The New Brunswick government has introduced a bill to terminate a costly contract for private nursing services, initially signed by the Vitalité Health Network with Canadian Health Labs in July 2022. The contract, which was not set to expire until February next year, contained an auto-renewal clause contingent on meeting specific linguistic targets. Health Minister John Dornan criticized the agreement as "unfair" to taxpayers, citing the high costs associated with the private services.
Under the terms of the contract, Canadian Health Labs charged $306 per hour for registered nurses and $162 per hour for personal support workers. In contrast, nurses and support workers directly employed by the province earn between $36.41-$46.13 and $22.61-$24.24 per hour, respectively. Vitalité Health Network paid more than $123 million for private nursing services from January 1, 2022, to February 29, 2024, of which Canadian Health Labs received $98 million.
The decision to terminate the contract through legislation was deemed necessary by provincial authorities. This step also reduces Canadian Health Labs' ability to pursue legal action against the province.
"It was an unhealthy contract for New Brunswickers, for taxpayers, and so legislation was the only way we could do this." – Health Minister John Dornan
The auditor general's report highlighted that Vitalité Health Network incurred the highest expenses for travel nurses among the three government bodies audited. A spokesperson for Canadian Health Labs emphasized the company's role in providing healthcare professionals to underserved communities during a critical period.
"Since July 2022, Canadian Health Labs has helped ensure that New Brunswickers have access to quality health care by placing hundreds of essential front-line health-care professionals in rural, remote, and underserviced communities affected by the ongoing health-care crisis.” – A spokesperson for Canadian Health Labs
