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An Alberta Court of King’s Bench justice has cited podcasters David Wallace and James DiFiore for criminal contempt of court for harassing former AHS CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos via a series of podcasts released last year.
In the ruling released Friday, Justice Michael Lema found Wallace and DiFiore engaged in a campaign to vilify Mentzelopoulos in order to discourage her from continuing with a wrongful-dismissal case she filed against the provincial government.
“This [is] not ‘journalism,’ or ‘opinion,’ or ‘commentary on matters of public interest,’” Lema writes.
“On the evidence to date, it is baseless humiliation and demonization of a litigant in this court for no apparent purpose other than sapping her will to continue with her case.”
Wallace was host of The Political Dark Arts podcast, and DiFiore hosted the podcast titled Blackballed with James DiFiore.
Early last year, Mentzelopoulos sued AHS and then-health minister Adriana LaGrange for wrongful dismissal, alleging she was fired for probing too deeply into AHS contracting and procurement deals. The health agency said in its statement of defence that AHS had lost confidence in Mentzelopoulos’s abilities.
In his ruling, Lema listed statements made by Wallace in the podcasts, including how he was retained by one or more people to “take down” Mentzelopoulos or anyone associated with her lawsuit.
He is asking the lawyers for both parties to agree on next steps and submit their positions on the contempt issue by June 3.
In addition to citing Wallace and DiFiore for criminal contempt, the judge granted a restraining order prohibiting them from making intimidating and harassing comments toward Mentzelopoulos. He also granted an order directing the men to take down podcasts mentioning her that may remain online.
Mentzelopoulos filed an affidavit in March seeking access to material seized from the two men’s homes via a rarely used Anton Piller order late last year. Anton Piller orders allow a search without prior warning if possible evidence is at risk of being destroyed.
The court granted the order in response to a request by former AHS board member Sandy Edmonstone.
Edmonstone, who was a member of the AHS board when LaGrange dissolved it in January 2025, said he became a target of the two podcasters after it was revealed he could be called as a witness in Mentzelopoulos’s lawsuit.
Mentzelopoulos also requested an order directing the podcasters to disclose who is providing financial support in their campaign against her. Lema didn’t grant those access or disclosure requests. He said Mentzelopoulos will have to wait for the outcome of Edmonstone’s request to get access to the material seized under the Anton Piller order.
Brett Code, lawyer for Mentzelopoulos, said he and his client are pleased but declined to say anything more than was stated by Justice Lema in his decision.
CBC News has reached out to Craig Alcock, lawyer for Wallace and DiFiore, for comment.
