General

Will CEO’s firing prompt exodus from Alberta Health Services board?

‘I don’t think that eating a cookie and not speaking to reporters is grounds for termination’

Two of the 14 members of Alberta’s Health Services board—Tony Franceschini and Dr. Andreas Laupacis of Toronto—have said they are considering resigning from their posts in the aftermath of the board decision’s to let CEO Stephen Duckett go. Duckett was sacked following his refusal to talk to reporters about a meeting on the province’s ER crisis, saying he was too busy eating a cookie. “The last few days have been difficult for all of us,” reads an e-mail from Laupacis, executive director at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital. “Given the importance of AHS, I will be taking time to carefully consider whether I will remain on the board or resign.” Gord Bontje of Red Deer, another board member, has already resigned in protest. Bontje said Duckett had done a credible job after inheriting a difficult situation, and that he had been working on the long emergency waits and seniors care long before the issue came to the public’s attention. As for the infamous cookie comments? “I don’t think that eating a cookie and not speaking to reporters is grounds for termination,” Bontje said. How the other board members decide to proceed may hinge on that same question.

Edmonton Journal

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