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CTV News
3 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
‘This was not a good deal': Firm tasked with recruiting 150 doctors to Manitoba brought in only two
A plan to bring 150 new doctors to Manitoba has fallen flat, after the company hired to recruit the physicians brought just two doctors over two years. It was launched by the former Progressive Conservative government in July 2023. Canadian Health Labs—a Toronto-based recruitment firm—was awarded the contract valued at up to $5.25 million. The firm was tasked with recruiting 150 doctors to Manitoba who would be evenly split between Winnipeg, northern Manitoba, and rural communities. At the time, then-Health Minister Audrey Gordon said she was confident the company would meet its target. Two years in, the province confirmed just two doctors had been recruited—both from the U.K. and both working at clinics in Winnipeg. 'This was not a good deal for the Province of Manitoba,' Premier Wab Kinew told reporters Wednesday. Kinew said the contract with Canadian Health Labs has now expired. 'We're not renewing it, like we were looking at the clock waiting for this thing to expire,' he said. The province said the Canadian Health Labs is only being paid between $25,000 and $45,000 per doctor recruited. In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson for Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said because the firm failed to meet its targets, it was paid the lowest fee possible under the agreement. When asked if he was given an explanation as to why only two doctors were recruited over two years, Kinew said the PCs should explain. PC Deputy Leader Jeff Bereza told CTV News in a written statement he felt the NDP didn't try to keep the contract. 'This is yet another example of the NDP inheriting a successful PC program, and setting it up to fail. The contract with Canadian Health Lab was a viable recruitment tool,' the statement reads in part. 'It's time for the NDP to stop blaming the PCs for their healthcare failures and start delivering on their election promises to Manitobans.' The NDP has promised to bring 400 physicians to the province. Asagwara's spokesperson said since being elected, 201 net new physicians are working in Manitoba with another 12 accepting offers. This comes as Manitoba continues to see some of the worst doctor shortages in the country. According to Doctors Manitoba, the province has 219 physicians per 100,000 residents, which makes us the second worst in doctors per capita in Canada. When it comes to family physicians, Doctors Manitoba said the province is in dead last, with 107 doctors per 100,000 residents. 'We need to look at multiple initiatives and strategies to recruit physicians and not put all of our eggs in one basket,' said Dr. Nichelle Desilets, president of Doctors Manitoba. She said she believes the best recruiters are the physicians themselves. 'I would argue that the best way to recruit physicians is to retain the physicians that you have,' she said. 'Physicians who are happy, feel safe, feel fulfilled in their work… that gets promoted, and then other physicians hear about that.' CTV News has reached out to Canadian Health Labs for comment and is awaiting a response.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba added 201 doctors since NDP took office
Manitoba has seen an increase of 201 net new physicians practising in the province since the NDP formed government. Another 12 have accepted offers and are set to begin their practices in the coming months, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said in a statement Wednesday. A contract with Canadian Health Labs to recruit 150 physicians that was signed by former Progressive Conservative health minister Audrey Gordon in 2023 resulted in the hiring of two physicians, each from the United Kingdom. That contract expired on July 24 and will not be extended. 'This was not a good deal for the province of Manitoba and, yeah, we're not going to be renewing it,' Premier Wab Kinew said Wednesday at an unrelated news conference. 'We were looking at the clock waiting for this thing to expire.' MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Premier Wab Kinew said a contract with Canadian Health Labs to recruit 150 physicians, signed by the former Progressive Conservative government, was not a good deal for the province of Manitoba. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Premier Wab Kinew said a contract with Canadian Health Labs to recruit 150 physicians, signed by the former Progressive Conservative government, was not a good deal for the province of Manitoba. The contract with Canadian Health Labs was valued at up to $5.25 million, with $3.75 million allocated for the 2023-24 fiscal year, a provincial government spokesman said in an email. The contract stipulated that the recruiter would be paid between $25,000 and $45,000 for each family doctor recruited, depending on their practice location. On Wednesday, the Tories blamed the NDP for the lack of results. 'This is yet another example of the NDP inheriting a successful PC program, and setting it up to fail,' PC deputy leader Jeff Bereza said in a statement. He called the contract a viable recruitment tool and compared it to the diagnostic and surgical recovery task force the NDP shut down after taking office. 'They didn't try,' Bereza said. 