Conservative Shadow Minister for Health, Dan Mazier, has raised concerns after Liberal members of the House of Commons health committee failed to explain why they moved debate behind closed doors during a meeting on Tuesday. The committee was discussing PrescribeIT, an electronic prescription service launched in 2017 and overseen by Canada Health Infoway, a federally funded non-profit.
Program cancellation and cost overruns
The program is set to end operations on May 29 due to slow adoption. Mazier noted that PrescribeIT's budget started at $40 million but has grown to $300 million over the past decade. Conservatives have called for an auditor general investigation.
Motion and in-camera vote
During Tuesday's meeting, Mazier moved a motion to obtain documents and financial information from Canada Health Infoway and Telus Health. Parliamentary Secretary of Health Maggie Chi then moved to hold the meeting in-camera, which passed without explanation. The Liberals' recent majority in the House of Commons gave them control of committee seats, enabling the vote.
Liberal MPs silent
On Wednesday, Liberal committee members Doug Eyolfson and Sonia Sidhu did not respond to reporters' questions. Conservative MPs expressed frustration, with Matt Strauss calling the move "astounding" and Burton Bailey saying he was "very disgusted." Mazier directed questions to the Liberals about the status of a potential investigation.
Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon rejected claims of shutting down debate, stating, "No one's shutting down debate. We're having lots of debate every day on a very ambitious legislative agenda."
