If any doubts remained that a full public inquiry is needed to investigate the firing of eight health ministry researchers in 2012, the events of the past few days surely dispelled them.
First, the original whistleblower, whose allegations led to the dismissals, broke her silence.
Alana James was an employee at the ministry in 2012 when she observed what she believed were irregular and possibly fraudulent activities.
Finding no support from senior management, James said she took her concerns to the provincial auditor general. Specifically, she delivered a package of documents that, in her view, revealed a pattern of misconduct.
Among the allegations she made were that contracts had been awarded to family members, privacy breaches had occurred and patient data files had been mishandled. James also alleged there was an appearance of favouritism in the choice of university researchers to conduct career-advancing drug research.
The auditor took these allegations to the deputy minister of health, and an internal investigation was set in motion.
James鈥檚 revelations could help explain two previously unanswered questions: Why were the RCMP notified at an early stage in the ministry鈥檚 investigation, and why was the decision made to dismiss eight employees, one of them a co-op student (Roderick MacIsaac) with only days left on the job? The latter question, in particular, has stumped people knowledgeable about government procedure.
Public-sector firings on this scale are unprecedented in sa国际传媒, while the decision to dismiss MacIsaac was shameful. Yet civil servants are schooled in caution, and some of the officials involved, of necessity, were senior executives with years of experience.
The answer to both questions might be that the allegations James made were potentially explosive. If contracts were awarded to family members inappropriately, that could conceivably result in criminal charges. Hence, perhaps, the decision to call in the RCMP.
But James also alleged that some of the favouritism involving university researchers stretched back 10 years or more. That suggested not just a single misdeed, but a longstanding culture of professional misconduct. No wonder management went into panic mode.
To what extent James鈥檚 allegations were warranted is unclear. The fact that no RCMP investigation was held suggests a lack of evidence for criminal activities.
And the ministry subsequently settled with most of the fired workers and issued an apology. James, however, stands by her allegations.
The only way to get to the bottom of this is to hold an inquiry, and here a second bombshell has exploded.
Health Minister Terry Lake wants the ombudsperson鈥檚 office to conduct an investigation. But two days ago, in a 10-page letter to the legislative committee that oversees his work, the ombudsperson, Jay Chalke, all but ruled out his involvement.
Chalke explained that his office lacks the necessary authority to complete an inquiry. As things stand, he warned that he would not be able to compel testimony, without which any investigation is doomed from the start.
He also pointed out that, traditionally, ombudsperson inquiries are conducted in private. Yet given the significant public interest in the matter at hand, a much more open process is needed.
Chalke did offer a potential solution: If the government amends his legislation to strengthen his hand, he would be willing to proceed.
But the impression emanating from every page of the letter is that this is a task Chalke wants no part of.
Surely by now, it is abundantly clear that nothing less than a full-scale public inquiry will settle this matter. This scandal has roiled the Health Ministry for three years now. Vital research has been sidelined, and lives have been ruined.
The minister should seek someone of impeccable standing with no connection to government, preferably from another province, and stand aside.
