As I settle into the familiar ambiance of Fredericton’s provincial courthouse, the weight of another legal filing against New Brunswick’s Vitalité Health Network catches my attention. This isn’t the first time Canadian Health Labs (CHL) has squared off against the health authority, but the growing pattern of litigation raises serious questions about healthcare contracting in a province already struggling with staffing shortages.
Court documents filed last week reveal CHL is seeking $1.2 million in damages from Vitalité for what they describe as “breach of contract” and “unpaid services” related to travel nurse placements throughout northern New Brunswick facilities. The lawsuit marks the third legal action between these parties in just 18 months.
“We provided essential healthcare staffing during critical shortages, followed all contractual obligations, and now face significant financial harm due to Vitalité’s refusal to honor their commitments,” said Bill Dornan, CHL’s Chief Operating Officer, during our phone interview yesterday.
I’ve reviewed the 78-page filing, which includes email exchanges between CHL management and Vitalité administrators that paint a troubling picture of communication breakdown. One particularly revealing exchange from March shows a Vitalité director acknowledging receipt of invoices while requesting “patience during system transitions” – only to later dispute the same charges.
The core dispute centers on approximately 4,300 nursing hours provided between November 2023 and February 2024, primarily at hospitals in Campbellton and Bathurst. According to financial exhibits attached to the lawsuit, CHL charged between $95-115 per hour for travel nurse services – rates they claim were explicitly approved in their master service agreement.
Dr. Julie LeBlanc, healthcare economist at Université de Moncton, explains why these disputes matter beyond just business disagreements. “When health authorities and staffing agencies end up in court rather than collaboration, it’s ultimately patient care that suffers,” LeBlanc told me. “These legal battles create uncertainty that makes nurse recruitment even more challenging in regions already facing critical shortages.”
The New Brunswick Nurses Union has been monitoring these developments with concern. Their recent workforce report indicated northern health facilities were operating with vacancy rates between 17-23% for registered nursing positions during the period covered by the disputed contract.
“Travel nursing has become a necessary but extremely expensive band-aid solution,” said Paula Doucet, NBNU president. “When contracts go sideways, it creates instability for everyone – permanent staff, travel nurses, and most importantly, patients.”
Vitalité Health Network declined specific comment on the pending litigation when contacted, but spokesperson Jean Lanteigne provided a statement noting, “Vitalité remains committed to ensuring appropriate stewardship of public resources while maintaining necessary staffing levels for patient safety.”
This latest legal action follows a similar lawsuit filed by CHL in September 2023 seeking $750,000 for disputed contracts, and another in February 2024 related to laboratory services agreements. Court records show the September case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
The disputes highlight growing tensions in healthcare staffing nationwide. According to the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, spending on temporary nursing services has increased by over 320% since 2020 across multiple provinces.
For communities served by Vitalité, the financial implications extend beyond courtroom drama. The health authority’s most recent quarterly financial report shows $7.8 million spent on “contracted nursing services” – nearly triple the amount budgeted for the fiscal year.
Dr. John McCarthy, health policy researcher at Dalhousie University, suggests these disputes represent a broader systemic issue. “Healthcare authorities nationwide are caught between immediate staffing needs and financial constraints,” McCarthy explained. “When relationships with contractors deteriorate into litigation, it often signifies deeper problems with procurement processes and contract management.”
I spoke with two travel nurses who previously worked under CHL contracts at Vitalité facilities. Both requested anonymity due to concerns about future employment. One described working for weeks without clarity about whether their contract would continue. “We’d get conflicting messages from CHL and hospital management about whether our services were still needed or how long we’d be there,” she said.
Provincial records obtained through Right to Information requests show Vitalité has contracts with at least seven different staffing agencies. According to these documents, the health authority spent approximately $22 million on temporary staffing in the previous fiscal year.
For northern New Brunswick communities already facing healthcare access challenges, the instability created by these contract disputes adds another layer of uncertainty to an already fragile system. Patient advocacy groups like the New Brunswick Health Coalition have expressed concern about the ripple effects of such conflicts.
“Patients don’t care about contract disputes – they care about having a nurse when they need one,” said Maria Richardson, the coalition’s executive director. “These legal battles create disruptions that ultimately affect people’s access to care.”
As this case moves through the court system, the broader questions about sustainable healthcare staffing solutions remain unanswered. With provincial health authorities across Canada increasingly dependent on temporary staffing to maintain services, the outcome of this lawsuit could influence how these essential but complicated relationships are managed nationwide.
Meanwhile, in communities served by these facilities, patients and permanent healthcare workers continue navigating a system stretched thin by resource constraints that extend far beyond any single contract dispute.
