Fired Alberta Health Services Chief Executive Officer Athana Mentzelopoulos’s lawyers have filed her $1.7-million lawsuit alleging she was fired “capriciously, arbitrarily, and in bad faith because she was actually carrying out her duties for AHS” and now the stuff is really starting to hit the fan.
Some of Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s accusations are incendiary. She names names. And soon after her statement of claim was filed with the Court of King’s Bench early yesterday afternoon, it was in the hands of every major news organization in Alberta.
It’s very hard to see how Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party Government can distract Albertans from the Dodgy Contracts Scandal now.
If the UCP political brain trust thought the day before yesterday they could divert public attention by yelling at CUPE’s national leadership, they’re going to have to think again!
The Globe and Mail, the first media outfit to report Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s allegations that government officials close to the UCP were interfering with AHS procurement and contracting decisions on behalf private companies, is no longer the only news organization with the documentation needed to file a comprehensive report.
In addition to the Globe, The Canadian Press, the CBC and Postmedia all filed stories filled with significant allegations made in the statement of claim.
Among Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s most startling allegations, pulled from reports by the news media organizations noted above:
- She was warned by an AHS board member to “be very careful” and told she should be concerned about her safety “given some of the people potentially involved behind the scenes.”
- She was warned by Alberta Government Protective Services that some companies involved “would likely apply political pressure to have her terminated from AHS if she threatened their financial interests.”
- Government officials tried to get higher prices paid to private suppliers, both in excess of the prices paid to other private suppliers and internal AHS cost estimates.
- Alberta Surgical Group, a private Edmonton surgical clinic with its contract up for renewal, was expected to exceed its contract by almost $3.5 million in billings but wasn’t performing as many surgeries as required by its deal with AHS.
- Despite Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s concerns, Health Minister Adriana LaGrange issued a minister’s directive that took away AHS’s power to negotiate private surgery contracts, and set out rates for surgical clinics that were higher than in comparable contracts.
- After Ms. Mentzelopoulos was ordered to end her investigations into MHCare and private surgery clinics, “LaGrange met with the AHS board and demanded the directors fire the CEO.”
- When the Board refused, she was fired the next day by Andre Tremblay, the top civil servant in the Health Department, who was named interim CEO and Official Administrator of AHS after the board too was dismissed.
- That Marshall Smith, then the premier’s chief of staff, warned her that the folks running two surgical centres she was concerned about were “serious people – don’t mess with them.”
- In November, at a meeting about her internal investigations, Ms. LaGrange ordered her to “wind it up.”
There’s plenty more, and historians will no doubt one day be poring over the document, but this gives a sense of what’s now hitting the fan. Some of these allegations make health care procurement and contracting in Alberta in 2025 sound like something out of Chicago in 1925!
Of course, it’s important to remember that these are allegations made in a statement of claim. They haven’t been tested or proved in a court of law.
Moreover, when contacted by reporters, both Ms. LaGrange and Mr. Smith disputed the allegations made about them in Ms. Mentzelopoulos’s claim, and said they will soon file statements of defence.
Of course, Premier Danielle Smith – still in Washington D.C. supposedly focusing on U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff shakedown of Canada – will try to ensure there is never a real judge-led public inquiry into the truth of the allegations.
But that will be much harder to do now that so many explosive claims have been reported for all to see.
Shortly before the statement of claim was filed, Alberta NDP Deputy Leader Rakhi Pancholi and Health Critic Sarah Hoffman demanded that the premier reconvene the Legislature immediately so the issue can be addressed in public. “These allegations of corruption are unlike anything this province has ever seen.”
That’s unlikely to happen, but the next sitting of the Legislature is scheduled to take place on the afternoon of Feb. 25. One imagines it’ll be pretty feisty.
Yes, this Dodgy Contracts Scandal has legs – we could very well still be reading about it in 2026.
We’ve all known something like this was happening since 2019. The checks and balances are almost completely defunct in Alberta’s halls of power, but not quite.
