Knowing the cause of a problem is essential to preventing its recurrence. That鈥檚 why the sa国际传媒 government needs to reveal, fully and finally, what led to the suspensions and firings of several Health Ministry employees and contractors in 2012. If we don鈥檛 know what happened, what assurance do we have that it won鈥檛 happen again?
In April 2012, the Health Ministry began an investigation into its pharmaceutical-services division based on allegations of inappropriate data access and suspected conflicts of interest.
When announcing the first firings in September 2012, Margaret MacDiarmid, on her first day as minister of health, hinted at dark doings.
鈥淭his was the first thing I was briefed on, and my reaction was disbelief. I was shocked,鈥� she said. She offered no details, no explanations.
Since that day, three lawsuits were launched and settled; two more are pending. Three grievances have been settled. One person, seeing his career ruined, killed himself in despair, having never been told what he was accused of. Three researchers were publicly cleared and praised for their work; two were reinstated and another retired.
Premier Christy Clark and current Health Minister Terry Lake have apologized to the family of Rod MacIsaac, the researcher who took his own life.
Labour lawyer Marcia McNeil was asked to conduct an independent review of the government investigation that prompted the firings, but her scope covered human-resources practices, not the original (and nebulous) allegations. Her report confirmed what had already become clear 鈥� the initial investigation was seriously flawed, the process was unfair and the consequences have been far more serious than any alleged data breaches could have been.
MacDiarmid said in 2012 that the RCMP would be involved, which implied allegations of criminal acts. More than two years later, the RCMP鈥檚 serious- and organized-crime unit is wondering when it will receive information from the government.
鈥淚 have seen mention of your investigation in the media these past few weeks,鈥� Const. Dean Miller wrote in a Nov. 6, 2014, email to Wendy Taylor, director of privacy investigations for the Ministry of Citizens鈥� Services. 鈥淎re you any closer to being in a position to forward us your findings?鈥�
A Public Services Agency official says police have been given the appropriate details, and the ministry has no more information to provide. An RCMP official says: 鈥淭here is no update at this time.鈥�
That leaves us to conclude that the RCMP were given no information that would support an investigation.
There is ample scope for an inquiry into how the bureaucracy could blunder so monumentally, and yet no one seems to know who ordered the firings and why. You don鈥檛 dismiss an employee without a paper trail 鈥� that鈥檚 Human Resources 101 鈥� yet, as McNeil wrote: 鈥淭his case is lacking reports, briefing notes, meeting notes or other documents which are frequently prepared in situations where discipline may be contemplated.鈥�
Graham Whitmarsh, the man who signed the termination letters, lost his job, but said he was disappointed to learn that the process was so flawed. He should have asked more questions. MacDiarmid and the premier should have asked more questions.
Because they didn鈥檛 ask, many more questions are left unanswered. It leads to one of two conclusions: The government won鈥檛 explain or it can鈥檛. One speaks to integrity, the other to competence. Either way, the public is left to wonder whom it can trust.
Apologies and reinstatements notwithstanding, a cloud still hovers over the Health Ministry.
