AHS execs may still get their bonuses

Calling the situation a “legal mess,” Health Minister Fred Horne said Thursday it may be too late to block the payout of bonuses to Alberta Health Services executives.

Horne said he’ll be calling on Janet Davidson, the newly appointed superboard administrator, to help sort through the complicated issue and determine whether up to $3.2 million will be paid to 99 AHS executives, as promised under their contracts for the 2012-13 year.

“It’s a bit of a legal mess at the moment,” Horne said in an interview.

“Because the board, in addition to refusing the directive ... went the extra step and approved the payout and the annual report and the financial statements, I’m not really sure at the moment what can be done.”

Horne fired the entire AHS board Wednesday, one day after its 10 directors refused his order they reconsider pay-atrisk compensation to medical system executives this year.

In their place, Horne named Davidson, a veteran health executive and one-time Alberta Health assistant deputy minister, as the superboard’s “official administrator.”

The amount of pay-at-risk for each eligible executive hasn’t been made public.

The AHS board approved the authority’s consolidated financials at a public meeting in Edmonton on June 6.

On Tuesday, in a hastily called meeting in response to Horne’s directive, the board instead voted to confirm the approval of the financials, including pay-at-risk. Chairman Stephen Lockwood and other directors said they were legally and morally obligated to honour contracts for work already completed.

Opposition critics insisted Horne must block the bonuses in the wake of the dramatic turfing of the board.

The Wildrose party accused the Tory government of “11th hour hysterics” over AHS bonus pay.

“Despite the mess the government has made of this file, we know that the bonuses have not yet been paid out and the minister needs to ... assure Albertans that he will stop the bonuses from being paid out,” Wildrose MLA Heather Forsyth said in a statement.

Horne said the matter will be one of the first Davidson examines, adding he’ll also call on her for advice on possible changes to the way AHS is run.

Davidson, who will answer to Horne, took up her new appointment on Wednesday.

The health minister said he won’t be setting a fixed term for her appointment, “because at this point I’m not exactly sure how long we’ll need an official administrator,” he said.

“A lot depends on what decisions we make about where we go from here in terms of structure and what governance will look like in the future.”

Other details about her role are set to be made public Friday, when Horne holds a news conference in Edmonton to “introduce” Davidson in the new position.

Davidson is one of Canada’s most respected health leaders, equally comfortable in hospitals and government board rooms, a former colleague says.

“She has governance experience and it’s obvious that in Alberta, understanding how government works is very essential to the role,” Tom Closson, a former top health executive in Ontario, said Thursday.

“I think she acts as a very good bridge between government and the delivery of health services. I can’t think of anybody better to play that role.”

Asked if Davidson is less likely to court controversy than the departed board, Closson said she understands the nuances of politics, but will take stands on issues on which she feels strongly.