Latest news with #AthanaMentzelopoulos
CTV News
3 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
‘I'm letting the process play out': Alberta premier defends extending deadline for third-party report into AHS procurement process
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announces proposed changes to several pieces of democratic process legislation, in Edmonton on Tuesday April 29, 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson) Alberta Premier Danielle Smith defended the extension of delivery of a judge's third-party investigation into a controversy surrounding Alberta Health Services procurement processes. Manitoba provincial court judge Raymond Wyant was originally expected to submit an interim report to the province on Friday, followed by a full report next month. Deputy Minister of jobs Chris McPherson said Wyant needed more time due to the volume of documents. He is now expected to deliver his interim report in September, with the final report coming in mid-October. The allegations stem from a wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed by Athana Mentzelopoulos, the former head of Alberta Health Services, who claims individuals in high government places interfered in overpriced health deals for private companies while she was on the job. The allegations have not been tested in court. Saturday morning, on her radio show Your Province, Your Premier, Smith defended the extension. 'There's lots of ways to do a public enquiry,' Smith said. 'We hired a judge to get all the information and to give us a report so that is what we're doing,' she added. 'The judge has said he got thousands of pages of documents and he needs to interview several people in relation to what he's learned. 'And he just asked for more time of the deputy minister who's responsible for this,' she said, 'so we've always said if he needed more time or more funding, that we'd accommodate that. 'So I think that's a demonstration that we're going to make sure the judge gets whatever they need to be able to give us a good report. 'I think they're planning now to have the report published online on Oct. 15, so we'll know in the fall.' Calls for Inquiry Smith has been criticized for not calling for an independent inquiry into the procurement controversy, but she said the government's approach is part of letting the process play out. 'If the judge comes back and says there's some criminal behaviour that took place, that someone in AHS acted in a criminal way to direct contracts to somebody inappropriately, that would probably be an indication (of the need to call an independent inquiry),' she said. 'But that is not what's happened,' she added. 'What we're actually hearing so far is that the processes were followed internally,' she said, continuing. 'In fact, two of the reports that the former CEO (Mentzelopoulos) commissioned said that there was no reason for them not to extend the contract with ASG and that's why it was extended. 'I would say that I'm going to keep an open mind,' she said. 'Part of the reason why we're going through (the judge's investigation) is there's been a lot of slander, been a lot of defamation, a lot of rumours and gossip and false allegations and that the point is, you have to be able to make sure somebody is able to look at the full evidence and say this is true, this is not – and this is what you should do. 'So I'm letting the process play out.' On Friday, Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi called out the government for not producing the report when it said it would. 'For months, we've been calling for an independent, public inquiry into the CorruptCare scandal,' said Nenshi, in a media release. 'Every step of the way, the minister dismissed those calls and claimed we didn't need one because he'd release Justice Wyant's findings to the public. 'Well, he's out of excuses,' Nenshi added. 'Where's the report?' With files from The Canadian Press
CTV News
17-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
‘The problem is the patient experience': Smith overhauls Alberta health portfolio
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, right, and Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange provide an update on what steps the government is taking related to allegations by former Alberta Health Services CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos, in Calgary, Alta., Wednesday, Feb. 19, CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)
CTV News
17-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Alberta premier's former chief of staff suing fired health CEO, news outlet
