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Province paid Dr. John Dornan nearly $1.8M in settlement over firing as Horizon CEO
The provincial government ended up reaching a $1.8-million settlement with now-Health Minister Dr. John Dornan over his firing as the head of Horizon Health Network following the death of a Fredericton ER patient.
That's 90 per cent of the original record-breaking $2-million payout Dornan was awarded by a labour adjudicator in his unjust dismissal case in 2023, which the province initially appealed.
The amount of the year-old settlement was disclosed for the first time Friday in a written statement from Dornan. Both he and the province had to waive a non-disclosure agreement in order for the amount to be made public.
"As I said during my campaign and now acting as a Minister of the Crown, I am committed to full openness and transparency with the people of New Brunswick regarding the outcome of this case," Dornan said in the emailed statement.
"The total settlement awarded to me was $1,785,000, which was issued on April 18, 2024, with taxes appropriately withheld," he said.
"At the time of my initial dismissal, I received $360,000, which was the equivalent of one year's salary for the position. All associated legal fees and taxes have been fully paid."
The Department of Justice and Public Safety could not immediately say how much money the province spent on its legal fight with Dornan, or whether it's more or less than the $215,000 difference between the settlement amount and his original award.
Dornan now earns $94,523 per year as the MLA for Saint John Portland-Simonds, plus $62,952 per year as the minister of health.
At 'pivotal moment' in career
He filed his grievance under the Public Service Labour Relations Act in the summer of 2022 after then premier Blaine Higgs publicly announced his firing as president and CEO of Horizon during a news conference.
It was part of a larger shakeup of New Brunswick's health-care leadership following the death of a patient in the waiting room of the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital's emergency department in Fredericton. Darrell Mesheau, 78, spent about seven hours waiting for care before he was discovered unresponsive by a nurse around 4:30 a.m. on July 12, 2022.
Dorothy Shephard was also replaced as health minister and the boards of both Horizon and Vitalité were removed.
Dornan was only four months into his five-year contract when he was fired. He was "at a pivotal moment in [his] career," he said in his statement.
He had served as interim president and CEO for about seven months when he agreed to take on the role permanently. He gave up his previous position as regional chief of staff for Horizon in Saint John and his endocrinology practice to do so.
"Like any New Brunswicker whose employment is unjustly terminated, I pursued my right to file a claim for unjust dismissal," Dornan said.
"Following due process, the courts determined that my dismissal was indeed without cause, and I was subsequently awarded a settlement for unjust dismissal."
'Mutually satisfactory resolution'
In February 2023, adjudicator George Filliter awarded him special damages of about $1.8 million, representing the value of lost salary, pension contributions and health benefits, plus $200,000 in aggravated damages for "breach of the employer's implied obligation to act in good faith when dismissing him."
It was the largest employment compensation award in the province's history, Dornan's lawyers said at the time.
The province promptly requested a judicial review, seeking to have the award quashed.
But Court of King's Bench Justice Kathryn Gregory upheld the labour arbitrator's decision and awarded Dornan costs of $4,000, plus HST and "reasonable disbursements."
The province subsequently appealed, arguing Gregory "erred in fact and law."
Then in April 2024 — just four days before the case was scheduled to be heard — the province dropped its appeal.
