Cardiac surgeon's 'mistaken belief’ does not make hospital her employer, says tribunal member
A pioneering cardiac surgeon who spent decades at Calgary's Foothills Medical Centre, wore an Alberta Health Services (AHS) badge and carried an AHS pager was not actually an employee, according to the Human Rights Tribunal of Alberta.
In a decision dated April 16, 2026, tribunal member Erika Ringseis dismissed Teresa Prieur's complaint, finding the relationship was that of a contractor, not an employee.
Prieur, who also goes by Kieser, provided services at the Foothills Medical Centre since 1988 and was initially one of only two female cardiac surgeons in the province of Alberta. She is recognized for establishing the cardiac surgery program at the Foothills Medical Centre.
Prieur held a Medical Staff Appointment with AHS and clinical privileges to perform surgery at the hospital. Her original complaint alleged discrimination in employment on the grounds of age and gender. After the director dismissed it, a Section 26 review overturned the dismissal on the gender ground only, and that gender complaint — alleging attacks on her performance, technical skills and professional judgment because of her gender and status as the only female cardiac surgeon — proceeded to the jurisdictional hearing.
AHS argued the commission had no jurisdiction because Prieur was not its employee. She disagreed, arguing AHS was her employer. The merits of her allegations were...
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