Judge orders Alberta Health Services to produce records in Mentzelopoulos case

A Court of King's Bench judge has ordered Alberta Health Services and the provincial government to produce missing records in the wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed by former AHS executive Athana Mentzelopoulos.

Justice Michael Lema issued the ruling Friday, requiring both defendants to file the missing materials by November 2. The judge also awarded Mentzelopoulos costs in the dispute.

Mentzelopoulos filed a $1.7-million lawsuit in February 2025 claiming the government fired her to stop her inquiries into conflicts of interest and questionable terms in AHS contracts for privately-run surgical facilities. AHS has stated it terminated her because she wasn't fulfilling her duties.

The core issue before the court is whether AHS had the contractual power to dismiss Mentzelopoulos without cause. While AHS initially argued just cause was not an issue in the termination, the company later pleaded in its amended statement of defence that it had "explicitly or at least implicitly" pleaded just cause, citing loss of confidence in her ability to do the job.

Lema ruled that by making just cause allegations, AHS put Mentzelopoulos' performance in issue, meaning relevant records on that performance must be disclosed. "The very making of the just cause allegations, when AHS had and used the power to dismiss the plaintiff without cause, puts her performance in issue," Lema wrote.

Brett Code, Mentzelopoulos' lawyer, called the ruling "very important." Code said that once the documents are produced, "it will be clear that all of the negative performance allegations and the pejorative criticisms of Athana were not just incorrect, but false." He added that while the government will continue to deny the allegations, "once all the records are produced, it will be clear that what she has been saying is true."

Munaf Mohamed, the government's lawyer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Lema previously characterized the document dispute as a "tug-of-war" between the two camps.