Government rejected Health PEI board choice for new CEO, says former board chair

The former chair of Health PEI offered a warning about increasing government influence in health administration Wednesday, a day after he and his entire board resigned to protest changes to the Health Services Act.

Alex MacBeath said government rejected the board's choice of a new CEO for Health P.E.I. several weeks ago and suggested the changes to the Act will open the door to more political influence.

"We identified a candidate that we thought had the experience and ability to be the leader of this system for the next five years and ... the recommendation was rejected by government," said MacBeath.

"I can't explain why those decisions were made. But I think when you start to have those decisions made perhaps on an arbitrary basis, it becomes very difficult for a board to meet its ... responsibilities."

Minister wanted to work 'collaboratively'

Health and Wellness Minister Robert Mitchell said he wanted a collaborative approach when it came to selecting a new CEO.

"I've indicated a number of weeks ago, could we broaden the search, can we lengthen the search to see if there's any other candidates out there ... a direction of working collaboratively was my vision," Mitchell said.

MacBeath said the boardconducted a professional search for a new CEO, and selected one candidate from dozens of applicants.

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