EDMONTON – Alberta Health Services has reached a settlement with former executive Allaudin Merali for dismissing him without cause.
Merali was fired by AHS in 2012 when it was revealed he had close to $370,000 in expenses while working for Capital Health between 2005 and 2008.
READ MORE: Alberta health executive leaves over expense claims
Merali will receive a $900,000 settlement.
Two-thirds of that will be paid by AHS, and the remaining $300,000 will come from the provincial government.
In a statement Friday, AHS said it “is satisfied that the termination of Mr. Merali’s employment is properly characterized as having been without cause.
“AHS has honoured its contractual severance obligation.”
Merali had filed a $6 million lawsuit against AHS and former health minister Fred Horne.
READ MORE: Former Alberta health executive files statement of claim against AHS
In March, the former Capital Health CFO filed a statement of claim that included claims for a breach of contract, defamation, and loss of income.
He was seeking $5.5 million in damages, plus $611,000 per year in lost wages starting from Aug. 1, 2012.
In Dec. 2012, Merali issued a statement regarding the expenses and the results of an audit.
Merali said he abided by the expense standards in place at Capital Health at the time, and didn’t feel he should be singled out or held up to different standards than other health executives.
“First and foremost, I believe the comments of the AHS Board Chair in regard to the expenses of four current AHS executives should also apply to mine,” said Merali in a written statement.
“The standards today at AHS are tighter, and I was fully committed to abiding by those standards when I was hired as Chief Financial Officer of AHS,” wrote Merali in the 2012 statement.
Health Minister Stephen Mandel issued the following statement Friday to Global News:
“This dispute involved the severing of an employment contract. On the recommendation of legal counsel, government has participated in a settlement that is believed to offer the least possible burden to taxpayers.”
The Wildrose Party said it’s now time to move on from the Merali issue and focus on improving the health care system.
“It’s extremely disappointing that this ongoing scandal resulted in our health care system losing even more dollars that should have been spent on treating patients,” said health critic Heather Forsyth.
“It’s time to close the chapter on this story of mismanagement and begin focusing on positive solutions to end this type of waste and improve access and outcomes for patients.”
On Monday, Merali issued a statement on the settlement:
“The settlement covers not just amounts that were due to me under a contractual commitment but also damages.
“The settlement is a clear indication of two points: the decision to refuse to honor a legal contract was wrong, and the defamatory statements by Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the former Minister Horne and other politicians (particularly the former Premier) were irresponsible and totally inappropriate.
“AHS, the former Minister and the former Premier were not entitled to shred my contract and damage my reputation, by insinuating that my expenses under a former employer, Capital Health were in any way improper, let alone that they were a cause to terminate me. As AHS indicated in their press release on October 31, 2014 they are “….satisfied that the termination of …. employment is properly characterized as having been without cause.”
“Therefore, this settlement has clearly vindicated me in that I had done nothing wrong and that my dismissal was unjust. I am glad that this is behind me and want to get on with my life now that I have been vindicated.”
*NOTE: This article was originally posted on Oct. 31 and was updated on Nov. 3 to include Merali’s statement.
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