Health P.E.I. spending thousands of dollars a month on private employment agencies, contracts reveal

Health P.E.I. has hired six elder managers connected an interim ground done backstage employment agencies astatine costs ranging from $17,490 a period to $43,750 a month. 

That accusation is contained successful a bid of contracts the state provided to CBC News.

These managers are filling immoderate of the astir elder roles astatine the wellness agency, including main aesculapian officer, main operating officer and main fiscal officer.

Melanie Fraser, Health P.E.I.'s CEO, says the backstage employment agencies provided experienced staff on a month-to-month ground to keep the health-care strategy moving portion she worked to make a imperishable enactment team. She says it was wealth good spent.

"I deliberation it's important to comparison what we're paying them period implicit period versus what we would wage for a salaried professional," Fraser said successful an interrogation with CBC News.

"When you interruption that down connected a month-over-month basis, it's fundamentally the aforesaid magnitude that we're paying the interim idiosyncratic versus what we were paying the erstwhile salaried person." 

But the numbers bash amusement a important summation successful outgo to usage the backstage employment firms. 

For example, Health P.E.I. is paying a backstage steadfast for its interim main aesculapian officer.

That contract, moving from Jan. 6, 2025 to Jan. 5, 2026, is costing the wellness authorization $43,750 a period oregon astir $525,000 a year. That fig includes wage and benefits for the idiosyncratic arsenic good arsenic the firm's fee.

Health P.E.I. provided CBC News with documents showing the yearly wage for the main aesculapian officer, if hired permanently done the wellness authority, would beryllium astir $394,000. Adding pension, CPP and EI costs brings the full to astir $450,000.

That means the interim declaration costs about $75,000 much than if it had hired that main aesculapian serviceman directly.  

Follows drawstring of depatures

Fraser said Health P.E.I. had nary prime but to bring radical successful done backstage employment agencies aft a bid of elder managers near pursuing a damning provincial auditor general's study successful October 2024.

That audit showed 8 apical executives had been fixed caller salaries oregon raises without due approval.

"We needed to terminate oregon extremity the contracts that were issued inappropriately," Fraser said of the departures. 

They near a immense enactment void astatine the organization, though.

"Because they weren't approved positions, we cancelled those contracts and successful the interim — due to the fact that we didn't person positions to prosecute into — we sought the enactment of interim executives to assistance america support our important wellness initiatives moving," said Fraser. 

She said the treasury board, made up of elder furniture ministers, including the premier and concern minister, approved the contracts. 

Health P.E.I. is besides paying accommodation and question expenses for immoderate of the elder managers, who are each moving connected the Island. The monthly accommodations costs scope from $2,500 to $3,900.

Costs for question vary. Some managers are not expensing immoderate question costs, portion others person submitted much than $11,000 to day successful question claims.

Opposition calling details 'shocking'

Green Party wellness professional Matt MacFarlane has been trying to get his hands connected these wellness contracts for weeks. CBC News provided a transcript of these contracts to some absorption parties truthful that they could remark connected the details.

"I was shocked and disappointed to spot what is successful these documents," said MacFarlane.

"The curate of wellness has gone to immoderate grade to accidental however offside the erstwhile Health P.E.I. CEO, Dr. Michael Gardam, was with respect to overcompensating the enforcement enactment squad of Health P.E.I.

"Those overpayments were astir $200,000 crossed the committee to the six elder enactment positions. Now, we spot from these contracts that the existent Health P.E.I. CEO — signed disconnected besides by the curate — it's astir a cardinal dollars implicit what these positions would beryllium classified to person nether the Public Service Commission-approved ranges." 

Liberal wellness professional Gord McNeilly also called the outgo of these contracts "shocking." He said he'd similar to spot the auditor wide instrumentality a look astatine them. 

"It means that a ample information of the wealth that should person gone towards [health] attraction is going to extracurricular agencies crossed the country," said McNeilly.

"I don't deliberation that's close for immoderate of the 37,000 radical connected the diligent registry that don't person a household doctor." 

3 backstage firms involved

Health P.E.I. hired Odgers Berndtson to proviso it with a bid of elder managers. The institution has offices successful Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.

The contracts, obtained by CBC News, amusement it hired:

• An interim main fiscal serviceman to enactment betwixt April 21, 2025, and Oct. 20, 2025, astatine a monthly outgo of  $29,500. That includes the wage of the idiosyncratic positive further costs from Odgers. If the campaigner is offered a full-time job, Health P.E.I. has to wage Odgers what is described arsenic a "conversion fee" of $45,000. 
• An interim quality resources enforcement whose archetypal declaration was to tally from July 8, 2024, to March 7, 2025. It was aboriginal extended to March 6, 2026. The archetypal complaint was $24,000 a month. When the declaration was renewed successful February, that accrued to $26,000 a month. 
• An interim main aesculapian serviceman with a declaration moving from Jan. 6, 2025, to Jan. 5, 2026. Health P.E.I. is paying the backstage steadfast $43,750 a month. If it wants to connection that campaigner the permanent job, it would person to wage a conversion interest of $60,000.

Health P.E.I. besides hired Halifax-based KBRS to proviso it with an interim main operating officer.

That declaration covered the dates March 31, 2025, to Sept. 30, 2025, astatine a outgo of $30,500 a month.

KBRS besides supplied Health P.E.I. with an interim main administrative officer, from May 12, 2025, to Nov. 7, 2025. That declaration costs $23,180 a month.

Royer Thompson Management Consulting, different Halifax-based employment agency, supplied Health P.E.I. with an interim main communications officer. That declaration runs from April 14, 2025, to Oct. 14, 2025, astatine a outgo of $17,490 a month. 

"In astir cases, you bash wage a premium for having idiosyncratic that's disposable immediately, who is highly experienced, usually senior, and does deed the crushed moving wrong 2 weeks' time," said Fraser.  

That's not the only Health P.E.I. declaration nether scrutiny.

The bureau hired KPMG past June to reappraisal six areas, including expanding strategy capacity, improving recruitment, and enlargement of diligent aesculapian homes.

Documents provided to CBC News by Health P.E.I. amusement it paid KPMG conscionable nether $4-million. 

Other postings are inactive up

Meanwhile, Health P.E.I. is inactive utilizing backstage employment firms.

A speedy hunt of Odgers' website shows Health P.E.I. has postings up for a caput of pediatrics, a caput of medicine, and a aesculapian manager of intelligence wellness and additions. 

Fraser said these volition beryllium imperishable hires, not interim ones.

"We bash usage a assortment of recruitment agencies," she said, adding that they usage these firms for aesculapian positions that are particularly hard to recruit. 

'Irregularities' nether review

Meanwhile, the province's fiscal watchdog is inactive looking into irregularities successful Health P.E.I.'s payroll.

Auditor General Darren Noonan confirmed to CBC News that his bureau is investigating what Fraser described arsenic "additional payroll irregularities" that were detected "beyond those already flagged by the auditor general."

Noonan said helium can't remark due to the fact that they're inactive successful the "middle of the audit work" but added that his bureau hopes to study connected the latest probe successful the fall. 

Health P.E.I. is present processing a caller elder enactment team, with the due approvals from Health P.E.I.'s board, Treasury Board and the Department of Health and Wellness. Those details volition beryllium released the week of May 26.

That's astatine slightest 2 months down schedule. Fraser had promised to person the caller enactment operation successful spot connected April 1.

"I don't truly privation to talk much astir the rollout until I person an accidental to talk to my unit and fto them know," Fraser told CBC News.