Tracy Kitch, the former CEO of the IWK children’s and maternity hospital in Halifax, has been convicted of fraud for a second time. A judge ruled that she misused a corporate credit card and hospital-funded flights for personal purposes and only admitted to it after being caught. The decision was delivered by Associate Chief Judge Ronda van der Hoek via video following a retrial ordered by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal due to previous judicial errors.
During Kitch’s leadership at the IWK Health Centre from 2014 to 2017, prosecutors claimed that fraudulent activities totaling at least $30,000 occurred. This included personal expenses charged to a hospital credit card and the utilization of Air Canada flight passes bought by the hospital for personal travel. The judge determined that much of this spending was related to Kitch’s reluctance to relocate from Toronto to Nova Scotia for the job, leading her to use hospital resources to visit her family in Ontario.
The court also considered testimony from the lead investigator, Halifax police Const. Christian Pluta, who examined Kitch’s financial records to ascertain her financial status during the fraud. Kitch’s records revealed financial struggles, such as payday loans and bounced checks, which ceased after an $800,000 pension cash-out was deposited into her account. The prosecutor highlighted that Kitch appeared to be living beyond her means, although there was no singular reason like gambling or excessive luxury spending.
The fraudulent activities came to light after IWK staff complied with a government directive to disclose senior managers’ expenses and subsequent freedom-of-information requests by CBC journalist Michael Gorman, who uncovered inconsistencies in Kitch’s expenses. Kitch resigned from her position following an audit that revealed around $47,000 in personal charges expensed to the hospital, which she later repaid in full.
Kitch, who earned $296,000 in her final year at the hospital, pleaded not guilty to fraud charges over $5,000. The court rejected claims that Kitch’s actions were merely negligent and emphasized that her financial struggles at the time undermined any suggestion of a repayment plan for unauthorized expenses. The case is scheduled for sentencing next week, after Kitch was previously sentenced to five months in jail in 2022 but was released on bail pending an appeal after one night in custody.