Opposition Calls for Finance, Health Ministers to Lose Portfolios over Hospital Dispute
Opposition Leader Douglas Parnell has called for the ministers responsible for Finance and Health to be relieved of their portfolios while an independent examination reviews the government’s handling of its dispute with hospital operator InterHealth Canada.
Premier Hon. Washington Misick is the minister responsible for finance, while Hon. Kyle Knowles is the Minister of Health and Human Services.
Speaking at a People’s Democratic Movement press conference on Tuesday, September 11, Parnell alleged that the government had not given Parliament or the public a full account of the financial risks associated with withholding payments to the company. He also questioned whether adequate arrangements were in place to keep the hospitals operating after InterHealth Canada’s departure.
“The hospital crisis, government must account to Parliament and the people,” Parnell said.
Parnell said payments had been withheld for two financial years. He argued that the government should have disclosed the potential consequences in its budgets and in the Fiscal and Strategic Policy Statement submitted to the United Kingdom government. He alleged that Parliament had been misled about the territory’s financial exposure and called for the underlying records to be made public.
Those allegations have not been independently established. Parnell said they could be tested against the government’s budgets, fiscal statements and other documents, and challenged ministers to identify where the potential liability was reported.
The opposition leader estimated that the dispute could expose the territory to approximately $200 million or more. He said that figure was based on the PDM’s assessment of possible contractual claims, legal costs and employment liabilities. He acknowledged that it was an estimate, not a sum already found payable, and that any claim would have to be established through legal proceedings.
“If government believes our approximate $200 million estimate is wrong, tell the country what the correct figure is and produce the basis for it,” he said.
Parnell called for the premier to be relieved of responsibility for the portfolio while the accuracy of financial information presented to Parliament and the UK government is independently examined. He made a similar call concerning the health minister, citing questions about the dispute and the hospital transition. He said decisions made under the previous health minister should also be reviewed.
A government statement issued before the press conference, said wider commercial and contractual matters between the government and InterHealth Canada were subject to legal proceedings. The statement said the government would not address the substance of those proceedings through the media, in order to protect its legal position.
Parnell disputed the idea that the legal case prevented the government from explaining its operational plans. He asked who would employ current hospital staff after a transition, whether their salaries and years of service would be preserved, and who would bear any severance costs. He also asked which supplier and service contracts would need to be transferred, replaced or renegotiated.
He said the opposition believed potential employment costs could run into tens of millions of dollars, but called on the government to provide its own assessment.
“Because the morning after InterHealth Canada exits, patients will still arrive,” Parnell said. “The hospitals must work.”
Asked about a suggestion that a local doctor might take over hospital operations, Parnell said he would not judge a prospective operator without reviewing the proposal. Any person or group entrusted with the facilities should be properly vetted, he said, and the public should be told what the arrangement would cost.
Parnell said the PDM had offered to assist with the transition. Asked whether he had discussed the issue with the government, he described unsuccessful attempts to connect by telephone with the premier and said he remained willing to meet.
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