Well the apparent threats don’t seem to have silenced the former AHS CEO yet, as the lawsuit has now been filed and has more interesting details than the lawyers letter.
LaGrange’s name seems to come up a lot here, enough so I can’t see her being around long. Mr. Smith of course has already been gone for a while. We’re not sure why but perhaps Premier Smith had an inkling of what was going on at AHS at some point and realized the political damage it could cause her.
Perhaps some of those dismissed AHS board members will have more to say, after all their reputations are on the line too. Or perhaps serious people not to be messed with will talk to them.
At some point Premier Smith might even realize an organized public inquiry may be better than this messy drip, drip, drip of damning things coming out on an ad hoc basis, which makes for great ongoing headlines, but not for her.
Chicago 1925 sounds about right. The mob bosses dissecting the territories, changing the names of the districts. Extortion, shakedowns, corruption, just another day.
Grifters will grift, and according to them, everybody has a price. No moral conscience, no remorse, just scheming on how to get out/around of the current roadblock, but already planning ahead for the next destination. This is just a temporary inconvenience.
Just like d’rump, when they literally told you & showed you who and what they are , don’t be surprised by what they are doing. Watching what is going on is like being transported back in time, and you’re thinking to yourself : “where is Elliott Ness when you need him” ?
And just to add salt to the wounds, two of the bosses are setting out agendas between themselves on how to make your life better. Easy peasy, right?
And just when you think you’ve reached the limit, another old boss steps back into the picture.
He’s been backing boss 2 all this time, but has come trying to persuade you that he’s actually on your side & has been all this time.
Canada– wake up to the fact that we are in an abusive relationship. He said things were going to be different, he said he’d changed, but behind your back, he’s laughing with his buddies. It is a con job.
Power mongers do not have limits .The insatiable need cannot be appeased until they burn themselves out and they don’t see or care about who or how many they step on to achieve the unreachable goal.
A wise man once said something about grasping for power was like grasping for willow whisps, always there, always within reach, yet always elusive….something like that.
———————-
And in case anyone missed it, he’s Baaaaak!!
First with a gung ho, Canadian pride, wave the flag…..
Then — the Toronto Star—Stephen Harper says Canada should accept any level of damage to fight back against Donald Trump .
And if I was still prime minister I would be prepared to impoverish the country and not be annexed if that was the option we’re facing.
Hmmm, different tune from July 16th in Milwaukee IDU/ ” It is fantastic to see that Republicans are firmly united behind president trump and his nominee vance . We wish them good luck in the general election campaign. ”
Gee, just in time for Skippy’s RSVP rally on Saturday, how coincidental. I’m guessing the rsvps weren’t going well, since they started doing the robocalls* to get people to come down. Rogers Centre Ottawa? The alien space ship building? Must be alien money paying for that as well, so much for hobnobbing with the common folk. Even more interesting to see if any MSM are going to be allowed in with the “Canadians and Conservatives alike …”
* Power &Politics mentioned it.
Not the first time Skippy has used robocalls, now has it, and having his old boss around must seem like old times to those two. Interesting times we live in.
Life certainly isn’t dull in 2025. It is becoming difficult if you want to keep on top of everything.
“serious people”, oh that does sound bad. What constitutes “serious people”. In B.C. you’re usually talking about the gangs who are in the drug or/and the extortion business. Of course there have been reports some foreign entities have “hired” gangs to “eliminate” those who have made them “unhappy”. Now of course no provincial government in this country would do that, would they? Just asking. Inquiring minds would like to know what is going on. We have the Musk/Trump cabal south of the border who seem to breaking a lot of rules and given Ms. Smith does seem to have some sort of relationship with them, perhaps she has picked up some bad habits. (well she did to go the coronation of trump and two cabinet ministers went to Texas, which did seem weird to me) Thank you the post.
