Winnipeg, Manitoba — Manitoba’s public insurance corporation said goodbye to its CEO on Tuesday and subsequent reporting from the CBC shows that Eric Herbelin’s dismissal is in fact linked to his handling of Project Nova.
This dismissal of MPI’s highest-ranking executive comes immediately following a review carried out to assess Herbelin’s conduct, the results of which were shared with the MPI board of directors last week and acted upon at an emergency meeting on Sunday—the soonest turnaround allowed under board rules, according to the CBC.
Under Herbelin’s watch, the province has seen the online transition of MPI services, dubbed Project Nova, nearly triple in its projected cost since its initial announcement in 2020, in addition to seeing its estimated completion time pushed an extra two years to 2025.
A request to increase staffing at MPI by 21 percent also caused the insurer to enter the crosshairs of the provincial Public Utilities Board back in January, who considered the request to be imprudent.
Kelvin Goertzen, the Conservative minister responsible for MPI, told the CBC: “I don’t underestimate the value of Mr. Keith’s 30 years of experience at MPI and I support the direction that they took on the weekend.”
Leader of Manitoba’s official New Democrat opposition, Wab Kinew said of the Project Nova debacle, “It’s a mess that’s costing the people of Manitoba money.”
