B.C. health firings: province settles out of court with 2 researchers

The B.C. government has settled out of court with two doctorsfired in 2012 as part of a scandal that involved whistle-blowing, multiple lawsuits, apologies, a call for a public inquiryand a suicide.

Rebecca and WilliamWarburtonwere part of a group of eighthealth ministry workers fired by the province, which had claimedthe employees inappropriately accessed sensitive medical records.

It was later revealedRCMP officers were never given evidence by the government to investigatethe wrongdoing which was used to justify the firings, despite the government telling the public an investigation was ongoing.

One of the researchers, University of Victoria co-op studentRoderick MacIsaac, took his own lifethree months after he was fired.

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The province issued a joint statement on behalf of the Ministry of Justice and the Warburtons on Tuesday announcing the settlement.

TheWarburtons, whohave been fighting the province in the courts for the past two years, also offered their own statement to the press.

"We have been exonerated and our reputations for acting honourably and in the public interest have been restored," they said.

"It is clear from both the joint statement and the size of thecash settlement that the government shares our view."

The B.C. government hasn't revealed how large the settlement was,but in its own statement said the province recognizesthere were flaws in its initial investigation.

Ombudsperson reviewing firings

The firing of the eighthealth care workers is now being reviewed byombudspersonJayChalke.

"The province is confident and the Warburtons are hopeful that the process being undertaken by the ombudsperson will provide the public with a thorough review of what occurred in relation to the health-research investigation and firings," said the Ministry of Justice in the joint statementstatement.

The provinceadded that theWarburtonsare welcome to apply for access to health data for research purposes.

B.C. NDP Leader John Horgansaid the settlement clearly indicates the province's mistakes.

"We now finally know that eightindividuals were smeared inappropriately by their own government," said Horgan. "The Christy ClarkLiberals took eightindividual lives and turned them upside down."