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Health

Question period focused on PrescribeIT, a digital e-prescribing program run by Canada Health Infoway that received $300 million and is being shut down. Conservatives asked why the money produced so little uptake and why the minister did not act sooner, and raised the health committee voting to close its meetings to cameras; they also asked how much more funding Infoway would get this year. The minister said the program was launched in 2017 under the previous government with provincial participation, that uptake was low when she took office, and that it was ended to protect public money; she agreed the Infoway CEO’s behaviour was unacceptable, said the board removed him and governance is being addressed, and said Infoway will receive $50 million this year with figures public.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

6 statements

Dan Mazier

Conservative

Linked statement

“The government spent $300 million on a digital prescription program that failed and is being shut down. The minister never raised concerns about it. Why did the minister let this money be wasted?”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals gave Canada Health Infoway $300 million for PrescribeIT, a program that they promised would replace fax machines for prescription drugs. Instead, less than 5% of the prescriptions went through the program, and PrescribeIT is now being quietly shut down with no results. Canadians still do not know where their money went. Yesterday at the health committee, the chair of Canada Health Infoway revealed that the health minister never once raised concerns about PrescribeIT. Why did the Liberal minister allow $300 million to be burned, without saying a word?

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Marjorie Michel

Liberal
“The previous government started the PrescribeIT program in 2017. When we took office, not enough people were using it, so we shut it down to save Canadians money.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I will say it again. The PrescribeIT program was launched in 2017 by the previous government following consultations with the provinces and territories. When we took office last year, we assessed the program and saw that that uptake was low, so we decided to shut down the program. That is what happened, and we are saving Canadians money.

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Helena Konanz

Conservative
“The government wasted $300 million on a failed digital prescription program. Now they are shutting down committee meetings so the minister does not have to answer for it. I want to know why they are hiding this from Canadians.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, Canadians need answers on how the Liberals burned $300 million on their failed PrescribeIT program, money that could have been spent on other health care needs. Just last week, the Liberals moved to shut off the cameras at the health committee, sealing the records of that meeting for 30 years. Yesterday, the Liberals shut down the health committee to prevent the minister from testifying. Why is the Liberals’ $300‑million PrescribeIT failure being hidden from Canadians?

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Marjorie Michel

Liberal
“We ended this program because it did not work and not enough people used it. We did this to protect Canadians' money.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I will say it again for my colleague: This program was put in place in 2017 with the participation of the provinces and territories. The program did not work the way we had hoped it would. When I took office last year, we assessed the programs and saw that this program did not have much uptake, so we decided to end it to protect Canadians’ money.

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Matt Strauss

Conservative
“The government gave 300 million dollars to Canada Health Infoway for a project that failed. The group only fired its CEO after Conservatives brought up these problems. How much more money will the minister give this poorly run group this year? I want the exact dollar amount.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals gave $300 million to Canada Health Infoway to build PrescribeIT, which the minister now acknowledges was a total failure. However, here is the problem. The board of Canada Health Infoway only fired its million‑dollar CEO after Conservatives raised these failures at the health committee. How much more money does the health minister plan to give this very badly run organization this year? I would like just the number of dollars, please.

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Marjorie Michel

Liberal
“The CEO's behaviour was unacceptable, and the board took action. We are fixing how the organization is run. It will still get $50 million this year, and those numbers are public.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the first thing I will say to my colleague is, yes, he is right, the CEO of Infoway’s behaviour was unacceptable. I spoke to the board of directors, and they took the necessary steps. Now we are working on the organization’s governance. However, this year, Infoway will receive $50 million. As you know, that money is in the public accounts of the Department of Health, so you have access to those figures.

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