Calls for police investigation, government apology after explosive AG report

Alex Kennedy · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 26, 2025 9:24 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 26

Newfoundland and Labrador's wellness minister — a erstwhile registered nurse — says she is blown distant by this week's auditor general's study connected health-sector contracts, which recovered the provincial health authorization has overspent millions of dollars connected backstage bureau nurses since 2022.

"Some of the things that are presented successful that study are wildly outrageous, and precise concerning." Krista Lynn Howell told reporters Wednesday.

"To spot the deficiency of oversight and absorption of immoderate of these contracts is surely thing that brings large alarm to us. And we wanted to guarantee that this ne'er happens again."

Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services has spent $241 cardinal connected backstage bureau nurses implicit the past 3 years. The study besides found millions of dollars of ineligible expenses being paid and instances of imaginable fraud.

Howell's comments were made lone hours aft Auditor General Denise Hanrahan released her latest bombshell report, which outlined 15 recommendations for NLHS.

The wellness authorization has accepted those recommendations, but Howell said she wants to spot them expedited.

In particular, she called connected the wellness authorization to instantly statesman a broad audit and study immoderate findings of fraud to authorities. She besides called for a 3rd enactment to supply timely fund monitoring, and for the lawman ministers of wellness and concern to beryllium observers astatine aboriginal trustee meetings.

NLHS CEO Pat Parfrey said it was important to admit the request for much bureau nurses successful the strategy came during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Howell said she sees the worth successful bureau nursing to adjacent gaps successful the health-care system — but said she's inactive near shaking her head.

"How it ballooned into thing truthful antithetic is precise concerning for us," she said.

"We request to person amended oversight and amended measures successful spot to guarantee that the champion usage of nationalist funds is being demonstrated — and that NLHS is liable for that."

Findings a 'slap successful the face' to nurses: Wakeham

PC Leader Tony Wakeham didn't mince words successful his critique of some NLHS and the Liberal government. He called the findings an outrageous ungraded that has been going connected for excessively long.

"This started with a Liberal lobbyist calling the premier's bureau that resulted successful a declaration to an Ontario company, [and] we've been paying retired $400,000 per caregiver astatine the aforesaid clip our ain nursing unit were making a small implicit $100,000. And astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic 72 nurses successful our state were fixed a layoff notice? It's remarkable," helium said.

"I deliberation it's a slap successful the look to each of the [nurses], each of our nursing unit that enactment present successful the province."

Wakeham said a afloat probe needs to begin, and wants to spot the Liberals apologize to nurses successful the sector. He specifically named Premier John Hogan, who served arsenic wellness curate from July 2024 to March 2025.

"[He] should person been up to day connected this file, should person known what was going on, should person taken action. Nothing happened," Wakeham said.

NDP Leader Jim Dinn wants to instrumentality it a measurement further. He said helium wants to spot a constabulary probe implicit the potential fraud outlined by Hanrahan, and said the study is the latest successful a bid of reports that shows a deficiency of oversight crossed the board.

"I request a thesaurus to spell done the adjectives present for what I would privation to say, but it's unacceptable astatine this stage," helium said.

"What I would truly similar to spot is simply a wide program close present to resoluteness these issues going forward. Why hold for an auditor general's report? Let's look astatine what we tin bash to marque definite ... we're spending nationalist wealth successful the champion imaginable mode to support nationalist goods."

If determination is fraudulent activity, Dinn said those progressive indispensable beryllium held accountable.

He besides shared concerns that nurses volition beryllium discouraged by the findings.

Download our free CBC News app to motion up for propulsion alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to sojourn our landing page.