After more than a year of litigation, former AHS CEO’s wrongful dismissal lawsuit has much to sort out

Last week, during a lunch break as part of what has become an expansive and complicated legal process, the former CEO of Alberta Health Services was asked by a reporter whether she imagined being at this stage when she launched her wrongful dismissal suit in February 2025.

“No,” Athana Mentzelopoulos answered simply.

Civil cases, especially complex ones, can take years to weave through the legal system. Mentzelopoulos’ $1.7-million suit for wrongful dismissal against Alberta Health Services and the provincial government was initially filed in February 2025.

But fourteen months later, many Albertans may wonder about the status of the high-profile case to date. Legal battles over alleged harassment and over alleged privileged records have seen the process evolve in ways Mentzelopoulos did not expect.

In the original suit, Mentzelopoulos alleged she was fired after she launched an investigation into various contracts and AHS procurement processes. In its statement of defence, AHS said it terminated Mentzelopoulos because she wasn’t fulfilling her duties.

None of the allegations have been tested in court.

Several investigations have also emerged out of the allegations, including one the government commissioned from retired Manitoba judge Raymond Wyant.

In his report, Wyant said he found no government official engaged in wrongdoing, but also said he couldn’t say anything definitive given the limited powers he was afforded. He also said there were “real or perceived” conflicts of interest with some contracts. 

The allegations have also led to a forthcoming auditor general’s report and an RCMP criminal investigation.

Alberta’s procurement controversy explained

Among the issues still to be sorted out in civil court is a legal battle tied to a series of documents.

After filing its statement of defence, AHS said it had learned Mentzelopoulos sent nine emails from her AHS account to her personal email account the day before her firing “containing privileged and confidential and business records obtained in the course of her employment.”

“The confidential information includes privileged information and legal advice which privilege belongs to AHS and the defendant and has not been waived,” reads a March 2025 application.

Mentzelopoulos’ lawyers have argued in legal filings it was necessary to do so, citing her concerns that the government would pressure the AHS board to terminate her in an effort to shut down investigations into chartered surgical facilities.

“Therefore, she forwarded some of the emails to her personal email account on January 7, 2025, to help preserve potential evidence in anticipation of a possible auditor general investigation and potentially an RCMP investigation,” reads a filing from April 4, 2025.

One of Mentzelopoulos’ lawyers, Brett Code, wrote in an email to CBC News that Mentzelopoulos did not know she would be fired when she sent herself the emails.

What followed was months of back-and-forth over what was privileged, what wasn’t and whether the documents should be allowed to be used as part of the trial. 

In a March 2, 2026, filing Court of King’s Bench Justice Michael Lema wrote that Mentzelopoulos’ legal team didn’t dispute that if a document is ruled to be privileged or confidential, and if she is not permitted to use it, that it will have to be returned or destroyed.

Lema also ordered that the matter couldn’t be put on hold. In other words, the parties have to decide which documents are privileged before they can argue the wrongful dismissal trial.

There have been some developments in recent weeks, however.

In an attachment to a cover letter sent to Lema last October, Mentzelopoulos’ lawyers claim that lawyers representing the provincial government have argued her lawyers could be removed from the case if they review any of the documents the government claims are legally privileged. Mentzelopoulos’ lawyers have said they’ve never read the documents.

Given that dispute, Mentzelopoulos brought on a new lawyer, Sharon Roberts, on April 11. Roberts can review the documents to help the court decide whether they’re privileged and, if so, whether they can be used — “perhaps with the impugned docs under seal,” said Code.

“Those are all the issues that are going to be determined by independent counsel,” he said.

Witnesses will be cross-examined on affidavits, and once questioning is done, briefs can be written.

July 28 has been set as a date to hear arguments regarding the documents, Code said. 

A spokesperson for lawyers representing AHS said they were not able to provide comment. Lawyers for the provincial government did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Alberta Justice declined to comment, citing the matter being before the court.

Besides the privileged records matter, Lema will also need to address an alleged intimidation and harassment campaign that was back in court last week. That matter is on a separate track, and its resolution is not necessary for the wrongful dismissal suit to proceed, Code said. 

Mentzelopoulos and Sandy Edmonstone, a former Alberta Health Services board member, have alleged a campaign of harassment and intimidation from podcasters David Wallace and James DiFiore. 

Mentzelopoulos has asked for the two podcasters to be held in contempt of court.   

In court last week, the debate centred around the issuance of an “extraordinary” court order known as an Anton Piller order, which permits an unannounced search to seize evidence and prevent it from being destroyed.

Code said the application regarding Wallace and DiFiore will be held on May 25.

But any resolution to the broader questions posed in February 2025 appears to still be many steps and many months away.