N.B. drops appeal of $2M payout to fired Horizon CEO Dr. John Dornan

CBC
·2 min read
Dr. John Dornan, the former president and CEO of Horizon, is now working full-time for Horizon as an endocrinologist, he told CBC News last week. (Lawson Creamer - image credit)
Dr. John Dornan, the former president and CEO of Horizon, is now working full-time for Horizon as an endocrinologist, he told CBC News last week. (Lawson Creamer - image credit)
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The Higgs government has dropped its appeal of a record-breaking $2-million payout to the fired head of Horizon Health Network, Dr. John Dornan.

Premier Blaine Higgs publicly announced Dornan's firing during a news conference July 15, 2022, following the death of a patient in the waiting room of the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital's emergency department in Fredericton.

It was part of a larger shakeup of New Brunswick's health-care leadership that saw Dorothy Shephard replaced as health minister and the boards of both Horizon and Vitalité removed.

"The Province of New Brunswick and Dr. John Dornan have reached a mutually satisfactory resolution with respect to the termination of Dr. Dornan's employment as CEO of Horizon Health Network," Health Minister Bruce Fitch announced in a statement Monday.

"As such, the Province of New Brunswick has withdrawn its appeal," which was scheduled to be heard on Friday in Fredericton.

No other information has been provided.

Dornan, who announced last week he will seek the Liberal nomination for the riding of Portland-Simonds, in Saint John's north end, declined an interview, but did email a statement.

"Other than to say that I'm glad an agreement has been reached, I have no further comments at this time," he said.

Judge previously upheld decision

Dornan had served as president and CEO of Horizon for only four months of his five-year contract when he was fired.

He filed for unjust dismissal under the Public Service Labour Relations Act and in February 2023, adjudicator George Filliter awarded him special damages of about $1.8 million, representing the value of lost salary, pension contributions and health benefits, plus $200,000 in aggravated damages for "breach of the employer's implied obligation to act in good faith when dismissing him."

It was the largest employment compensation award in the province's history, according to Dornan's lawyers.

The province requested a judicial review, seeking to have the award quashed, but Court of King's Bench Justice Kathryn Gregory upheld the labour arbitrator's decision last December.

The province subsequently appealed, arguing Gregory "erred in fact and law."