Evidence of meeting #33 for Health in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was program.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

Members speaking

Before the committee

Vaughan  Board Chair, Canada Health Infoway
El-Demerdash  President, Telus Health
Ensor  Strategic Advisor, Canada Health Infoway

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Helena Konanz Conservative Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC

That would be extremely important, because that person would benefit from these contracts. Could you please find out that information and table it for this committee?

5:05 p.m.

Board Chair, Canada Health Infoway

Peter Vaughan

We'd be happy to have the HR people respond.

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Helena Konanz Conservative Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC

Dr. Vaughan, in what year was your CFO hired on an interim basis?

5:05 p.m.

Board Chair, Canada Health Infoway

Peter Vaughan

I believe it was 2023.

Helena Konanz Conservative Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC

We know that he did work with Michael Green. Did Michael Green recommend him for the interim position of CFO?

5:05 p.m.

Board Chair, Canada Health Infoway

Peter Vaughan

I believe so.

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Helena Konanz Conservative Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC

Does the current CFO continue to be interim?

5:05 p.m.

Board Chair, Canada Health Infoway

Peter Vaughan

That is my understanding, yes.

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Helena Konanz Conservative Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC

He's been interim since 2024. It seems unusual that someone would be interim for more than two years, especially with the number of employees you have. I'm sure you have HR people. Why would you not have gone out on a competitive process for that position?

5:05 p.m.

Board Chair, Canada Health Infoway

Peter Vaughan

The organization, as I indicated earlier in relation to the chief executive officer, is going through a period of transition to try to understand what skills we're going to be needing going forward. Once we have a new CEO in place, then we will be—

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Helena Konanz Conservative Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC

The new CEO will be able to decide or to help decide who the CFO should be or how the competitive process should go, but Michael Green was not able to do that on a $900,000 salary?

5:05 p.m.

Board Chair, Canada Health Infoway

Peter Vaughan

We are in the process of looking at what kinds of transitions we need to make in our new mandate. It's obviously going to be different from what we had in the past, so that would be part of the job of the new CEO.

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Helena Konanz Conservative Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC

Can you tell me if the current CFO owns any individual shares in public companies?

5:05 p.m.

Board Chair, Canada Health Infoway

Peter Vaughan

I do not know the answer to that question.

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Helena Konanz Conservative Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC

I think it would be important for you to table that information and for the public to know that before he becomes a permanent CFO, since he's been there for two years. Can you tell me what his salary is, including bonuses?

5:05 p.m.

Board Chair, Canada Health Infoway

Peter Vaughan

I think that's been publicly communicated in the documents.

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Helena Konanz Conservative Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC

I'd like to hear it here for the Canadian people.

5:05 p.m.

Board Chair, Canada Health Infoway

Peter Vaughan

don't have that information before me, but it's been shared with the committee and it's been publicly stated in the media.

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Helena Konanz Conservative Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC

The CFO's salary has been publicly stated in the media?

5:05 p.m.

Board Chair, Canada Health Infoway

Peter Vaughan

I believe so.

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Helena Konanz Conservative Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC

Okay. Would you please table that immediately?

5:05 p.m.

Board Chair, Canada Health Infoway

Peter Vaughan

We will absolutely do that.

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Helena Konanz Conservative Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC

I have a question for Mr. El-Demerdash.

Did you raise any concerns to Canada Health Infoway, the health department or the Minister of Health's office about any possible obstacles or challenges PrescribeIT could face? I think you might have mentioned earlier that you had 56 or 57 recommendations. Is that true? Did you bring forward 56 or 57 concerns?

5:05 p.m.

President, Telus Health

Mohamed El-Demerdash

Let me make sure that the numbers I said are clear and what they are. The 59 change orders were change requests that we received from Canada Health Infoway to make changes to the initial requirements or specifications that were provided to us, and we implemented those changes.

As per the first part of the question around if we raised concerns, in April 2021 we did provide a document to Canada Health Infoway with an output from the clinical advisory board that we put together to—

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Helena Konanz Conservative Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC

What did they do with that information?