'It's time for the NDP to stop blaming the PCs for their health-care failures, and (start) delivering on their election promises to Manitobans.' Kinew said the deal was bad and his government was taking a better approach to health care. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. 'We've added close to 3,000 new health-care staff, physicians, nurses, health-care aides and we've done that using recruitment and retention services being run out of the department of health. That provides you the best value for your taxpayer dollar but it also makes sure that we have better oversight,' he said. The contract with the private recruiter did little to attract new doctors and nothing to retain them, Asagwara said. 'We are taking a hands-on approach, recruiting directly through the (Health Care Recruitment and Retention Office), which gives health care workers one-on-one support from the time they apply to when they're settled in their new community,' the health minister said. The office, set up last year, lined up 25 of the new doctors, with candidates from a variety of countries including the U.K., United States, Nigeria, Iran, Pakistan, South Africa, Jordan, Egypt, Hungary, Colombia, and across Canada. Doctors Manitoba president and Neepawa family doctor Nichelle Desilets applauded the province's efforts. Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files Doctors Manitoba president and Neepawa family doctor Nichelle Desilets. Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun files Doctors Manitoba president and Neepawa family doctor Nichelle Desilets. 'Having reliable, consistent contact with people who are going to follow up on those inquiries and make sure that the paperwork's not getting lost and to support physicians through that process — that is absolutely what we need,' said Desilets, who went through the process of getting licensed in Manitoba when she moved from a neighbouring province 10 years ago. Desilets said the increase in doctors is great but many more are needed. Doctors Manitoba launched its own recruitment campaign in the U.S. after the election of President Donald Trump in November. 'Practise where you are valued and trusted as a physician and the government stays out of the exam room,' an excerpt from one of the ads in U.S. medical magazines and newsletters read. The campaign honed-in on health-care providers in North Dakota, Florida and other states where abortion and gender-affirming care have become deeply politicized issues. 'Physicians are in demand everywhere, so they can get offers from anywhere. In fact, other provinces are actively recruiting Manitoba physicians as we speak.'–Nichelle Desilets In Canada, Manitoba ranks second from the bottom compared to other provinces, with 219 physicians per 100,000 residents, Desilets said. 'Physicians are in demand everywhere, so they can get offers from anywhere. In fact, other provinces are actively recruiting Manitoba physicians as we speak,' she said. 'We know that Manitoba is a great place to live and work once you've been here, but sometimes the tough part is persuading doctors and other health-care professionals to check out our province and to come here and see what opportunities are available, despite the cold winters,' she said. Desilets said doctors are the best recruiters. 'If those physicians are saying positive things about their work environment, that's going to go in a positive direction towards recruitment.' The province also must play a part, she said. 'Make sure that we're not getting outperformed or outbid by other jurisdictions that might be offering bigger incentives or more resources.' Carol SandersLegislature reporter Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol. Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
4 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Manitoba was supposed to get 150 doctors from a recruitment firm. The province got 2
A staffing agency hired by Manitoba's former Progressive Conservative government on a promise to recruit 150 doctors to the province in fact only managed to bring only two. The two-year contract with Canadian Health Labs was initially hailed as a critical piece in Manitoba's efforts to find more doctors, particularly in rural and northern areas, where jobs are typically harder to fill. But the contract expired last month, after the current NDP government didn't exercise its option for a third year. It confirmed to Radio-Canada that only two doctors were recruited under the contract. The fact the company recruited just over one per cent of the 150 doctors promised is frustrating for Breanne Mueller, who has been looking for a family doctor in Steinbach for the 12 years she's lived there. "Where do they find these recruitment companies?" she asked. "Maybe start asking questions if you only have two doctors in two years. Something might be going on." Company under fire Canadian Health Labs, which started recruiting health-care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic, has come under fire in the Atlantic provinces for charging a $300-plus hourly rate for agency nurses — six times what a staff nurse earns — and invoicing them for daily meal allowances despite telling the nurses to pay for their own food. In New Brunswick, the Vitalité Health Network has tried to get out of its deal with Canadian Health Labs by cancelling remaining shifts for the company's travel nurses before its contract expired in 2026. That province enacted