Federal auditors target vaccine injury program amid surprise Oxaro office visit

PHAC officials will continue to visit Oxaro's VISP offices “on short notice and in-person to ensure that performance standards are met,”a confidential source told Global News.

The federal government has launched a compliance audit to determine if an Ottawa consulting company is mismanaging the Vaccine Injury Support Program (VISP), and Public Health Agency of Canada officials made a surprise visit to the firm’s offices in mid-June, Global News has learned.

A five-month-long Global News investigation of the VISP program triggered the audit and downtown Ottawa office visit by PHAC officials to check the consulting firm’s work managing thousands of vaccine injury claims filed by Canadians, according to a confidential source familiar with the matter.

Staff from the Public Health Agency of Canada conducted a visit to Oxaro/VISP offices in downtown Ottawa on June 17. That was after Global started asking questions about program administration by its hired consultants and sent letters seeking comments.

Oxaro’s five-year funding agreement with PHAC is up for renewal next year and the audit raises the possibility that the company could see a shorter contract extension, or not have it renewed at all if it does not pass the compliance audit. The government could also strengthen Oxaro staffing and training requirements.

The confidential source said that PHAC officials will continue to visit Oxaro’s VISP offices “on short notice and in-person to ensure that performance standards are met.”

Global News agreed to not identify the source because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the site visits or compliance audit, though they are familiar with details about them.

PHAC spokesman Mark Johnson confirmed the surprise June 17 Oxaro office visit by agency staff.

“PHAC has initiated the process for a compliance audit of the Oxaro-administered VISP,” he added.