New Brunswick Federation of Labour joins in calling for a public inquiry into travel nurse contracts

The New Brunswick Federation of Labour (NBFL) says it is joining other organizations in calling for a public inquiry into the travel nurse contracts.

In a Monday release, the NBFL said a recent auditor general’s report sheds some troubling light onto the contracts. It found inadequacies, mismanagement and a lack of co-operation from the Vitalité Health Authority in providing the mandated documents and found these contracts were not a good value for money.

“New Brunswickers deserve to know what went wrong with the private, for-profit nursing contracts and why,” says Daniel Legere, president of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour in the release. “The hundreds of millions of dollars spent on these for-profit providers would have been better spent on recruiting and retaining full-time nurses in the provinces. New Brunswick nurses are the lowest paid in the country.”

“A public inquiry will go a long way in restoring public trust in our health care and political systems,” adds Legere. “It will also show New Brunswick’s commitment to addressing the issues head on as we rebuild a health-care system that works for everyone.”

The New Brunswick Government’s public accounts legislative committee and the New Brunswick Nurses Union are also calling for a public inquiry.

For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.