dismissal lawsuit against the Alberta government this month
A high-profile wrongful dismissal lawsuit brought by the first woman to serve as Alberta’s chief medical examiner has been settled out of court.
Dr. Anny Sauvageau was due back in the Court of King’s Bench this Friday for closing arguments in her $7.5 million lawsuit against the Alberta government.
Her lawyer, however, said Wednesday the case settled “about a week ago” and that he could not discuss specifics. The Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General did not respond to inquiries by publication time.
Settlements in civil cases are frequently subject to confidentiality clauses.
Alberta’s chief medical examiner and top forensic pathologist from 2011 to 2014, Sauvageau claimed she was denied a contract renewal because she protested political interference in her office.
Sauvageau alleged ministry staff were influenced by an Alberta Funeral Service Association campaign against new body transport contracts she sought to establish. She also said the government waffled when she tried to obtain assurances regarding her office’s independence when investigating deaths of children in provincial care.
The government argued Sauvageau was a poor manager and combative employee who took an “excessive” view of what her independence entailed.
Sauvageau’s trial began April 1 . Originally scheduled for 38 days, it faced multiple delays, including when Calgary lawyer and former Progressive Conservative justice minister Jonathan Denis sent a letter to Sauvageau’s lawyer accusing her of defaming him.
A 2012 file photo of then-Alberta Justice Minister and Solicitor
A high-profile wrongful dismissal lawsuit brought by the first woman to serve as Alberta’s chief medical examiner has been settled out of court.
Dr. Anny Sauvageau was due back in the Court of King’s Bench this Friday for closing arguments in her $7.5 million lawsuit against the Alberta government.
Her lawyer, however, said Wednesday the case settled “about a week ago” and that he could not discuss specifics. The Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General did not respond to inquiries by publication time.
Settlements in civil cases are frequently subject to confidentiality clauses.
Alberta’s chief medical examiner and top forensic pathologist from 2011 to 2014, Sauvageau claimed she was denied a contract renewal because she protested political interference in her office.
Sauvageau alleged ministry staff were influenced by an Alberta Funeral Service Association campaign against new body transport contracts she sought to establish. She also said the government waffled when she tried to obtain assurances regarding her office’s independence when investigating deaths of children in provincial care.
The government argued Sauvageau was a poor manager and combative employee who took an “excessive” view of what her independence entailed.
Sauvageau’s trial began April 1 . Originally scheduled for 38 days, it faced multiple delays, including when Calgary lawyer and former Progressive Conservative justice minister Jonathan Denis sent a letter to Sauvageau’s lawyer accusing her of defaming him.
A 2012 file photo of then-Alberta Justice Minister and Solicitor
General Jonathan Denis.© Larry Wong
Court of King’s Bench Justice Doreen Sulyma, the judge hearing the Sauvageau case, called the letter an “ act of intimidation ” and found Denis in contempt of court.
Denis later asked the Court of Appeal to stay the contempt finding pending an appeal, arguing Sulyma failed to follow proper procedure in finding him guilty. Court of Appeal Justice Ritu Khullar declined to stay the conviction and also denied a request to expedite the appeal.
Josiah Tweedie, a paralegal with Denis’s Guardian Law Group, said the former minister’s main appeal will be heard Oct. 31, 2022, and that no sanctions for the conviction have been imposed.
“Mr. Denis looks forward to having his appeal heard and adjudicated,” Tweedie said in an email.
Sauvageau’s trial resumed June 21 for closing arguments, during which her lawyer Allan Garber faced a barrage of tough questions from Sulyma.
At one point, the judge referred to a series of issues raised by Sauvageau as “mini outrages” and said the doctor was “ not prepared to resolve any of these matters of contention.”
Garber insisted the government acted in “bad faith” and “if they were expecting someone to just come in, sit at the desk, look good, be a wallflower, then they picked the wrong person.”
Court of King’s Bench Justice Doreen Sulyma, the judge hearing the Sauvageau case, called the letter an “ act of intimidation ” and found Denis in contempt of court.
Denis later asked the Court of Appeal to stay the contempt finding pending an appeal, arguing Sulyma failed to follow proper procedure in finding him guilty. Court of Appeal Justice Ritu Khullar declined to stay the conviction and also denied a request to expedite the appeal.
Josiah Tweedie, a paralegal with Denis’s Guardian Law Group, said the former minister’s main appeal will be heard Oct. 31, 2022, and that no sanctions for the conviction have been imposed.
“Mr. Denis looks forward to having his appeal heard and adjudicated,” Tweedie said in an email.
Sauvageau’s trial resumed June 21 for closing arguments, during which her lawyer Allan Garber faced a barrage of tough questions from Sulyma.
At one point, the judge referred to a series of issues raised by Sauvageau as “mini outrages” and said the doctor was “ not prepared to resolve any of these matters of contention.”
Garber insisted the government acted in “bad faith” and “if they were expecting someone to just come in, sit at the desk, look good, be a wallflower, then they picked the wrong person.”
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