Official summoned before House of Commons Standing Committee on Health (HESA)
Canada Health Infoway’s executive travel spending and extensive use of consultants are under scrutiny from federal politicians.
This follows the collapse of its $300‑million PrescribeIT digital prescription program, which is scheduled to be shut down later this month, according to a report in The Globe and Mail.
PrescribeIT was launched in 2017 as part of a federal “axe the fax” effort to replace faxed prescriptions with a digital service transmitting prescriptions directly from doctors’ offices to pharmacies, according to the report. The program was promoted as a major step in modernising Canada’s health‑care system and reducing reliance on outdated communication tools.
Despite receiving more than $298 million in federal funding since launch, fewer than 5% of prescriptions have flowed through PrescribeIT, The Globe and Mail found. Ottawa has announced the program will close on May 29.
Executive travel and compensation under scrutiny
Public disclosures show the federally funded non‑profit spent about $418,000 on executive travel and hospitality between April 1, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2025, while awarding more than $23 million in tendered contracts over the same period, according to The Globe and Mail. The figures have intensified questions from MPs about how taxpayer money was managed as PrescribeIT struggled to gain traction.
Former chief executive Michael Green accounted for more than $147,000 of the travel total and was earning nearly $900,000 a year before being dismissed last week, the newspaper reported. At least two of Green’s travel claims exceeded $10,000, drawing attention to executive‑level spending at a time when the program’s results are widely viewed as disappointing.
Canada Health Infoway told The Globe and Mail that one of those larger claims was for Green to attend the international SNOMED CT conference in Seoul in October 2024, and another for the Global Digital Health Partnership conference in Vienna in June 2024. Executive vice‑president of connected care Abhinav Kalra booked $90,519 in travel during the period, while eight other executives filed claims ranging from $5,000 to $43,000 each.
Consulting contracts and workforce implications
Canada Health Infoway’s contracting practices are also drawing attention. Disclosures show more than 100 contracts were issued between April 1, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2025, totalling over $23 million, The Globe and Mail reported. The scale of this spending has prompted questions about the balance between reliance on external consultants and development of internal capability.
Major recipients included:
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About $2.7‑million for consultancy Accenture Inc.
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$2‑million for data advisory INQ Consulting Corp.
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$1.7‑million for developer The AppLabb Inc.
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$1.5‑million for public‑affairs firm Sussex Strategy Group
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$1.46‑million for staffing firm Quantum Management Services Ltd.
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$1.36‑million for developer Venuiti Solutions Inc.
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$1.27‑million for Deloitte Inc.
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Just over $1‑million for public‑affairs firm Crestview Strategy
INQ Consulting said it is supporting Canada Health Infoway’s mandate of enabling health data sharing across the country while protecting the privacy of personal health information. Venuiti chief executive Thomas Schroecker said his company is supporting digital health initiatives at Infoway but declined to disclose specifics, citing multiple confidentiality agreements, according ot the report.
The Globe and Mail reported that Canada Health Infoway said in an unsigned statement that it issues contracts for specific work in accordance with its procurement policies and its agreements with Health Canada.
Parliamentary probe and document demands
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Health (HESA) has made PrescribeIT a formal focus of its work, adding fresh pressure on Canada Health Infoway’s leadership and governance.
On April 21, 2026, the committee held Meeting 29 of the 45th Parliament, 1st Session, from 3:38 p.m. to 7:19 p.m. in Room 025‑B of the West Block, chaired by Liberal MP Hedy Fry. Liberal, Conservative and Bloc Québécois members attended, supported by Library of Parliament analyst Kelly Farrah, for a webcast briefing on PrescribeIT.
Witnesses included Canada Health Infoway president and chief executive officer Michael Green; senior officials from the Department of Health — Jocelyne Voisin, senior assistant deputy minister of the Health Policy Branch; David Jones, director of the Digital Health and Health System Division; and Elizabeth Toller, director general of the Health Care Strategies Directorate — as well as Telus Health vice‑president of provider solutions Ratcho Batchvarov. Batchvarov and Green each delivered statements and took questions from MPs, with the meeting punctuated by short suspensions as questioning moved between witnesses.
During the session, Conservative MP Dan Mazier successfully moved, by unanimous consent, that the committee summon the CEO, president and chair of Canada Health Infoway, along with Telus Health, to appear together for a total of two hours before May 6, 2026, to testify specifically on PrescribeIT.