legislation this year to shield the government from any legal or financial penalties regarding its contract, while Canadian Health Labs has responded with a lawsuit. Manitoba's deal with Canadian Health Labs, signed in July 2023 following a competitive request for proposals process, sought to bring 50 physicians to Winnipeg, 50 to northern Manitoba and 50 to other rural communities. When the deal was announced, then health minister Audrey Gordon said she was confident the staffing agency would meet its targets, with penalties in place if goals weren't achieved at certain stages. Eight months later, without a single physician recruited, the company told CBC News it had done a "significant amount of work" in recruiting family physicians to Manitoba. Shared Health, which oversees health-care delivery in the province, said at that point the province had "assigned dedicated recruiters in a number of countries." The province's contract with Canadian Health Labs was valued at up to $5.25 million, but Manitoba will only pay for the two physicians recruited — between $25,000 and $45,000 for each doctor, the government said in a statement. The company didn't answer repeated requests for comment from Radio-Canada. The two physicians recruited under the contract are originally from the United Kingdom and began their practices in Winnipeg. In 2023-24, Manitoba saw a net increase of 133 physicians — the largest on record, according to Doctors Manitoba — but a report from the advocacy group, citing Canadian Institute for Health Information data, said the province still ranks second-last among physicians per capita in Canada, with 219 physicians per 100,000 residents. Steinbach's Mueller said she enrolled in the province's family doctor finder program in 2013. She didn't hear back until 2021. "I was shocked when they [called], because I pretty much forgot that I was even on the list." They told her they still couldn't match her with a doctor, and then asked if she still wanted to be on the list. She removed herself because she believes the provincial program is ineffective. Instead, she's still calling Steinbach clinics whenever people tell her a doctor is accepting new patients. But whenever she calls, she's told they aren't accepting anybody else. "Something's gotta change," Mueller said. She would switch from her Winnipeg physician to one in Steinbach if she could, as any visit to see her doctor takes several hours, when accounting for travel time and the appointment itself. "This community, since I've been here, is just booming. It's crazy the amount of people" moving to Steinbach, a city of 17,000 people that's just over 50 kilometres from Winnipeg. "But the health care still remains the same, if not worse," she said. Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara's office, citing government statistics, said since the NDP government was elected in October 2023, 201 net new physicians have started practising in Manitoba, and an additional 12 have accepted an offer to work. The minister attributed some of this success to the government's new office focused on recruiting and retaining health-care workers. Worried for future shortages The net gain puts the NDP more than halfway toward its election promise of 400 additional physicians. Doctors Manitoba president Dr. Nichelle Desilets said that progress is appreciated, but "we can't rest on our laurels." "In 10 years, our elderly population is going to far exceed what it is right now and also require more health-care resources," she said. Desilets said the best recruitment strategy is an existing workforce of people who love their work and are supported. Progressive Conservative deputy leader Jeff Bereza said the province's deal with Canadian Health Labs "is yet another example of the NDP inheriting a successful PC program, and setting it up to fail." In a statement, Bereza compared the contract with the health-care recruitment mission to the Philippines and the surgical and diagnostic task force, both Tory government initiatives. "The NDP dismantled both and falsely claimed they didn't work. They didn't try," he said. "It's time for the NDP to stop blaming the PCs for their health-care failures, and start delivering on their election promises to Manitobans." Firm hired to recruit 150 doctors to Manitoba brought just 2 8 minutes ago The former Progressive Conservative government hired Canadian Health Labs in 2023 to bring 150 doctors to Manitoba over two years. The recruitment firm finished its work this summer, after bringing two doctors to the province.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Travel nurse company asks court to strike down 'unconstitutional' law designed to nullify contracts
