As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 pummelled hospitals across the country in early 2022, health officials in Newfoundland held in their hands a document that promised a solution to their severe staffing shortages. It was a contract from Canadian Health Labs, a Toronto-based private company new to the health care business. CHL soon began recruiting nurses from outside the province as temporary help for badly understaffed Newfoundland health care facilities.
And it did so quickly, even in relatively remote locations that are ordinarily hard to staff on short notice. The infusion of skilled expertise helped shore up hospitals and head off service cuts, including temporary closings of emergency rooms – interruptions for which provincial governments often bear the brunt of the blame. But this help came at a heavy cos