N.L. spent $1.1M on forensic audit of travel nurse agency payments, findings remain off limits to public
Province mum on potential next steps in relation to Canadian Health Labs
Newfoundland and Labrador health officials are keeping details of an external forensic audit of payments made to a travel nursing agency under wraps — at least for now.
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officials → spend → wraps
The province’s health authority paid Deloitte LLP nearly $1.1 million to conduct the audit, according to records obtained by CBC Investigates through access to information.
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authority → pay → information
There were five payments in total to Deloitte; the first in September 2025, with the last invoice — described as “final” — dated in early February of this year.
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first → be → year
Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services recently rejected a CBC access-to-information request for the audit's findings.
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Services → reject → findings
The health authority cited a discretionary section of the law that allows policy advice or recommendations to be withheld.
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advice → cite → law
According to that same section of the law, officials can’t refuse to disclose “a final report or final audit on the performance or efficiency of a public body or on any of its programs or policies.”
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officials → accord → programs
In its Aug. 21 response denying access, the health authority wrote: “Content experts with NLHS have advised that the report is not yet finalized.”
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report → deny → NLHS
NLHS did not provide a response to CBC questions sent Aug. 31 about when the report will be finalized and why it’s not now, given the fact the final payment invoice was dated more than seven months ago.
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invoice → provide → fact
Health officials also did not provide details on who the “content experts” are, or their area of expertise.
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experts → provide → expertise
According to the NLHS request for proposals, the initial deadline for the audit report to be delivered was Sept. 30, 2025.
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report → accord → proposals
“Any extension beyond [that date] would be considered for extraordinary or unusual circumstances, at sole discretion of NLHS,” the documents noted.
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documents → consider → NLHS
AG recommended review of ‘Agency A’
Deloitte
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AG → recommend → A
Hanrahan found that a company — dubbed “Agency A” in her report — billed taxpayers tens of millions over a span of three years.
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company → find → years
Records obtained by CBC Investigates show that Agency A is Canadian Health Labs.
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A → obtain → Investigates
That company had contracts to provide travel nurses in the province, who filled vacancies after the pandemic.
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who → have → pandemic
The AG’s report “found many of the items reimbursed to be non-compliant.”
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report → find → items
That included expenses charged to taxpayers such as a milk frother, food processor and an air fryer.
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That → include → frother
Hanrahan also highlighted concerns about electric vehicle rentals charged to the health authority by Agency A, saying there were “strong indications of potential billing fraud.”
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Hanrahan → highlight → fraud
In response to a subsequent CBC Investigates story about those EV rentals, CHL sent a statement: “We have completed a thorough internal review of the matters referenced and are satisfied that NLHS was billed accurately for services provided.
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NLHS → send → services
And the agency defended its contracts in a 2024 Globe and Mail story, saying they “reflect the extraordinary logistical challenges of getting and keeping health-care professionals in rural, remote and underserved communities.”
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they → defend → communities
- CBC INVESTIGATES | N.L. health minister calls new details of travel nurse agency billings ‘egregious’
- CBC INVESTIGATES | N.L. watchdog flagged 'potential billing fraud' for travel nurse EV rentals.
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watchdog → call → rentals
We have the invoices
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We → have → invoices
According to the AG’s report, Agency A received $73.6 million from the province over a three-year period from 2022 to 2024.
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A → accord → 2024
Hanrahan recommended that NLHS “complete an immediate comprehensive audit of all amounts paid to Agency A from April 2022 to present, to recover public funds paid in error.”
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NLHS → recommend → error
Canadian Health Labs did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
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Labs → respond → story
Potential next steps remain unclear
More than a year ago, then-NLHS CEO Pat Parfrey told a legislative committee that any next steps would depend on the findings of the audit.
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steps → tell → audit
“The intent will be that the auditor would report back to us at the end of September [2025], and then a decision will be made concerning whether there was potentially fraudulent activity and how we would refer to the appropriate agencies,” Parfrey said.
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Parfrey → report → agencies
When questioned by reporters this April, then-health minister Lela Evans said the audit was “nearing completion,” but noted the importance of not rushing it.
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audit → question → it
“If we can release it, we will be releasing it,” she said.
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she → release → it
“This government ran on transparency and we will be transparent.
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we → run → transparency
The only thing that will keep us from actually sharing it with the public would be if there's any legal action being taken.”
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that → keep → public
Evans added: “If there was wrongdoing, people have to actually be accountable.”
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people → add → ?
A new minister, Joedy Wall, took over the health portfolio last month.
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minister → take → portfolio
Officials in his department steered CBC inquiries about the audit back to NLHS.
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Officials → steer → Newfoundland
