B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne said the departure of Jim Sinclair as the board chair of Fraser Health Authority should not be read as a "lack of confidence" in his abilities. 

"He has done an incredible job at leading the organization for the last seven years," Osborne said. Osborne's ministry announced Sinclair's departure Monday morning. 

The provincial government appointed Sinclair in September 2017. He has been the object of growing criticism from the provincial opposition, most recently from the Conservative Party of B.C. and health-care providers in the region, which Fraser Health administers. The health authority includes the soon-to-be-largest city in British Columbia, Surrey, as well as other fast-growing communities like Langley, where residents have been waiting up to 18 hours for emergency room care, according to critics.

Those critics include Surrey-White Rock MLA Trevor Halford, who has been calling for Sinclair's dismissal. 

"The NDP have chosen to put one of their biggest political insiders at the helm of Fraser Health, and the results have been absolutely disastrous," Halford said earlier this month in alluding to Sinclair's former role as head of the B.C. Federation of Labour from 1999 to 2015.

Following the announcement of Sinclair's departure, Halford said it was clear it was time for him to move on.

"To me it's nothing personal against him, but he was overseeing a health authority that has become dysfunctional," he said.

"There needs to be a focus on the front-line workers, and, unfortunately, the leadership at Fraser Health was not doing that."

Halford said he is taking a wait-and-see stance on the appointment of Opreet Kang, who has reached the end of her term as vice-chair and will serve as interim chair of the authority for one year.

"We'll have to see if we can get the right people in the right job, make sure we have people with the right experience," he said.

"The challenge with Mr. Sinclair was that he had zero health-care experience. Ultimately, the priority has to be the patients and the front-line workers." 

Sinclair also received criticism for his role in the sudden departure of former chief executive officer Victoria Lee last month. 

Osborne described Sinclair's departure as part of a natural renewal process, adding that it was her decision to keep Sinclair for another three months beyond his term, which was originally set to expire Dec. 31, 2025.

"When I was appointed the new Minister of Health late last year, I asked Jim to extend his term, which had been up Dec. 31, for an additional three months, to support my transition into the role. He retires today from this position after completing that extension to his term."

Sinclair, in a Fraser Health press release, expressed his "immense respect and gratitude" to the Fraser Health executive team and its health-care workers.

鈥淗ealth-care systems across the country are facing big challenges right now 鈥� and Fraser Health is no exception. But I am very proud of the work we have accomplished together during my time as board chair over the past seven-and-a-half years,鈥� he said in the release.

鈥淔rom navigating the COVID-19 pandemic to taking action to hire more health-care workers and address current health system challenges and moving forward on true reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, the board has worked in partnership with our community partners, the Fraser Health executive, the Ministry of Health towards our shared goal of a responsive, resilient health system that will support Fraser Health communities for many years to come.鈥�

Osborne's announcement about Sinclair's departure coincided with the announcement that PHSA would be the first health authority to undergo a review. Government had promised such a review last year. PHSA provides provincial services through BC Cancer, BC Children's Hospital, BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre, BC Emergency Health Services, BC Mental Health and the BC Centre for Disease Control.

"(We) want to obviously take a very close look at administrative costs and make sure that the maximum use of dollars is going to the front-line and delivering the services that British Columbians are counting on." 

When asked whether looking at administrative costs equals administrative job cuts, Osborne said she would not speculate. "But that is an important part of it," she said. "We will be taking a look at those administrative costs and the structures inside of PHSA and ensuring that they are set up in as efficient of a way as possible, so that all dollars can be maximized." 

Osborne also left open the question of how much money the review is hoping to save. "We will see what the recommendations are," she said. 

Osborne said government is still developing terms of reference for the review, but has already appointed Dr. Penny Ballem to head the review, with Ballem to serve as PHSA's interim president and chief executive officer. Ballem is leaving her current role as board chair of Vancouver Coastal Health. Ballem had served as a deputy health minister between 2001 until her resignation in 2006. Ballem had also served as a special adviser on health in the office of Premier David Eby. 

When asked whether Ballem's appointment does not constitute a conflict of interest by virtue of the fact that she is a former health authority board chair now asked to review another health authority, Osborne said Ballam is uniquely qualified. 

"She has got 35 years of experience in health care and as a clinician," Osborne said. "She has got experience in the public and non-profit and private sectors and actually was deputy (health) minister when the PSHA was created. She has seen the changes in evolution of the PHSA all of these years and her experience will play a really key role in helping to lead that review." 

Osborne also said there is a difference between being a board chair and president and chief executive officer, which is more operational. 

Osborne said she expects the first update on the review six weeks, but acknowledged that the review currently lacks a deadline. 

鈥� with files from Alex Browne