The Niagara CCAC acted in bad faith when it conducted its review of applicants for the visiting nurse program, says the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU).
OPSEU has written to Health Minister George Smitherman complaining that the VON was put through the process up until June 2004 despite evidence that suggests the 85-year-old agency was disqualified by the CCAC as early as last fall.
The union has obtained an affidavit from a former home care client who was told by Bill Bloor, Chief Executive Officer of the Niagara CCAC, that “the fate of the VON was already decided in November or December of 2003.”
“If that is the case, then why wasn’t the VON told this back in January?” says OPSEU President Leah Casselman. “Instead the VON continued to spend thousands of dollars seeking a contract the CCAC had no intention of giving.”
Bloor’s statement also contrasts with those of the selection panel, which had told VON management that they had scored high in both quality and price throughout the competition.
“There is enough evidence to suggest the fix was in on this contract,” says Casselman. “Our members report that the required site visit conducted by the CCAC in June was done with a demonstrable lack of interest, leading them to question whether they were being taken seriously by the panel. Yet when VON management was debriefed by the
selection panel, they were surprised to learn that they scored high on this visit.”
The union also wrote that it was concerned about the potential for bias on the selection panel. One of the panelists is a former employee of Toronto’s St. Elizabeth Health Care, which was awarded half of the visiting nurse contract. While having a former employee of one of the applicants does not violate the CCAC’s conflict of interest
guidelines, a similar candidate was excluded from the panel for a past association with the VON.
The union is asking the Minister of Health to place the awarding of this contract on hold until the process can be independently investigated. It is also calling for a province-wide review of the competitive bidding process used in awarding home care contracts.
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For more information, contact:
Debbie Charbonneau - 905-684-2693
Virgery Vanier - 905-227-3770
Rick Janson – 416-443-8888 ext 207
