Court proceedings continue in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit involving the former head of Alberta Health Services. (Photo: Pattison Media)

By Canadian Press

Health agency head rebuts Alberta government’s defence in wrongful dismissal lawsuit

Mar 21, 2025 | 8:50 AM

The former head of Alberta Health Services says arguments by the province that she was fired for incompetence are not only false, but also “vindictive and malicious.”

A court filing from Athana Mentzelopoulos alleges she was actually praised by Health Minister Adriana LaGrange.

Mentzelopoulos is suing LaGrange and AHS, alleging she was illegally fired in January to stop her from investigating sweetheart deals and high-level political interference in multimillion-dollar health procurement contracts.

She was fired one year into a four-year contract and is seeking $1.7 million in lost wages and damages.

LaGrange and AHS, in statements of defence last week, allege they had no choice but to fire Mentzelopoulos because she was stonewalling critical health reforms while pursuing a fantasy investigation that turned up nothing.

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The allegations have yet to be tested in court, and the province, the auditor general and the RCMP are all pursuing separate investigations into the claims by Mentzelopoulos.

Naheed Nenshi, Leader of the Alberta New Democrats (NDP), issued a statement in response to the new information outlined in Mentzelopoulos’s response.

1. Dismiss Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange.
2. Hand over all documents to the RCMP and Alberta’s Auditor General.
3. Call a fully independent, judicial-led public inquiry.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2025.

With files from rdnewsNOW.

(The Canadian Press)

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