The former head of a federally funded health organization was fired days after MPs grilled him over a nearly $300-million e-prescription flop, with his former employer now admitting his testimony before Parliament damaged its reputation.
Michael Green, the former CEO of Canada Health Infoway, was dismissed on April 29, days after testifying before the House of Commons health committee about PrescribeIT.
According to an October 1 statement of defence reported by The Globe and Mail, Infoway acknowledged that Green’s appearance before MPs contributed to concerns about his leadership.
His testimony “did not meet the board’s expectations for the CEO and negatively impacted the public reputation of Infoway and its relationship with stakeholders,” the organization said.
Infoway maintained Green was dismissed without cause for legitimate reasons, including performance concerns and his failure to establish sustainable funding for PrescribeIT. The board said it had already been considering new leadership before his testimony reinforced those concerns.
The board previously rated Green’s performance as “exceeds” and “thriving” before downgrading him to “delivering” for 2025–26.
Green, who led Infoway since 2014 and earned nearly $900,000 annually in total compensation, filed a wrongful-dismissal lawsuit on July 30 seeking more than $3 million, alleging he was scapegoated for PrescribeIT’s failure.
His lawsuit also alleges his dismissal was timed to prevent further testimony before the House of Commons health committee.
Infoway disputes his allegations and says it offered him severance, including one year’s base salary and benefits, bonuses, RRSP contributions and a car allowance.
Questions about possible political involvement have since surfaced in Parliament.
During an October 5 House of Commons debate, Conservative health critic Dan Mazier questioned whether Health Minister Marjorie Michel had instructed Infoway’s board to dismiss Green to prevent further testimony.
“Did the health minister instruct the board of directors to fire the PrescribeIT CEO in order to prevent him from testifying at the parliamentary committee, yes or no?” Mazier asked.
Mazier cited Green’s lawsuit, which alleged his firing “was timed in order to prevent his further testimony,” and recalled Michel’s earlier statement that she had spoken to Infoway’s board before it took action.
Liberal parliamentary secretary Jacques Ramsay defended the government’s independent review of Infoway’s finances and governance while declining to comment on the lawsuit.
The following day, Mazier asked Michel whether Health Canada’s representative on Infoway’s board had approved Green’s reported severance package.
“As this matter is before the courts, we have no comment,” Michel replied.
“More broadly, we look forward to seeing the outcome of the Infoway third-party audit and organizational review. We will base our next steps on those results.”
Michel was responding to the severance question, not directly to Mazier’s October 5 allegation. The exchanges did not establish that she directed Green’s dismissal.
PrescribeIT, which was intended to replace faxed and paper prescriptions, had approximately $298 million in taxpayer funding allocated to it, according to Health Canada testimony before a parliamentary committee.
Despite the investment, fewer than five per cent of prescriptions flowed through the service before its original operating model was discontinued in May.
Infoway defended the transition, saying the service lacked sustainable funding and that national open standards would allow electronic prescribing to continue. Quebec has maintained a version under a four-year arrangement.
Mazier previously highlighted nearly $100 million paid to Telus Health and $167 million in operational and overhead spending, including $108 million in staffing costs.
According to figures highlighted by Conservatives, Infoway employed 175 staff, including 24 vice presidents, while spending $23 million on consultants and more than $400,000 on executive travel over three years.
Although Infoway operates as an independent, federally funded not-for-profit, Health Canada has a representative on its board, raising questions about Ottawa’s oversight.
“For years, Infoway’s board, which the Health Minister’s own official is a member of, rated his performance as ‘exceeds’ and ‘thriving’, while $300 million was wasted on a program nobody used,” Mazier said.
As Juno News previously reported, Liberal MPs resisted Conservative attempts to expand hearings into PrescribeIT’s failure, with several meetings held behind closed doors.
“What we speak about behind closed doors, Canadians will not be able to know for 30 years,” Conservative MP Helena Konanz told reporters in June.
Conservatives also accused Infoway of obstructing scrutiny after it delayed producing committee-ordered documents on executive compensation, consulting expenses and Telus contracts. Infoway subsequently submitted approximately 7,000 documents.
In June, Michel paused federal funding to Infoway pending an audit and strategic review. She confirmed on October 6 that the organization had received no federal funding during the current fiscal year.
The lawsuit now puts Infoway’s leadership under scrutiny, with its former CEO alleging he was scapegoated and that his dismissal was intended to prevent further testimony, while questions persist in Parliament over who was responsible for his firing.