An Alberta Court of King’s Bench judge has ordered the provincial government and Alberta Health Services to produce additional records in former AHS chief executive Athana Mentzelopoulos’s $1.7-million wrongful dismissal lawsuit.
Justice Michael Lema issued the ruling on Oct. 2 and set a Nov. 2 deadline for the defendants to provide records the court found had not been adequately produced, including email attachments, meeting minutes and documents referred to in other disclosed material.
The ruling does not decide the lawsuit itself. It deals with what records must be exchanged before the case moves further.
What the judge ordered
Mentzelopoulos’s lawyers argued that the records disclosed so far contained gaps and deficiencies. AHS and the Alberta government maintained that they had already produced the relevant material and argued that her lawyers were seeking documents that might not exist.
Lema largely sided with Mentzelopoulos on the production dispute.
According to published reports of the ruling, the order requires AHS and the government to:
- produce missing email attachments, meeting minutes and documents referenced in other records;
- explain redactions applied to some records or remove them; and
- complete that work by Nov. 2.
The judge also awarded Mentzelopoulos costs on the application.
Two issues remain unresolved. The court has not yet decided whether drafts and document metadata must also be produced. Lema also invited further arguments about records connected to Mentzelopoulos’s job performance.
Why performance records may matter
The government and AHS say Mentzelopoulos was dismissed because of poor performance and because she was not carrying out the government’s health-system restructuring as required.
Mentzelopoulos disputes that account.
Lema said those performance allegations raise a related question: whether concerns about her work were documented and whether she was warned that her position was at risk.
The judge invited both sides to make submissions on whether records showing performance concerns, expectations for improvement or warnings about possible dismissal should be disclosed.
That issue has not yet been decided.
A second document ruling in two weeks
The Oct. 2 decision follows another records ruling in the same lawsuit.
In late September, Lema ruled that 46 documents retained by Mentzelopoulos after her dismissal were legally privileged and that other records were confidential. She was ordered to return or destroy those documents and not use them without the court’s permission.
Her lawyers had argued that she kept some of the records in case she needed to act as a whistleblower about government procurement. The judge rejected that argument, relying largely on the terms of her employment agreement and concluding that the proper route for obtaining records was through the court process.
The newer Oct. 2 ruling deals with that disclosure process from the other direction: what AHS and the government must provide to Mentzelopoulos.
How the lawsuit began
Mentzelopoulos was dismissed as president and CEO of Alberta Health Services in January 2025, about one year into a four-year contract. She filed a $1.7-million wrongful dismissal lawsuit the following month.
Her statement of claim alleges she was dismissed after refusing to end an internal review of AHS contracts involving private surgical providers and medical suppliers. She also alleges pressure from then-health minister Adriana LaGrange and staff in the premier’s office.
Premier Danielle Smith is not a defendant in the lawsuit.
The Alberta government and AHS deny wrongdoing. Their defence says Mentzelopoulos was dismissed because of performance concerns and because she was not carrying out the government’s health-care restructuring.
None of those allegations has been proven at trial.
The claims have also led to separate reviews or investigations involving the RCMP, Alberta’s auditor general and retired Manitoba judge Raymond Wyant, who was retained by the province.
Mentzelopoulos is also seeking a partial summary ruling
Separate from the document dispute, Mentzelopoulos has asked the court for partial summary judgment on part of her wrongful dismissal claim.
She argues that then-deputy health minister Andre Tremblay did not have authority under her contract to terminate her employment.
The government disputes that position and has said it will oppose the application.
No final ruling has been made on that issue.
What happens next
The next firm deadline is Nov. 2, when AHS and the government are required to produce the records covered by Lema’s order and either justify or remove disputed redactions.
Further arguments are also expected over performance-related records, drafts and metadata.
It is not yet known whether either defendant will appeal the Oct. 2 order, seek more time or whether the additional records will materially affect the underlying lawsuit.
AB Post has not reviewed the written decision itself. This report is based on published accounts of the ruling and the publicly reported positions of the parties.
Sources: Edmonton Journal; CBC News; The Canadian Press; previously filed court materials and public statements from the parties.