Canadian Health Labs wants the Court of King's Bench to strike down legislation that the province enacted last month, arguing it is unconstitutional, in a bid to avoid any legal or financial penalties over travel nurse contracts between the staffing agency and Vitalité Health Network. In documents filed with the court in Saint John, Canadian Health Labs alleges the Travel Nurses Act represents "unlawful interference" by the legislature of New Brunswick into a "freely negotiated commercial relationship between two commercial entities." It claims the act was "legislated in bad faith and constitutes an abuse of power by the province." The act is "improper, unconstitutional and unconscionable and must be struck down in its entirety," Canadian Health Labs argues in the documents, filed in response to Vitalité's statements of defence and counterclaims to the company's three lawsuits over the contracts. The Ontario-based company has also notified the provincial and federal attorneys general about the "questions of constitutionality raised in this matter," according to the documents. New Brunswick's attorney general declined to comment Friday through Department of Justice and Public Safety spokesperson Jadesola Emmanuel. She cited the matter being before the courts. The Office of the Attorney General of Canada has received notice of a constitutional question related to the provincial Travel Nurses Act, confirmed federal Department of Justice spokesperson Ian McLeod. It will "review in order to determine next steps," he said in an emailed statement. Bill was introduced in March Health Minister Dr. John Dornan introduced the Act Respecting Travel Nurses in March, after Vitalité cancelled the remaining shifts of travel nurses employed by Canadian Health Labs, even though its contract wasn't set to expire until February 2026. "The contract that we signed was not a good contract for New Brunswickers, for taxpayers," Dornan said at the time. It was signed in 2022 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and dire staffing shortages, he said. "We were desperate." Canadian Health Labs charged about $300 an hour per nurse — roughly six times what a local staff nurse earns, Auditor General Paul Martin found in a report last summer. "The contracts with private nursing agencies were not reflective of best practices and did not demonstrate value for money," Martin said. Two days after the legislation was introduced, Canadian Health Labs launched its first lawsuit against Vitalité, alleging breaches of contract and seeking damages. Then, before the legislation was adopted, the company filed two more lawsuits over two other contracts, which were also signed in 2022 but had both expired in 2024. Canadian Health Labs alleged, among other things, that Vitalité deployed fewer "human health resource professionals" than stipulated, failed to pay invoices, and terminated a renewal "unilaterally and improperly." Dornan subsequently appeared before the legislature's standing committee on economic policy to discuss proposed amendments to the bill. Vitalité's lawyers had raised concerns about the expired contracts not being included, Dornan said. So the government decided it would be "prudent, and perhaps safer, to nullify all three contracts," which covered from July 2022 to February 2026 and totalled $98 million, according to the auditor general. Canadian Health Labs alleges the act "has the effect of allowing Vitalité and the province of New Brunswick to not pay its debts, obtain statutorily protected unjust enrichment, not to be held accountable to the various liabilities Vitalité incurred during its commercial relationship with CHL and attempts to shield Vitalité and the province of New Brunswick from judicial oversight and reprimand for its bad faith conduct." The "use of legislation to avoid payment of accounts receivable for services rendered is tantamount to theft," it claims. None of the allegations have been proven in court. Canadian Health Labs goes on to argue that despite the title of the legislation, the Travel Nurses Act "does not address travel nursing in the province." Travel nursing contracts between Vitalité and other companies — Canadian Health Labs' competitors — remain in place and "unaffected," it says. "When the government, acting as a commercial entity, decided it could pay less for the same services, it used its legislative power to deprive CHL of the contracted benefit," according to the documents. The Court of King's Bench of New Brunswick must be free to hear these matters and determine whether the conduct of Vitalité and/or the province of New Brunswick was unlawful, inequitable or deserving of sanction. - Canadian Health Labs In addition, "in anticipation of the legislation, Vitalité made a decision not to terminate the contract which would have triggered damages becoming due and owing on the date of termination." The company argues the government and Vitalité "sought out and induced CHL to enter contractual relationships with Vitalité because of an urgent and desperate need for healthcare providers to keep the hospitals open in New Brunswick," it says. Vitalité "voluntarily agreed to the terms of the contracts with CHL, with the full knowledge and approval of the province." "Without CHL providing nurses, patients would have died," it claims. "The Court of King's Bench of New Brunswick must be free to hear these matters and determine whether the conduct of Vitalité and/or the province of New Brunswick was unlawful, inequitable or deserving of sanction." If the act is not deemed "entirely unconstitutional," Canadian Health Labs argues the legislation does not prevent it from "bringing an action or arbitration for damages." In that alternative scenario, the company seeks a declaration that Vitalité is bound by the terms of the contracts with Canadian Health Labs and that arbitration and/or the lawsuits can proceed on their merits. It also requests that Vitalité's counterclaims be dismissed with costs, and seeks a court order appointing an arbitrator. Vitalité declined to comment, citing the ongoing court proceedings. Canadian Health Labs did not respond to a request for comment.
