Newfoundland asks RCMP to look into incident; New Brunswick encouraged to investigate as well
A Toronto-based private staffing firm is said to have received payment from two provinces so nurses and personal support workers they brought to those places can enjoy free meals — but the firm never gave the workers their free meals, according to a report from The Globe and Mail.
Canadian Health Labs (CHL) invoiced health authorities in Newfoundland and Labrador $1.6 million in meal allowances for the nurses it dispatched to that province, according to the report.
The workers, however, were still required to pay for their own food. A total of nine workers confirmed these incidents to The Globe.
The health care and social assistance sector had the biggest number of job vacancies (127,100) in Canada by November 2023, according to Statistics Canada (StatCan).
The same thing happened to workers CHL brought to New Brunswick, according to the report.
The Globe and Mail couldn’t determine the exact amount of the contract between CHL and New Brunswick. However, the province’s Vitalité Health Network, which delivers French-language medical services, is said to have paid CHL for meal allowances for its travelling staff, has a deal with the company worth a maximum amount of $93 million, and the agreement runs until 2026.
As part of the agreement, CHL charged New Brunwick $46 a day for meal allowances for each out-of-province nurse or personal support worker, according to the health authority.
Vitalité also did not give the exact amount it has paid to CHL.
However, according to contracts obtained by The Globe, CHL billed regional health authorities in the two Atlantic provinces at rates of up to $300 an hour per nurse.
That is twice what other agencies charged and six times what local nurses earn in the public system, according to the report.
The Globe did not hear back from CHL when it asked about the discrepancies, according to the report.
In December 2023, Mark Holland, minister of health, announced the Canadian government will provide $3.5 million over five years to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) to develop a “National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being”, which he said will improve health care workforce retention.
Last week, Newfoundland Health Minister Tom Osborne asked the Office of the Comptroller-General to look into the issue of the health authorities’ agreements with CHL, according to The Globe. Newfoundland’s Official Opposition has also asked the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to look into the issue around meal allowances in CHL deals.
Free food is one of the perks workers desire in the office, according to a previous report.