An Alberta Health Services sign can be seen in this undated file photo. (File) Edmonton — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's former chief of staff is suing the fired CEO of the province's front-line health agency and the newspaper that first reported allegations of corruption in multimillion-dollar health contracts. Marshall Smith has filed a statement of claim alleging defamation against former Alberta Health Services head Athana Mentzelopoulos, the Globe and Mail, and an unidentified person believed to be a former AHS board member. It comes after Mentzelopoulos, in her own lawsuit filed in February, alleged high-ranking health ministry staff, as well as Marshall Smith, pressured her to sign off on contracts for private surgical facilities despite concerns over high costs and who was benefiting. Her suit alleges she found potential conflicts of interest and was wrongfully fired for looking into questionable deals. The allegations have sparked an RCMP investigation, a government review led by a former Manitoba judge, and a probe into health-care procurement by Alberta's auditor general. Smith's statement of claim, filed in court Wednesday, says allegations about him in the Mentzelopoulos lawsuit are 'gratuitous, irrelevant and are unnecessary,' and because he's not named as a defendant he can't respond to them or provide a statement of defence. His lawsuit alleges false statements from Mentzelopolous and published in the Globe paint him 'in the worst possible light,' including the suggestion he's a 'bully' or involved in criminal activity. The document says he was not involved in the bidding, negotiation, selection, procurement or awarding of contracts to surgical facilities. 'Smith made no threats, or innuendo of threats to Mentzelopoulos, had no power to direct Mentzelopoulos, and did not attempt to advance the interests of these private parties, other than to seek answers as to the status of their contracts,' the lawsuit says. It also refers to a Jan. 20 letter from a lawyer for Mentzelopoulos to AHS, which was the subject of a Globe article. Smith's lawsuit alleges the letter was shared with the newspaper by someone believed to be on the AHS board and is liable for damages. Smith's lawsuit further alleges damage caused by Mentzelopoulos and the Globe has resulted in emotional distress, stress, depression, anxiety, embarrassment, loss of reputation, humiliation and an inability to find work in his profession. He is seeking $12 million in damages. Smith previously said the Mentzelopoulos allegations are 'outrageous and false.' AHS and Health Minister Adriana LaGrange, who are named as defendants in the Mentzelopoulos lawsuit, have said in statements of defence that the former CEO was fired for failing to do her job and dragging her feet on much-needed health-care system reforms. None of the allegations in the lawsuits have been tested in court. Neither the Globe nor the lawyer for Mentzelopoulos immediately responded to requests for comment Friday. Marshall Smith's lawyer, Philip Prowse, said he has no further comment at this time as the lawsuit is before the courts. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025. Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press
CTV News
17-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Alberta premier's former chief of staff suing fired health CEO, news outlet
An Alberta Health Services sign can be seen in this undated file photo. (File) Edmonton — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's former chief of staff is suing the fired CEO of the province's front-line health agency and the newspaper that first reported allegations of corruption in multimillion-dollar health contracts. Marshall Smith has filed a statement of claim alleging defamation against former Alberta Health Services head Athana Mentzelopoulos, the Globe and Mail, and an unidentified person believed to be a former AHS board member. It comes after Mentzelopoulos, in her own lawsuit filed in February, alleged high-ranking health ministry staff, as well as Marshall Smith, pressured her to sign off on contracts for private surgical facilities despite concerns over high costs and who was benefiting. Her suit alleges she found potential conflicts of interest and was wrongfully fired for looking into questionable deals. The allegations have sparked an RCMP investigation, a government review led by a former Manitoba judge, and a probe into health-care procurement by Alberta's auditor general. Smith's statement of claim, filed in court Wednesday, says allegations about him in the Mentzelopoulos lawsuit are 'gratuitous, irrelevant and are unnecessary,' and because he's not named as a defendant he can't respond to them or provide a statement of defence. His lawsuit alleges false statements from Mentzelopolous and published in the Globe paint him 'in the worst possible light,' including the suggestion he's a 'bully' or involved in criminal activity. The document says he was not involved in the bidding, negotiation, selection, procurement or awarding of contracts to surgical facilities. 