FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 23, 2025

Health PEI contracts show PC government is spending more and delivering less on healthcare for Islanders

Charlottetown, PE – After weeks of delay, Islanders finally saw the details of the Executive Leadership Team contracts at Health PEI. What they reveal is deeply troubling — not just in terms of cost, but in how this government continues to avoid accountability.

The contracts, which were requested and approved for release on May 1st on the floor of the legislature during budget debate, were not made public until days after the legislature had closed on May 16th. This conveniently prevented the Minister of Health and the Premier from facing any questions or scrutiny in the House.

It’s a pattern we’ve seen before with this government,” said Matt MacFarlane, Third Party Critic for Health. “Just like with the Public Schools Branch’s handling of the Matthew Craswell case, key information is delayed until it’s politically advantageous to share it. With the legislature closed, opposition has one less way to take this government to task on its reckless spending of taxpayer dollars and lack of transparency.”

• The facts of the contracts themselves are equally concerning:
  Six senior Health PEI positions — including the Chief Communications Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Medical Officer, Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Human Resources Executive — are being paid as independent contractors through private HR firms, rather than through the Public Service Commission (PSC) hiring process.
• These six contracts cost Islanders $2,044,960 annually not including taxes — nearly $1 million more than if they had been hired as employees using PSC salaries.
• Annually, these contracts cost us $863,200 more than PSC classifications and $755,855 more than the already-flagged costs in the Auditor General’s October 2024 report.
• The contracts also allow for payment of travel and accommodation costs for these executive level contractors. According to CBC, accommodation costs range from $2,500 to $3,900 per month — averaging out to $19,200 every month across the six executives. Travel costs are currently unclear.

“We are once again ignoring the recommendations of the Auditor General and inflating executive salaries,” said MacFarlane. “These costs — paid with public dollars — are going entirely off-Island, while many frontline Island healthcare workers wait years for their contracts to be negotiated so that they are afforded fair compensation.”

Also troubling is that these are interim contracts — yet at least one individual has been working in their role since July 2024, with their contract now extended until March 2026. “Islanders deserve stable leadership in our healthcare system, not a revolving door of interim executives flown in from Ontario. These positions should be filled by people who live here, understand our community, and have a long-term commitment to making our system better,” said MacFarlane.

MacFarlane is calling for an immediate return to hiring practices that prioritize local talent, appropriate spending, and public transparency.

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For media inquiries, please contact:
Katie Rankin
Chief of Staff
Office of the Third Party
Tel: (902) 213-6378
Email: kerankin@assembly.pe.ca