Alberta medical examiner's office in disarray, former ME testifies in lawsuit
CBC
Alberta's former chief medical examiner has told a judge that her office uncovered problems with firearms seized at homicide scenes going missing, staff members allegedly taking drugs from evidence lockers, fabricated overtime claims and body movers stealing drugs and money from murder victims.
Dr. Anny Sauvageau began serving as the province's top forensic pathologist in mid-2011 and thought she would hold that position until she retired. In September 2014, Sauvageau was notified her contract would not be renewed in 2015.
Her statement of claim in the wrongful dismissal trial alleges the Alberta government's decision not to renew her contract "was in direct retaliation and retribution" for issues she had raised about political interference with her office.
She is seeking, among other remedies, $7.6 million in damages for loss of income and benefits.
The government's 2018 statement of defence says the decision to not renew her contract was made in the public interest and that Sauvageau was "either unwilling or unable to function properly as the chief medical examiner" and that she failed to demonstrate the qualities of sound, rational decision-making and responsible leadership.
None of the allegations made by either side have been proven in court.
The Alberta government has disclosed more than 20,000 pages of documents to Sauvageau's lawyer.
On Monday, some of those documents were entered as exhibits as the doctor spent a second day on the witness stand.
Sauvageau told the court she was aware when she took over the position of chief medical examiner from Dr. Graeme Dowling that the office was in "disarray."
"We knew there were some issues, but we didn't know the extent of these," Sauvageau said. "I discovered these issues after I became chief."
Sauvageau said she was shocked to discover three department bank accounts that had not been disclosed to the government, so she requested an accounting.
The subsequent investigation uncovered issues with staff overtime costs. Sauvageau said one employee had been invoicing for overtime when it was easy to prove he wasn't even in the office.
She also noticed that even though the Edmonton office was busier than Calgary's, the Calgary death investigator was claiming more overtime.
Sauvageau said she was also concerned when it was reported to her that a staff member saw another staff member going into the drug cabinet and self-medicating.
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