Federally Funded Non-Profit Behind PrescribeIT Defends Expenditures

The CEO of a government-funded non-profit was paid $900,000 a year to manage a $300 million now-defunct federal digital prescription system, MPs heard this week.

The House of Commons health committee heard from representatives of Canada Health Infoway, which launched the PrescribeIT program in 2017. The program is being investigated by the committee, which is seeking to find out why the program failed and what the money was spent on.

Canada Health Infoway Board Chair Peter Vaughan defended the PrescribeIT program during his committee testimony, telling MPs it was a “technological success.”

Vaughan was asked by Conservative MP Dan Mazier at length about the salary of Michael Green, who was dismissed as CEO of Canada Health Infoway last week. Mazier noted that Green earned more than twice the salary of Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose annual compensation is approximately $435,000.

Vaughan said that Canada Health Infoway had looked at the compensation levels at major downtown Toronto hospitals when deciding on Green’s salary.

PrescribeIT Program

PrescribeIT’s aim was to make it easier for doctors to renew prescriptions by instantly sending drug prescriptions to pharmacies, but the program will be shut down by the end of this month due to low adoption rates. A health department spokesperson previously told The Epoch Times that less than 5 percent of prescriptions were currently being filled through PrescribeIT.

The spokesperson added that, because of low adoption among health-care providers and the absence of a cost-sharing agreement between the federal government and provincial and territorial governments, officials decided to “transition to national e-prescribing standards.”

Green had appeared before the committee on April 21, and declined to disclose his annual salary, saying that it was decided by the board of directors. Green also did not say what the millions of dollars allocated for PrescribeIT were spent on, but said 95 percent of pharmacies had been connected to PrescribeIT.

Mazier asked Vaughan about documents submitted to the committee that showed Green received a $250,000 bonus in 2025, and whether there were years that Green did not receive this “maximum performance award.” Vaughan replied that it was “frequently the case” that Green did not receive the maximum performance bonus.

According to compensation disclosures on Canada Health Infoway’s website, the annual salary for the CEO during the 2024-2025 fiscal year was $616,700, along with a $215,845 in performance pay, and $51,569 in taxable benefits.

Mazier also asked Vaughan why Green was let go from his position. Vaughan said the board had been “looking into changing leadership” prior to Green’s testimony before the committee, and they “accelerated that decision based on the focus on the CEO and not the mandate.”

Conservative MP Matt Strauss then asked Vaughan to provide information on what Green delivered “tangibly to the taxpayers who paid a salary to justify his performance bonus last year.” Vaughan said Green had achieved all of his performance objectives, and PrescribeIT “did fulfill its mandate, notwithstanding the challenges around adoption.”

Toward the end of the committee meeting, Liberal MPs voted to adjourn during debates on a Bloc Québécois motion for Health Minister Marjorie Michel to appear before the committee and testify on PrescribeIT. An initial motion calling for Michel to appear before the committee within one month was defeated by the Liberals, and the committee voted to adjourn before an amended motion could be voted on.

During the committee’s meeting last week on the same topic, Liberal MPs voted to move the proceedings in camera. In recent weeks, the Liberals have pushed to hold deliberations in private at several committees.

Telus Health Vice President of Provider Solutions Ratcho Batchvarov had told the committee on April 21 that after PrescribeIT is shut down in May, the company may relaunch the program. Telus Health owns 85 percent of the intellectual property of PrescribeIT, and Batchvarov said a total of 50 Telus employees work on the program.