Marlain-a-Lago might have to testify before an independent judicial inquiry before this is over. Hard to lie your way out of that one Stormy Danielle. Lagrange too, but she hardly seems the mastermind type. I hope the RCMP can do a proper investigation in less than 5 years, but I’m not holding my breath. Maybe they should pause admiring their shiny new helicopters at photo-ops for awhile and get to work.
It will be very interesting to see where all the money went (if they can find it). There’s no way this level of corruption comes from just a few luxury suites for playoff hockey games.
PS: Don’t underestimate Ms. LaGrange. She has the vibe of a rather dull church lady, but she is smart and knows how to swim with the sharks. The UCP obviously misjudged seriously when they decided they could publicly humiliate Ms. Mentzelopoulos and toss her over the side, and they would be making the same mistake if they thought they could get away with humiliating Ms. LaGrange. DJC
Very interested to hear you say she is smart, as I was certainly fooled by the exterior appearance. The word that sprung to mind was one of my dad’s favourite Scots dialect words: Glaikit *
* He would almost certainly have described Poilievre as “a glaikit wee nyaff”
Great reporting. This govt has to be held accountable and many step down
What hubris! All the UCP had to do was pay the remainder of the contract and have her sign a Non Disclosure Agreement, yet that was beyond them.
The UCP absolutely will cave on this lawsuit. I am confident that the contract will be paid out in full.
The very last thing the UCP will want is to have people testify at Discovery. Or worse…in open court.
Tony Soprano would be very proud of the UCP, if he weren’t fictional and dead.
Ms. Premier bring out the playback… Trudeau must have something to do with this!
Uh oh.. the “Trudeau Default Red Herring” coming up!!
I suspect that there will be a great deal more information leaking out to the press from various internal and external sources over the next few week.
Not knowing what other confidential information will soon make it’s way to the public domain has got to be a huge concern to the UCP team and to their strategy.
The UCP nightmare is no doubt an RCMP investigation and/or an independent judicial enquiry.
The silence from the UCP is deafening.
This is it – this is why we should never even entertain the idea of private, for profit, healthcare. The greed and potential for massive corruption, never mind the lack of accessibility for those unable to afford private care, should consign this model to the dustbin forever.
The owners of these private healthcare businesses have gained access in some way to government contracts, and they will be ruthless in pursuing their goals of maximizing huge profits.
We have further proof of its private healthcare inefficiency in the U.S.. It only works for the rich.
In this province, we have seen over the decades what happens when small time, small brained politicians take on some of the most savvy and cutthroat people in the world. Albertans get a relative pittance, while the companies (and CEO’s) have made trillions. We now have petty incompetents, who for the price of a hockey ticket, are blowing up our system.
Alberta’s population has tripled since Lougheed came to power in 1971. Has the number of hospitals tripled? No. Have we tripled the number of healthcare workers? Instead, we get mediocrities like Smith and Lagrange micromanaging and playing childish power games.
I long for politicians who value simplicity, competence, and integrity. How naive am I?
Is it naive? Or is it a principled statement of what should be the minimum requirement of government. Conservatives generally believe that no government can be run efficiently or for the benefit of society, a belief they prove again and again through their actions when asked to form a government.
I believe, given Premier Smith’s lack of understanding of constitutional government, that neither she nor the members of cabinet have any grasp of the convention of responsible government. That members of government have been accused of/linked to legal, ethical, and moral violations in the performance of their duties demands a public inquiry, free of just the kind of influence and interference they have already been accused of. Certain Ministers should step away from their cabinet posts, not because they are forced out, sacrificed by the Premier to save herself. They should resign out of sense of duty and honour. They should take responsibility. Or does that sound naive?
Despite Minister LaGrange’s words of bravado, I wouldn’t be surprised if the UCP tries to settle the wrongful dismissal suit quickly and quietly. Although it’s likely a little too late to hope for the “quietly” part.
As a healthcare provider, I appreciate your efforts Mr Climenhaga and that of other reporters on this story. This isn’t only about the greed of the for profit operators, it’s about the deterioration of a public system deprived of resources for 30+ years.
