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Adjournment Proceedings

An adjournment debate about Canada Health Infoway and its former CEO. Dan Mazier of the Conservatives said the former CEO of the $300-million PrescribeIT program is suing the agency, claiming he was fired to prevent him from testifying at a committee, and asked whether the health minister directed the board to fire him, requesting a yes-or-no answer. Jacques Ramsay, a Liberal parliamentary secretary, said an independent expert review of Infoway’s spending and management is underway, that the Auditor General agreed a further audit was not needed at this time, and declined to comment on the ongoing lawsuit, adding that Infoway followed proper procedures and that the government will act once the review results are in.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

4 statements

Dan Mazier

Conservative
“A fired CEO is suing Canada Health Infoway. He claims he was fired to stop him from testifying to a committee about a 300-million-dollar failure. Did the health minister tell the board to fire him to keep him from testifying? I want a yes or no answer.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the taxpayer-funded CEO in charge of the $300-million PrescribeIT failure is suing Canada Health Infoway for $3 million in damages after he was fired. Buried in the lawsuit is a very damning allegation. Michael Green claims that his firing “was timed in order to prevent his further testimony” before the health committee. In May, the Liberal health minister said in the House of Commons, “the CEO of Infoway’s behaviour was unacceptable. I spoke to the board of directors, and they took the necessary steps.” My question is simple. Did the health minister instruct the board of directors to fire the PrescribeIT CEO in order to prevent him from testifying at the parliamentary committee, yes or no?

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Jacques Ramsay

Liberal
“We are already having independent experts review the spending and management of Canada Health Infoway. The Auditor General agrees another audit right now is not needed. We should let this independent work finish instead of letting the Conservatives interfere.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite asked the same question two weeks ago, and today he will get the same answer that he got two weeks ago. As the Minister of Health said at the time and as she stated in June, while many Canadians have benefited from the work of Canada Health Infoway to advance the interoperability of health data and sharing of that data, important questions have been raised in recent months about the program’s accountability and value for money. That is why the minister launched a multi-phase review of Canada Health Infoway. Phase one involves an independent, third-party audit, which will include a comprehensive review of the organization’s finances and determine whether the funds were used appropriately. Phase two will include an independent review of the organization’s governance structures and operations. This work is currently under way, and it is important that enough time and space be given for fulfilling the critical task of the audit and review. It is not just our government that is saying so. The Auditor General herself said, in response to the minister’s statement, that conducting a performance audit at this time would be duplicative and therefore of limited added value for parliamentarians and Canadians. In my humble opinion, we should let this independent work continue instead of rushing things through with the kind of political interference that the Conservatives are calling for. Canadians deserve a modern health care system that meets their needs, and these reviews will help achieve that.

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Dan Mazier

Conservative
“A leader who ran a failed 300-million-dollar government project is suing his employer. He says he was fired to stop him from speaking to a committee. I want a yes or no answer from the health minister on whether she helped fire him.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, my question was not the same as it was two weeks ago. The taxpayer-funded CEO who was in charge of the $300-million PrescribeIT failure is suing Canada Health Infoway. He claims that he was fired to prevent him from testifying at the health committee. Did the Liberal health minister have any role in terminating the PrescribeIT CEO, yes or no?

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Jacques Ramsay

Liberal
“I cannot comment on this ongoing lawsuit. The organization followed proper rules and spent public money well. We started an independent review and audit, and we will act once we see the results.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is referring to a lawsuit filed by the former president and CEO of Canada Health Infoway. I think it would be inappropriate to comment further on this matter at this time. This is a completely standard procedure. The member opposite can laugh all he wants, but he knows full well that we do not comment on this sort of thing. Again, no one is denying that Canada Health Infoway followed best practices or that Canadians got their money’s worth. That is why the government launched an independent review and an independent audit. We look forward to the results of both, and we will act accordingly.

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