A choose has granted Alberta’s authorities its request to query the previous head of the provincial well being authority about confidential emails she is accused of holding and sharing with out permission.
A choose has granted Alberta’s authorities its request to query the previous head of the provincial well being authority about confidential emails she is accused of holding and sharing with out permission, together with to media.
The federal government’s request was made final month when it filed for an injunction within the high-profile lawsuit launched by Athana Mentzelopoulos, the previous chief govt of Alberta Health Services..
Mentzelopoulos is suing the federal government and AHS for wrongful dismissal, alleging she was illegally fired in January to cease her from investigating sweetheart offers and political interference in multimillion-dollar well being procurement contracts.
The province and AHS have denied that declare and any wrongdoing, arguing as an alternative that Mentzelopoulos was fired for poor job efficiency and for stalling mandated well being reform.
Allegations from all sides have but to be examined in court docket.
Final month’s injunction utility got here after well being authority officers found that Mentzelopoulos forwarded practically a dozen emails containing confidential info associated to allegations she has made to a private e-mail tackle the day earlier than she was fired.
The province is looking for a court docket order to have the emails be returned, have Mentzelopoulos disclose who she shared the knowledge with, and stop her from utilizing the emails as proof in court docket.
A written resolution from Court docket of King’s Bench Justice Debra Yungwirth final week says authorities legal professionals can query Mentzelopoulos in regards to the emails.
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Nevertheless, they gained’t be permitted to ask about what she might have already shared with Alberta’s auditor basic or the RCMP as a part of their separate investigations into the allegations.
Yungwirth wrote the exemptions have been to “shield the integrity” of each investigations.
“This course strikes a steadiness between offering the (authorities and AHS) with info they should guarantee any privileged and confidential info is protected whereas not interfering with the continued work of the auditor basic or the RCMP or different regulation enforcement,” Yungwirth wrote.
In accordance with the choice, Mentzelopoulos’s lawyer argued towards the request to have his consumer be questioned, saying it could quantity to a “fishing expedition” as the federal government and AHS “merely wish to decide what info she might have offered to the auditor basic of Alberta and to the RCMP.”
Legal professionals for AHS and the federal government argued, based on the choice, that questioning “is the one approach they will decide what paperwork Ms. Mentzelopoulos might have taken from AHS and what she did with these paperwork.”
Yungwirth’s resolution additionally notes that simply two of the emails in query may be protected by solicitor-client privilege, and legal professionals for each side disagree on whether or not privilege applies.
Final month’s submitting contained virtually solely redacted copies of the emails. Solely topic traces and senders or recipients — largely restricted to authorities bureaucrats and AHS officers — was disclosed.
The topic traces level to details about personal surgical amenities and freedom of data requests associated to a non-public medical provider on the coronary heart of Mentzelopoulos’s allegations of political interference and conflicts of curiosity.
Yungwirth’s resolution says the problem of solicitor-client privilege couldn’t be instantly addressed as Mentzelopoulos’s lawyer hadn’t learn the emails.
The federal government is arguing, based on Yungwirth’s resolution, that no matter privilege the emails include confidential info that Mentzelopoulos shouldn’t have in her possession “on the idea that hurt could also be brought about to Alberta Well being Providers and to the Province.”
As a part of its submitting final month, each the federal government and AHS additionally filed amended statements of defence that state by holding the emails Mentzelopoulos breached her employment settlement, giving AHS simply trigger to fireside her “after” she was dismissed.
Yungwirth’s resolution says a ruling will likely be made on whether or not the emails must be returned and whether or not the province’s injunction is granted in full after Mentzelopoulos has been questioned.
Dan Scott, Mentzelopoulos’s lawyer, stated in an e-mail {that a} date for questioning hasn’t been confirmed.
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