SooToday received the following statement this afternoon from a public relations firm representing Dr. Kim Barker.
Barker resigned as Algoma's Medical Officer of Health in January following the revelation that Algoma Public Health's former interim chief financial officer, Shaun Rootenberg, had previously been convicted of multiple frauds to the tune of more than $2 million.
The APH board and its chair, Marchy Bruni, issued a statement last night saying the audit it commissioned came back with "no findings of inappropriate spending or personal benefit to a specified individual and no findings of inappropriate access to personal or banking information."
The audit report itself has not been released.
The province is also conducting an audit and governance review of the APH board.
The following is Barker's statement:
Dr. Barker has consistently stated what KPMG found – no financial wrongdoing took place at APH during her time as MOH.
Dr. Barker resigned in January to ensure there would be no disruption to staff and health services at APH while the audit was underway.
Dr. Barker acted out of an abundance of caution and remains in good standing with her former colleagues and the community.
“I am pleased the audit has confirmed what I believed to be true all along: that no financial wrongdoing took place under my watch as MOH and CEO of APH. I hope that all of the hardworking and dedicated staff at APH can now move forward with the important work they do every day for the people of Algoma,” stated Dr. Barker.
“I also want to thank KPMG for its diligence and hard work during this process.”
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