Alberta Health Services and the Alberta government must provide former agency chief executive Athana Mentzelopoulos with additional records in her $1.7-million wrongful dismissal lawsuit, after a Court of King’s Bench judge found shortcomings in their disclosure. Justice Michael Lema ordered the defendants to turn over email attachments, meeting minutes and documents cited in other records by Nov. 2. They must also explain why some material was redacted or remove those redactions.

Mentzelopoulos’s lawyers asked for the order last month, saying records supplied through the court disclosure process contained “gaps and deficiencies.” They noted that both AHS and the province had sworn under oath that they had no more materials relevant to the case. The defendants maintained that they had already disclosed all relevant records and accused the lawyers of taking a “fishing trip” for documents that might not exist.

In a ruling issued Friday, Lema largely sided with Mentzelopoulos on the requested records. Other categories, including drafts and metadata, are subject to future litigation. The ruling also leaves open whether records connected to her job performance and possible warnings about dismissal must be produced.

AHS and the government have argued in court filings that Mentzelopoulos was fired for poor performance and incompetence. Lema said those allegations raised the question of whether they had a duty to warn her that dismissal was possible, but he did not order production of such records at this stage.

“I may direct threshold production of records relating to a possible duty to warn e.g. identifying concerns and outlining expected improvements (including benchmarks and timing) and any warning of potential dismissal if performance did not improve,” Lema wrote.

He invited lawyers for all parties to make submissions about any performance-related records that could be disclosed. “These would potentially come from all entities or persons to whom she actually, effectively, or possibly reported or who otherwise had direct or indirect authority over her,” he stated.

“Such production, if ordered, may assist in deciding whether just cause is a plausible defence here and, if so, whether full performance-related production will be necessary.” The submissions could help determine whether more extensive records about her work are needed to assess the defendants’ position that there was just cause for dismissal.

Mentzelopoulos was terminated from her position as AHS president and chief executive officer in January 2025. She has sought partial summary dismissal, arguing that then-deputy health minister Andre Tremblay fired her without authority under the terms of her contract. Her lawyers have also argued there was no just cause to end her employment.

Friday’s decision followed a ruling last month in which Lema agreed with lawyers for AHS and the government that dozens of records Mentzelopoulos intended to rely on in part could not be used because they were privileged or confidential. The latest order addresses additional disclosure, while the status of drafts, metadata and any potential warning or performance documents remains unresolved.

Based on reporting by Edmonton Journal.