Former IWK Health Centre CEO convicted of fraud to be sentenced Feb. 4

Crown lawyers are recommending jail time for the former head of the IWK Health Centre, who was convicted of fraud.

A sentencing hearing was held Tuesday for the former CEO of the IWK Health Centre, who was convicted of fraud after she used her corporate credit card to pay for personal expenses.

Tracy Kitch was convicted in September 2025 of fraud over $5,000 for the second time following a retrial, which started in November 2024.

Kitch was appointed as the Halifax children’s hospital CEO in 2014. At the time, she was given a corporate credit card, which she acknowledged in writing was not for personal use, according to a previous court decision.

Kitch was charged with fraud over $5,000 in 2018 following an internal investigation by the hospital. Kitch was accused of using the hospital credit card to pay for roughly $47,000 in personal expenses, including flights.

Kitch was first convicted and sentenced to five months in jail in 2022, but she was released on bail pending her appeal, which was heard on Mar. 7, 2023. That appeal was successful, with the court ruling the trial judge had failed to adequately explain the reasons behind the decision to convict Kitch in 2022, and a new trial was ordered.

Kitch’s sentencing hearing happened Tuesday at Halifax provincial court.

The Crown is recommending nine months behind bars followed by 24 months of probation. Attorney Peter Dostal is also asking that Kitch not have any contact with anyone at the IWK Health Centre.

“The offence itself is one that I characterize as a serious breach of that trust where she, instead of using that money to help out families and children of Nova Scotia, she used that money instead essentially to cover her own personal travel expenses over several years,” said Dostal.

The defence is asking for an 18-month conditional sentence, followed by probation.

Judge Ronda van der Hoek gave Kitch the opportunity to speak. Via video, Kitch said she was “deeply grateful” to have served as CEO of the IWK Health Centre and was proud of what they had achieved. She did not offer an apology.

Kitch is set to be sentenced on Feb. 4.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jonathan MacInnis and Hafsa Arif

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