Former AHS CEO suing Alberta government, alleges coverup [Video]

The former head of Alberta’s front-line health authority is suing the province and health minister alleging she was fired for looking into high-level government interference and overpays on multimillion-dollar contracts.

Athana Mentzelopoulos, the former CEO of Alberta Health Services, or AHS, also accuses Health Minister Adriana LaGrange of twice trying to shut down an investigation into questionable deals and conflicts of interest before engineering what she describes as her illegal dismissal last month.

She alleges LaGrange signed off on a fee structure that represents “significant” overpays for surgery contracts.

Mentzelopoulos made the allegations in a statement of claim filed in court Wednesday.

The allegations have not been proven in court and a statement of defence has not been filed.

The lawsuit mirrors a letter sent last month by Mentzelopoulos and her lawyers to AHS seeking restitution to avoid a lawsuit.

Parts of the letter were revealed last week in a report by the Globe and …