Proposed class-action lawsuit claims AHS breached contracts with foreign-trained doctors
CBC
A proposed class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of clinical assistants and clinical surgical assistants has been launched against Alberta Health Services.
A statement of claim filed in Calgary Court of King's Bench on Aug. 12 alleges the health authority has failed to pay overtime and provide rest periods to clinical assistants since 2016.
The claim alleges AHS breached and continues to breach terms of employment contracts and its duty of care to the representative plaintiff and class members.
Robert Erickson, the lawyer for representative plaintiff Julia Ionina said he and his client are not prepared to comment at this time.
AHS spokesperson James Wood said AHS cannot comment as the case is before the courts. On Wednesday he told CBC News a statement of defence had not been filed.
The proposed class action seeks $10 million in general damages, $85 million in special damages and $10 million in punitive damages, plus costs and interest.
The statement of claim says the plaintiff and class members discovered they had not been paid the overtime and shift premiums to which they were entitled when they received an email from AHS on Dec. 23, 2022.
The email said they would receive a retroactive payment for overtime they had previously worked and would continue to receive overtime payments.
"The defendant maintained that the plaintiff and active class members were not eligible for overtime despite making a partial retroactive payment and paying partial overtime payments to the plaintiff and active class members thereafter," the statement of claim says.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Clinical assistants and clinical surgical assistants are foreign-trained doctors who work under doctors' supervision in Alberta. Base salaries, according to an AHS website about the jobs, range from about $63,000 to $155,000.
Their duties include conducting physical exams, writing orders, documenting patient histories and developing treatment plans with supervising doctors.
Ionina, of St. Albert, Alta., worked as a psychiatrist in Russia before immigrating to Canada in 2012.
She started working as a clinical assistant for AHS around November 2015 at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
Four in five of the wildfires so far in Saskatchewan this year have been caused by humans — the vast majority of them accidentally. But experts say part of the reason they've spread so far, so fast, is another human factor: climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels.
Just a block away from the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan there's a garden uniting green thumbs in Lloydminster.
Shelley Lindaas has long dreamed of seeing a Kermode bear cub in person.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) report outlining the events leading to the death of Erixon Kabera answered some questions for his family and friends, but many remain.
Syed Hassan says he doesn't like to complain much. But when his wife told him she got a parking ticket on Thursday night, he knew he needed to speak out.
Following the public outcry over the Jian Ghomeshi case, some legal scholars and sexual assault survivor advocates lauded changes made to the Criminal Code that would prevent defence lawyers from surprising complainants at trial with past emails or text messages with the defendant.
The Waterloo Region District School Board has been talking a lot about the word "family" this month.
At Pedro's Island Eatery in North Rustico, owner Pedro Gameiro has long been not a fan of using seed oils for frying
The parking lot of the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre in Whitehorse was full on Friday, and the building surrounded by well-dressed young people and their proud families. Despite the smoky conditions in the city, there was much to celebrate.
Toronto has moved one step closer to allowing fiveplexes and sixplexes in neighbourhoods across the city.
Warning: Some readers may find photos in this story distressing.
Fifty years ago this fall the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States met in a castle outside Paris for three days of meetings, at the conclusion of which they issued the Declaration of Rambouillet, a 15-point statement of principles and commitments.
An Iranian woman living in Newfoundland and Labrador says she's watching attacks between Israel and Iran with worry for her family back home.