Government denies Devine ties to drug treatment centre contract
SASKATOON Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili says he is concerned about a former premier’s role in promoting a private addictions treatment company following revelations the firm was subsequently granted a contract to help run a new $1.4-million methamphetamine addiction treatment facility in Estevan.
Health Minister Jim Reiter dismissed the core of Meili’s allegations as a “smear,” but said he was concerned by the appearance of a conflict of interest and would ask the ministry to investigate further.
An email from former Progressive Conservative premier Grant Devine, obtained and released by the NDP, includes a presentation prepared by Cedars, a Vancouver Island-based company, that includes a pitch for a 100-bed addictions treatment centre and plans for a 20-bed government-funded facility and a partnership with the University of Saskatchewan.
In the email, dated December 2019, Devine referenced a plan to “present a well documented (sic) model to Premier Moe in the new year.” The email mentions that Cedars’ operation is profitable, and was also sent to former premier Brad Wall’s former chief of staff, Joe Donlevy.
The provincial government’s 2020-21 budget includes almost $1.4 million for the facility at St. Joseph’s Hospital, which will specialize in treating meth addiction through what has been described as a “unique partnership model that will bring specialized training to the province.” Premier Scott Moe toured the facility this year.
While the parties involved have said there is no conflict, Meili questioned the optics and argued it’s unusual for Devine, a University of Saskatchewan board member, to be in talks with a private company.
Meili said a contract for the program should have been publicly tendered.
According to the NDP, two Saskatchewan-based companies had also contacted the government with similar proposals but had not received replies.
It is unclear exactly how much of the $1.4 million is going to Cedars.
“If you’ve got public dollars going to projects, there’s got to be transparency in how those dollars are allocated,” Meili said.
Reiter said a public tender was not needed for the project because the hospital in question, St. Joseph’s, is owned by Emmanuel Health — the Catholic health board — and is a government affiliate, not directly owned by the government.
Reached by phone this week, Devine said he has been in talks with Cedars about bringing the company’s private services to the province and planned to help present it to officials. Devine said he had no knowledge of the Estevan contract.
He said he first contacted Cedars in his capacity as a U of S board member for an academic program, but was impressed enough that he wanted to pitch the company’s model to government.
“There’s nothing in it for me — it’s just that I’m genuinely interested in my province,” Devine said. St. Joseph’s executive director Greg Hoffort confirmed the partnership is with Cedars, which will provide a clinical manager to help run the program. He said the hospital hasn’t treated addictions patients in 24 years and needed the outside expertise.
“It’s been many years since we offered addictions treatment at St. Joseph’s in Estevan,” Hoffort said. “And obviously a lot has changed.”
Hoffort said he had no idea Devine had approached the company. He said he was pointed to Cedars by a Saskatoon physician, who had also recommended it to Devine.
Cedars managing director Carson Mcpherson, who is from southwest Saskatchewan, said he’s aware of the addictions challenges in his home province. The prevalence of meth addiction reported at admission to addictions programs rose from five per cent in the 2012-2013 fiscal year to 32.7 per cent in 2018-19, Mcpherson said.
“As a person who calls Saskatchewan home but happens to live in B.C., that was hard to swallow. Why is this happening? Why doesn’t Saskatchewan have the capacity to provide an appropriate level of care?” Mcpherson said.
He travelled to Saskatchewan and met with Devine to tour prospective sites for a private addictions treatment centre, but nothing came of that visit, Mcpherson said.
The email presentation sent to Devine was exploratory and not unusual for his company, he added.
Meili said any health care initiative with a profit motive is a “red flag.” Mcpherson dismissed that as “pure politics.”