Former Infoway CEO sues for wrongful dismissal

TORONTO – The former chief executive of Canada Health Infoway is suing the federally funded non-profit for wrongful dismissal, alleging that he was made a scapegoat for the failure of a $300-million project to get doctors to send their prescriptions electronically.

The Globe and Mail reported that Infoway had offered to pay a year’s worth of Michael Green’s (pictured) base salary of $616,700, plus bonuses, benefits and car allowance as part of his severance package when it dismissed him without cause in April, documents show.

But Mr. Green says in a lawsuit that he was terminated without just cause and is owed more than $3 million in damages rather than a severance package.

Reacting to the latest disclosure about Mr. Green’s severance package, conservative MP Dan Mazier, who had led some of the questioning before a parliamentary committee of the former CEO and other witnesses on the topic of the PrescribeIT project, said Infoway should be defunded.

The severance package showed “blatant disrespect” for taxpayers, Mr. Mazier said in a statement. “The liberals have allowed this organization to waste taxpayers’ hundreds of millions of dollars without any oversight or accountability,” he said.

Infoway launched PrescribeIT in 2017 as part of “axe the fax” initiatives to replace fax machines with digital alternatives for sending prescriptions between doctors and pharmacists.

But the program was shut down in most of the country in May because fewer than 5 percent of prescriptions flowed through it, as The Globe and Mail revealed earlier this year. A pilot project will continue to run in Quebec, where the government is covering the operating costs.

Mr. Green, who had been Infoway’s chief executive officer since 2014, testified at the House of Commons health committee on April 21 about the program’s low uptake and how its funding was spent.

Members of parliament grew visibly frustrated at times with Mr. Green’s lack of detailed answers on topics such as why doctors did not use the PrescribeIT service or what his salary was.

The following week, Infoway disclosed publicly that Mr. Green was being paid nearly $900,000 in total annual compensation, including a base salary of $616,700 and bonuses of $215,845, as well as benefits such as a pension and car allowance.

Infoway’s board chair Peter Vaughan later told MPs that the remuneration was based in part on what a hospital executive would be paid.

On April 29, Infoway’s board met and passed a motion to remove Mr. Green as CEO effective immediately. Draft board meeting minutes shared with MPs say the board discussed his performance, and an unnamed board member had put forward a motion of no confidence at a previous board meeting.

That same day, Infoway offered Mr. Green a severance package that included the equivalent of a year’s salary and some at-risk pay. In addition, Infoway offered to maintain his health insurance benefits up to April, 2027, and to contribute to his RRSP and pay his car allowance for two months after his dismissal.

“Michael, we would like to thank you for your many contributions to Infoway over the years and wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavours,” Mr. Vaughan wrote in the April 29 letter sent to Mr. Green that said he was terminated without cause.

Mr. Green subsequently sued Infoway for wrongful dismissal, according to a statement of claim filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on July 30.

Mr. Green claims damages that include $1,886,927 for wrongful dismissal and $1 million for aggravated or moral damages, as well as legal costs and other relief.

The claim alleges Mr. Green is entitled to reasonable notice equivalent to 24 months because he is 71, has a high level of overall compensation and was subject to the “negative public circumstances and stigma” surrounding his dismissal, as well as other factors.

Infoway “knowingly and deliberately scapegoated” Mr. Green, according to the claim.

The organization was “implicitly blaming or allowing the plaintiff to be blamed for the organization’s funding position and the board’s decision to terminate a major program, particularly before (i.e. in front of) a House of Commons Health Committee,” the claim said.

“The plaintiff’s termination was timed in order to prevent his further testimony before the aforementioned committee and in order to provide the appearance that the plaintiff engaged in wrongdoing.”

Infoway filed a notice on Aug. 12 that it intended to defend the lawsuit. The organization declined to comment on the case on Thursday.

The office of federal health minister Marjorie Michel also declined to comment.

The federal government announced in June it would launch a strategic review and audit of Infoway. Health Canada recently posted a request for proposals for the audit work, which says it plans for the work to be completed by Dec. 31.