Stock admits to running hospital shuttle in apparent licence breach

Stock Transportation has admitted it ran a hospital shuttle service in Halifax in apparent breach of its licence, and is blaming a former regional manager for a series deficiencies that have put it in the crosshairs of the provincial regulator.

The Florida-based company made the comments Thursday in a 30-page filing to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board, which last month slammed Stock for a series of infractions, including trying to force drivers to work too long.

In the documents, the company, which is also the largest school bus operator in Nova Scotia, said it has made "dramatic" changes and done a "complete overhaul" of its Canadian arm so there's more oversight of regional management.

But Stock also acknowledged a new problem: It continued to run a shuttle service between Halifax hospitals for staff, patients, blood, other specimens and documents after its contract with the Nova Scotia Health Authority expired June 30.

Once the contract expired, so too did the licence. The company did not receive a new contract until this week.

The review board was scathing in its assessment of the company last month, concluding Stock was running an unlicensed charter service and had attempted to cover up various infractions.

The review board noted the testimony of Stock's then-regional Atlantic Canada manager, Troy Phinney, calling it "at times evasive, incomplete and/or appeared made up as the proceedings advanced."

The board stopped just short of pulling the company's school-bus licence.

Two bus drivers who blew the whistle on the company have also told CBC News they believe the problems run deep.

Oversight and management

In this week's filing, Stock said it has replaced Phinney, who appears to have been fired following his testimony, and taken "positive action" both before and after the board's decision.

"Deficiencies identified by the board are not the result of insufficient training or safety regimes, policies or resources," Stock said in its filings. "Instead, deficiencies lay in oversight and management."

The company has created a Canadian division office in Markham, Ont., to replace a vice-president who reported to a Florida-based company official. Most of the managers that had been under Phinney's control remain in place, including in Halifax and Cambridge in the Annapolis valley.

According to the documents, the company said since Oct. 16 the new regional manager, Crystal Truax, has hosted biweekly conference calls with the two customer service centres in Nova Scotia to review safety and operations.

Whistleblower and hotline

Stock is also promising to hold a town hall meeting in January for all employees to review the issues raised by the review board in its decision.

"A one-page document which sets out the whistleblower/hotline section of the employee handbook will be distributed to all employees."

Company officials said they discovered the breach involving the Halifax hospitals shuttle "as part of the review of policy and procedure occasioned by the matter before the board."

Stock is asking for an interim permit to continue running for a year "to avoid any unnecessary interruption of service."

The company also wants a break when it comes to an inter-provincial licence the board has said it intends to take away from the company.

The company has provided the board with a list of charter runs that would be cancelled if the licence was pulled, but that information is redacted from the documents.

"As these charters relate to multiple customers, it is unclear whether arrangements could be made through alternative providers," said the company.

The board will schedule another hearing to resolve the matters. No date has been set.