'Smith made no threats, or innuendo of threats to Mentzelopoulos, had no power to direct Mentzelopoulos, and did not attempt to advance the interests of these private parties, other than to seek answers as to the status of their contracts,' the lawsuit says. It also refers to a Jan. 20 letter from a lawyer for Mentzelopoulos to AHS, which was the subject of a Globe article. Smith's lawsuit alleges the letter was shared with the newspaper by someone believed to be on the AHS board and is liable for damages. Smith's lawsuit further alleges damage caused by Mentzelopoulos and the Globe has resulted in emotional distress, stress, depression, anxiety, embarrassment, loss of reputation, humiliation and an inability to find work in his profession. He is seeking $12 million in damages. Smith previously said the Mentzelopoulos allegations are 'outrageous and false.' AHS and Health Minister Adriana LaGrange, who are named as defendants in the Mentzelopoulos lawsuit, have said in statements of defence that the former CEO was fired for failing to do her job and dragging her feet on much-needed health-care system reforms. None of the allegations in the lawsuits have been tested in court. Neither the Globe nor the lawyer for Mentzelopoulos immediately responded to requests for comment Friday. Marshall Smith's lawyer, Philip Prowse, said he has no further comment at this time as the lawsuit is before the courts. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025. Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press
CBC
16-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Alberta premier's former top aide files lawsuit against ex-AHS CEO, newspaper and journalist
The former chief of staff to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has launched a multi-million-dollar defamation lawsuit against the former head of Alberta Health Services, along with the Globe and Mail newspaper and one of its reporters. Marshall Smith, who resigned as Danielle Smith's chief of staff in the fall and is not related to her, filed a statement of claim in the Edmonton Court of King's Bench on Wednesday afternoon. The lawsuit names Athana Mentzelopoulos, the former president and CEO of AHS, the newspaper, its Calgary reporter Carrie Tait, and an unnamed man who is believed to be a former board member for the health authority. Smith, who lives in Calgary, was the premier's top aide until Oct. 31. The premier said on social media that he told her in early 2024 that he had decided to retire from public service. Smith's statement of claim alleges the newspaper defamed him in a February story about Mentzelopoulos's termination written by Tait. The story refers to a letter, sent from Mentzelopoulos's lawyer to AHS's interim general counsel, that alleges she was fired in January because she launched an investigation and forensic audit into AHS contracts and deals with private surgical companies. Mentzelopoulos's wrongful dismissal suit Mentzelopoulos is suing the province for wrongful dismissal, alleging she was terminated in part because she had started investigating contracts and deals she determined were overpriced and linked to government officials. AHS and Adriana LaGrange — the former minister of health who on Friday became the new minister of primary and preventative health services — have denied Mentzelopoulos's claims in statements of defence that allege she was fired due to her job performance. The province has appointed a former chief judge from Manitoba to conduct a third-party investigation into procurement. The auditor general and Alberta RCMP are also investigating the matter. None of the allegations, including Marshall Smith's claims this week, have been proven in court. Smith's new lawsuit Smith alleges in his statement of claim that the letter and the Globe's February story that referred to it contained false and defamatory statements about him. These included allegations that he pressured Mentzelopoulos to sign off on commitments for new chartered surgical facilities and appeared to be making calls on behalf of private organizations. Smith claims the letter, or a copy of it, was given to the newspaper by someone he believes was on the AHS board. Smith also alleges that Mentzelopoulos made false statements about him in court documents filed as part of her lawsuit against LaGrange and AHS. He said defamatory statements made by Mentzelopoulos and the Globe painted him in "the worst possible light." He said he has since lost income, suffered emotional distress, stress, depression, anxiety, embarrassment, loss of reputation, humiliation and an inability to find work in his profession. Smith claims Mentzelopoulos mischaracterized and cherry-picked pieces of conversations with him to try to make it look like he was acting improperly during the procurement process for private surgical facilities. The former chief of staff said in his claim that he asked about the status of contracts but was not involved in chartered surgical facilities' bidding, negotiation or procurement processes and did not try to advance the interests of private parties. He is seeking $12 million in damages from Mentzelopoulos, the Globe and Mail and Tait, plus an injunction directing the newspaper to remove the article from its website. Smith's lawyer, Philip Prowse, said his client has no further comment on the matter as it is before the courts.