Now I’d like to see a deeper dive into those contracts and the poison pills the UCP have been alleged to load them with, to make cancelling them a political nightmare for any right thinking government. While we’re at it, perhaps a cost/access analysis of the for profit vs not for profit delivery of services, undertaken by the Auditor General. Us taxpayers have a right to know.
Keep up the good work!
Thank you, Regan. Like you, I am astonished the UCP didn’t just pay her off. Ms. Mentzelopoulos was, after all, at one point Deputy Minister of Special Projects (Executive Council) – a position that would have required her, ex officio, to know where all the bodies are buried. DJC
Considering most members of the UCP caucus are professedly devout Christians, we can be assured that they’ll consult their conscience and their Bible – and do the right thing. Perhaps they’ll begin their soul-searching with Proverbs 16:18. And then move on to the Ten Commandments, especially ‘thou shalt not steal’ and ‘thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour’ (aka, thou shalt not lie).
Or are they really Corporate Christians after all? If they do and say nothing about the Dodgy Contracts Scandal, we’ll know the truth. Luke 12:2. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.
Hippie: I was just thinking this morning that this is truly a Proverbs 16:18 type case. An haughty spirit will get you in trouble every time. DJC
I am not supposed to judge, but more apt, Ye shall know them by their fruits.
Matthew 7:16-20
Draw your own conclusions given the produce of the UCP.
Some of these allegations now look criminal. Indeed, Global News is now reporting the RCMP is reviewing.
It will take a while no doubt to examine these “serious people” and their doings.
This isn’t going to go away very easily, and there are definitely many players involved, including Danielle Smith. It was also known for quite some time, and Postmedia scribes said nothing, until recently. Since Danielle Smith is the premier, how could she not be aware of what has been going on? It’s like anyone who was in a management capacity. How would they not know what’s going on in the organization they are involved with? Given how ugly this saga is, Danielle Smith won’t walk away from this unscathed.
From day one the Reform Party Mandate has always been about privatized healthcare and education systems just like the former conservative MLAs taught me. Don’t let them do it was their cry. It’s why Canadians weren’t dumb enough to elect Reformer Preston Manning as prime ministers. They have been trying to do it in Alberta since the Klein days . MLAs I knew figured his plan was to create a nightmare in the healthcare system by closing hospital, closing 1,500 hospital beds and cutting 5,000 nursing positions and he did and it did create a disaster. Instead of begging for a privatized system to fix the mess he deliberately created, like he expected, they kicked out. Yet it didn’t stop these mindless Albertans from electing future Reformers like Jason Kenney and Danielle Smith. The fact that she was constantly praising Klein for what he had done to us should have been their first clue for not electing her, shouldn’t it have been? But that’s how stupid they are. What’s it going to cost taxpayers to get out of this Coal Mining and Healthcare Farce that these fools have created. Add that to an $85 billion debt, $260 billion oil well cleanup mess they are responsible for creating, and as oilmen point out there is no other oil rich area in the world that’s in the financial mess we are in, is there? Who do we blame stupid Albertans for allowing it to happen, don’t you?
So who are the “serious people” behind the private surgery clinics ? Because to me “serious people” is what people say when they don’t want to say “organized crime”, could be Mr Smith has a different working definition of the phrase but it’s not like those people don’t exist in Edmonton. How deep does this rabbit hole go !?
A new telegram channel: Alberta against the UCP DJC your article posted today. Great writing, many thanks.
The sound of document shredding/delete button clicking will be deafening.
There are Albertans who think Smith and the UCP are looking out for their best interests and then there are Albertans who think.
What role, or involvement, did the previous Health Minister have in all this? I’m referring to Jason Copping, of course. I believe the fake Tylenol incident happened under his watch. At the very least, he should be questioned or subpoenaed.
At one point smith said she knew nothing about it happening. In another statement, she says they have been looking into it for 8 months. Why look into if you know nothing is wrong.
She also claims the firing was due to the restructuring of the ahs, if so, why not give layoff notice if you know the change is coming.