Sun Country seeks legal advice on Hal Schmidt
by Kevin Weedmark
Sun Country CEO Cal Tant says the Sun Country Health Region is taking the latest information uncovered by the World-Spectator about vice-president of finance Hal Schmidt seriously and has asked its lawyers to look into the matter.
As the World-Spectator reported last week, Schmidt borrowed $75,000 from St. Mary’s Hospital in New Westminster, B.C. when he was CEO, and never repaid the loan.
When he missed the deadline to repay the loan, he was sued by the Fraser Health Authority. St. Mary’s Hospital had been closed down by that point and a forensic audit was ordered for the period Schmidt was CEO.
A default judgement was issued by the B.C. Supreme Court against Schmidt in 2005 ordering him to pay $82,401.86 sought by the health authority, as well as $1,524.43 in interest and $2,215.44 for costs.
The judgement has not been collected and the debt is still outstanding. The Fraser Health Authority says the matter is still unresolved.
“We’re taking it very seriously,” Tant told the World-Spectator Thursday.
“The first thing we’re doing in light of the new information, the board and myself have instructed our lawyers to find out everything they can about the allegation.”
He said the lawyers have been asked to uncover any information they can about the lawsuit. “We have not heard anything from the lawyers yet,” he said. “As you know, it doesn’t happen overnight.
“As soon as all the information is received we will be informing all those in the region the results that are found.”
Tant said that, while he was aware when he hired him that Schmidt had been fired from IWK Health Centre in Halifax for falsely claiming to be a chartered accountant, he was not aware of the loan Schmidt made to himself from hospital funds and failed to repay, or that he was sued by a health authority trying to recover public funds.
Schmidt is away on vacation and couldn’t be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Health has met with Tant and Sun Country chair Sharon Bauche to discuss hiring issues and the hiring of Schmidt specifically.
As a result of that meeting, an independent consultant will be hired to examine hiring practices in Sun Country and to determine if proper processes were used in the hiring of Schmidt.
“As you know the board has developed terms of reference to hire a third party company,” Tant said Thursday.
“They haven’t confirmed a timeline with the board chair. They are leading that to ensure that things are arms length and objective.”