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. 

Mentzelopoulos's lawyer and the Globe and Mail have not yet responded to requests for comment.