Witnesses spurn request to discuss NSHA board dismissal, committee members frustrated
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Claudia Chender, an NDP member of the committee who represents Dartmouth South, said each caucus can put forth topics for discussion at committee and the health authority topic was a Liberal offering.
Chender said Oldfield and Lagasse replied to the committee with identically worded emailed letters, stating that they did not wish to appear before the committee because they had no knowledge of the leadership change decision.
“To me, that sets quite a dangerous precedent,” Chender said. “The whole point of public accounts is to have the ability to gain insight into the workings of government and their financial and other ramifications,” Chender said.
“It may well be that Ms. Lagasse and Ms. Oldfield didn’t oversee that decision but, nonetheless, they hold leadership positions in the health-care system and they both literally hold those positions because they were appointed by this new government.
“If not them, then who is the question.”
Chender said any executive director, CEO or leader of an organization has to be able to speak to decisions made under their watch and decisions made previously and also to speak to the real-time ramifications of those decisions.
“What’s the outcome right now, what are we seeing? I thought it was very unfortunate that they both elected to tell the committee that they wouldn’t appear,” Chender said.
“The emails they sent were identical and what that suggests … is that someone from within the government, not necessarily that department, was directing them to send those letters and that also is quite disturbing.”
The potential for form letters to be sent from every bureaucrat asked to appear before the committee stating that they have no knowledge would “start to really impede the democratic function of the committee.”
Chender said she expects the conversation surrounding witnesses to address the Sept. 1 change will continue when the committee next meets.”