Ottawa Hospital ex-director 'guest' on PCL luxury fishing trip

The Ottawa Hospital's former director of capital projects, Frank Medwenitsch, was a "guest" of PCL Constructors CanadaInc. on a luxury fishing tripdespite the hospital's policyrestricting employees from accepting gifts over $25.

After a public bidding process, PCL won two major construction contracts with the Ottawa Hospital.

They includea $113-million project to build the Ottawa Hospital Regional Cancer Centre, completed in 2010, and the ongoing $135-millionproject to expand the University ofOttawa Heart Institute.

As the former director of capital projects,Medwenitschwould have overseen construction projects at the hospital and at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.

Fishing trips start at $5,595

The fishing trip took place at the West Coast Fishing Club, which advertises a starting price of $5,595 per person.

PCL confirmed Medwenitsch stayed asthe company's"guest" at the club onJuly 28, 2013, but gave no further details about the trip or what was included.

According to the fishing club's website, the $5,595 trip price includes a charter from the Vancouver airport and a helicopter ride to the remote fishing lodge in Haida Gwaii off the B.C. coast, north of Vancouver Island.

An online article on the club's websitefrom thedate of the trip mentions thatsalmon were caught by a number of guests, including Frank Medwenitsch "with the PCL group."

While there is nothing wrong withoffering gifts, the Ottawa Hospital's ethical rules sayMedwenitschshould have declined.

The hospital's employee policy for accepting gifts sets the limit for"nominal gifts" at $25.

The policy does include exceptions, such as "vendor supplier sponsored entertainment," but employees areexpected to consider the reason for the gift andwhether it is appropriate, as well as "his or her role at the hospital and how the acceptance of the gift might be perceived by others."

Heart institute project worth $135M

The Infrastructure Ontario website valued the contract to expand theheart institute at $135 million.

The request for qualifications for that project went out on Sept. 19, 2013 and it was announced thatPCL won the bid on Nov. 28, 2014.

The timing of the fishing trip, months before the start of the bidding process, leaves the public with a poor impression, according to construction law specialistDavidDebenham.

"The obvious question is, where were your internal auditors?" Debenham said.

Debenham notes thatrules needmechanisms in place tomake sure employeesare complying with the hospital's conflict-of-interest policies.

Former director already facing allegations in Ottawa Hospital lawsuit

Last week, Ottawa Hospitallawyers filed a statement of claim accusing Medwenitsch and the now retired director of engineering and operations, Brock Marshallalong with five vendorsof conspiring in a "scheme" involving contracts worth less than $250,000.

The lawsuit alleged, among other things,that theemployees madeethical breaches involving giftsfrom the vendors named in the suit.

Among the alleged breaches,the suit claims since 2009 the vendors paid for multiple fishing trips for Medwenitsch and Marshall, "none of which were disclosed to the hospital prior to accepting."

The hospital accepted Medwenitsch's resignation in October 2015 and, according to the statement of claim, did so "without prejudice to the hospital's position that the hospital had just cause for the termination of Medwenitsch's employment."

The whole process from soup to nuts, up the line, down the line, is now opened to questions.- David Debenham, lawyer

None of the allegations has been proven in court.

PCL is not part of that lawsuit.

In an online statement, the hospital said it is "confident that we have the appropriate internal controls in place."

But Debenhamsaid the lawsuit and the PCL trip are"proof that they don't."

"The whole processfrom soup to nuts, up the line, down the line, is now openedup to questions," according toDebenham."The real point is, they have a gap in their systems."

The Ottawa Hospital and the Ontario Ministry of Healthdid not respond toa CBC News request for comment on the PCL fishing trip.

Frank Medwenitschalsodid not respond torequests for comment from CBC News.