procurement process at AHS.

Almost everyone tied to the Premier’s office whom Ms. Mentzelopolous alleged interference from, or claims to have spoken to regarding said interference, has been removed or relocated. People talk, though, and word spread among Deputy Ministers in the Alberta government.

According to their own admissions, the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions was alerted and he sought further information from Ms. Mentzelopolous. The Minister of Finance was not alerted, he says, though acknowledges he discovered his Deputy Minister had approached Ms. Mentzelopolous of her own accord at a “social engagement”, through media reporting.

At the centre of the allegations of political interference, is the Premier’s former Chief of Staff, Marshall Smith (no relation), who had been with the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions from 2019 until 2022, when he joined the Premier’s office.

Mr. Smith “left” in October, 2024, just days after Ms. Mentzelopolous claims she spoke with the Deputy Minister of Executive Council, Ray Gilmour, who “accepted” a position as interim CEO of Alberta Investment Management Corporation, AIMCo in November, 2024.

The former Assistant Deputy Minister of Executive Council, Chris McPherson, is now Deputy Minister of Jobs, Economy, and Trade.

He, along with Stephanie Clark, Deputy Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, are the Alberta government’s liaisons for the independent third-party investigation being conducted by former Chief Judge Raymond Wyant, which Mr. McPherson was tasked with commissioning before he left Executive Council.

The central allegations of political interference could have been finished at the same time Mr. Smith was. I say “could have” because that’s when things became dicey for the politicians involved.

The Opposition has been hammering away at contracts and procurement, keeping the focus on AHS where many decisions made before Adriana LaGrange became the Minister of Health, and Danielle Smith became premier. This has mostly worked out well for the governing party’s position, which is to keep the focus away from the Minister and Premier.

This scandal does have to do with procurement practices, but it’s more about someone who barreled onto the AHS scene as a professional middle-man — a redundant role, as it’s legitimately the function procurement staff are paid to do.

It does have to do with a contract that remained unfulfilled during Ms. Mentzelopolous’ tenure. Not written or approved during her or Min. LaGrange’s tenure, but one that remained unfulfilled more than 18 months after receiving a final payment for — allegedly — three more years of a totally different product in July of 2023.

And it does have to do with excessive payments going to a chartered surgical facility that same business person — who apparently forgot he was supposed to do something specific with $49.2 million — is associated with, and extending a contract for privately delivered services for an additional $15 million, when the same services were not being provided at the Royal Alexandra Hospital because ”AHS leadership” refused the $240,000 they were asking for to restart them.

As I said earlier in the week, much of this goes away when the government figures out how to help the outside procurement company procure the product they were paid for. And now, months, even more than a year later, and despite numerous requests from journalists keeping up with this story, the Premier says it’s totally been done for months.

At an unrelated presser, the Premier said that “the Ministry of Health has ‘assembled the paperwork’ and intends to release it to reporters”.

Fancy that.

Yes, Minister

The Minister’s statement of defence doesn’t seem to have been written to do anything other than create a new political narrative which was always going to be — in response to a wrongful dismissal claim — about competence.

And boy, did they let loose. There’s not just snarky phrasing; I can almost see where the anger-induced spittle marks should be on the page. It sounds like it was written by a prickish sort who cannot believe they have to answer to anyone.

It has vibes.

If Athana Mentzelopolous’ statement of claim was “full of political intrigue” that made readers lean in, this one is hopping mad and screaming loudly, but rather than hoping to find out more, you’re embarrassed just being in the vicinity.

A document purporting to be Ms. Mentzelopolous’ employment contract with AHS reads exactly like what you’d expect to read if she was hired to be CEO of AHS. It does not read as if she was to be dismantler in chief taking direction explicitly from the Minister of Health.

In fact, if this contract is what Ms. Mentzelopolous signed, her role was entirely mischaracterized in such a way as to be far worse for the defendents than Ms. Mentzelopolous. According to that document, the “Executive” reports to the board and takes direction from the board. The board, it seems, was to act as buffer between the CEO and the Ministry of Health.

It’s the complete lack of recognition of what Ms. Mentzelopolous was actually hired to do that makes me question its authenticity.

If Ms. Mentzelopolous’ statement of claim “weaves a story” of “much impropriety”, Min. LaGranges is fairly yelling “she didn’t listen to me!”

Remember, the only reason we were able to see any of this is through a claim of wrongful dismissal. That’s the only part that will be debated in the court; the rest is just window dressing.

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