CBC
13-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
Vitalité files counterclaims to travel nurse contract lawsuits by Canadian Health Labs
Vitalité Health Network has filed counterclaims to the three lawsuits launched by Canadian Health Labs, alleging the travel nurse agency has "seriously compromised its ability to provide safe, effective and continuous health care." In documents filed with the Court of King's Bench in Saint John earlier this week, the regional health authority cites the Ontario-based company's alleged failure to fulfil "several" contractual obligations. These failures include deploying staff who don't have the training Vitalité requires, "including workers under unknown designations or as personal support workers" when the contract provided only for the use of licensed practical nurses and registered nurses, and not respecting the average number of daily teams required, according to the French documents. "Repeated and systemic failures" by Canadian Health Labs, or CHL, have also resulted in "considerable" financial losses, Vitalité claims, "constituting an abusive use of public funds." Among other things, it alleges CHL billed for services not rendered; incorrectly charged for HST; and overcharged for accommodation fees, travel expenses, vehicle rentals and daily allowances. In addition, Vitalité contends CHL failed to disclose a conflict of interest. No details are provided in the documents. Vitalité is seeking damages for breach of contract, punitive or aggravated damages, interest, costs and any other relief the court deems just. None of the allegations have been proven in court. Canadian Health Labs did not respond to a request for comment. CHL lawsuits allege breaches of contracts The company filed its first lawsuit against Vitalité in March, after the regional health authority cancelled the remaining shifts of travel nurses employed by CHL, even though its contract wasn't set to expire until February 2026. It alleged breaches of contract, including non-payments, and damages, including "irreparable" harm to its reputation. CHL subsequently filed two more lawsuits related to two contracts that expired last year. It alleged, among other things, that Vitalité deployed fewer "human health resource professionals" than stipulated in the contracts. Last week, the legislature adopted a law designed to get out of the contracts without facing any legal or financial penalties. "It's as tight as we can make it," Health Minister Dr. John Dornan recently told the legislature's standing committee on economic policy. "It does not absolutely preclude these current actions or subsequent actions," he said, but he believes any actions are "less likely to be successful." Contracts include termination clause, Vitalité says According to the counterclaims filed by Vitalité, its contracts with CHL state a party may terminate the agreement if the other party fails to meet its obligations, subject to prior notice. "On or about June 30, 2023, the network issued a letter of non-compliance to CHL describing their contractual breaches. "These shortcomings were never corrected by CHL and led the network to carry out an … audit of all invoices for the contract," which is still in effect. Auditor General Paul Martin lost his legal bid to get Vitalité to turn over its audits. He sought a court order to compel the regional health authority to disclose the documents as part of his investigation last year into the management and use of private agency nurses by Vitalité, Horizon and the Department of Social Development, dating back to 2022. Vitalité refused to provide the audit reports, saying they were commissioned in anticipation of litigation with CHL, and therefore protected by both litigation and solicitor-client privilege. Martin argued the Auditor General Act says his office is entitled to "free access" to all documents, whether they're confidential or not. Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Tracey DeWare dismissed Martin's application in a written decision June 2, saying the law doesn't explicitly state the auditor general is entitled to "privileged" documents. Martin is "assessing next steps," according to a statement from his office. He previously said the "risks that [Vitalité] identified in the audit reports and to what extent those risks were addressed" remain unknown. In a scathing report last June, Martin concluded "a lack of clearly defined vendor selection processes, poor contract oversight and deficiencies in payment review processes" with travel nurse contracts "resulted in undue risk to the province." He found Vitalité spent $123 million in travel-nurse contracts, including more than $98 million on the three contracts with CHL.
