'I was not in a good place,' former Alberta chief medical examiner testifies at trial

Former Alberta chief medical examiner Dr. Anny Sauvageau has finished being questioned by her lawyer in a $7.6-million wrongful dismissal suit.

Sauvageau concluded two weeks of direct testimony Thursday by describing the emotional, physical, professional and financial toll of being let go by the province in 2014.

Sauvageau has told the court that she felt bullied throughout the summer. She also felt subjected to political interference.

"I was not in a good place," Sauvageau told the court on Wednesday, revealing that she has Crohn's disease, which can flare up due to stress.

"I was in constant abdominal pain," Sauvageau testified.

Feeling like she had run out of options, Sauvageau contacted a CBC reporter.

She said she leaked documents to CBC but asked to remain anonymous.

"I wanted this situation to be fixed," she said. She said she felt her best option was to speak anonymously.

Sauvageau said she leaked three documents to CBC and did not know how other documents used in a story published on Sept. 18, 2014 had been obtained.

She had a meeting later that same day with the assistant deputy minister she felt had bullied her.

When the subject of the CBC article came up, "I mentioned if I was the source there was a lot more I could say," Sauvageau testified.

She said she was bitterly disappointed when nothing changed following the story's publication.

On Sept. 23, 2014, Sauvageau wrote to Premier Jim Prentice about her concerns.

Prentice wrote back two days later to say he would not get involved because Sauvageau had already taken her concerns to the public interest commissioner.