Possible fraud, staggering spending flagged in audit of N.L. travel nurse contracts

The main entrance to St. Clare's Mercy Hospital is shown in St. John's on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022. The CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Daly

ST. JOHN’S — Newfoundland and Labrador’s auditor general is flagging possible fraud in a new report that calls on the provincial heath authority to overhaul how it hires and pays private travel nurse agencies.

Denise Hanrahan’s audit found the provincial health authority is now spending more than $400,000 per year on each so-called travel nurse hired through the agencies.

Her report says the province spent more than $241 million on nurses from 11 different private agencies from the start of 2022 to the end of 2024.

It says one unnamed agency billed the health authority more than $91,000 for 81 weeks of electric vehicle rentals for nurses who were not in the province.

The same agency was paid more than $545,000 for nurses to use electric vehicles from a company affiliated with the agency, despite health officials rejecting its initial proposal to use the cars.

The audit also found an agency charged $10,212 for a nurse to spend 48 nights at a Gander, N.L., hotel, and another charged $5,467 for one-month stay in a suite in Corner Brook.

Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador have said travel nurses are a “necessary evil” as the province struggles with staffing shortages.

However, Hanrahan found no evidence that the province has assessed how many nurses it needs, or set targets for vacancy reductions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.

The Canadian Press