Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne has fired the Board of Directors at Alberta Health Services over their refusal to cancel bonuses for its senior executives.

Horne made the decision on Wednesday, after saying that the province wouldn't accept the board's decision to award its senior executives with bonuses.

"We don’t think it’s fair these bonuses are payable. Our position is clear."

He said in a statement that Tuesday's directive concerning bonus pay was the fifth formal directive he issued to the board and the response to it raises serious questions on whether the board can continue to function effectively.

"I informed the AHS Board Chair and the members of the AHS Board that I am terminating their appointments, effective immediately and thanked them for their service," Horne says.

He added that board members won't be getting any severance as a result of their firing.

He called the move “completely out of step with the times,” on Tuesday, in light of the fact that the province has asked front-line providers, including doctors and teachers, to take freezes in pay.

Janet Davidson, former Canadian head of the Global Healthcare Centre of Excellence at KPMG, has been appointed as administrator to serve in place of the AHS board while a review takes place.

Davidson has more than 30 years experience in government, voluntary, hospital, and community sectors in a number of Canadian jurisdictions.

She was most recently president and chief executive of Trilium Health Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, where she lead a merger of the Credit Valley Hospital.

In a news conference, Horne says he doesn't expect any changes in service to Albertans during the transition period.

(With files from CTV Edmonton and the Canadian Press)