Manitoba doctor denies working to revive Carberry ER in response to recruitment lawsuit

WINNIPEG — A Manitoba doctor has denied he was working as a recruiter after an Ontario doctor accused him of misleading him about a position at the Carberry hospital.

Dr. Klevis Iliriani, who worked at the hospital in Carberry from May to August 2024, filed his statement of claim in Court of King’s Bench earlier this year.

Iliriani, who lives in an Ottawa suburb, has alleged recruiters negligently misrepresented the job at the Carberry hospital and breached the terms of his contract, which resulted in less pay than promised.

His court filing names defendants Dr. Dave Maharajh and Barry Banek as the recruiters.

Maharajh has denied he was contracted to work as a recruiter. In a recently filed statement of defence, Maharajh has asked the court to dismiss the claim against him.

“Dr. Maharajh denies being contracted to perform certain recruitment services and (has) no knowledge of any contracts entered into with any individuals, corporations or bodies corporate to do so,” reads his statement of defence.

In March 2024, Iliriani was working at a hospital in Notre Dame de Lourdes, also in southern Manitoba, where he was providing care in various departments as a locum, a temporary position used to fill staffing gaps.

He claims he was contacted by Banek about another locum opportunity at the hospital in Carberry that same month.

The lawsuit alleges Banek told Iliriani that Maharajh was working to revive the Carberry hospital’s emergency room and passed along contact information, but Maharajh denies making that claim.

Iliriani told the two that he wouldn’t leave his position in Notre Dame de Lourdes unless he had similar duties and got comparable pay and travel expenses at the Carberry hospital, the lawsuit claims.

Iliriani alleges Maharajh told him that he was working closely with the provincial government and that he was authorized to negotiate terms of employment on behalf of Prairie Mountain Health.

Maharajh says he was not authorized to make any representation on behalf of others and denies ever saying he did.

“(Maharajh) states that at all material times the plaintiff knew or ought to have known that the final terms and conditions of his employment could only be determined through negotiations with the Prairie Mountain Health Region, the government of Manitoba, and/or the Carberry Plains Health Centre, to which Dr. Maharajh was not a party,” reads his statement of defence.

He denies misleading Iliriani.

Iliriani claims that the two men told him the Carberry job would be similar to his role in Notre Dame de Lourdes, but he would have a more central role, more flexible schedule and get more money to travel to the hospital from Ontario.

Iliriani took the Carberry job based on those claims mentioned in his court papers, but when he began working, his duties were “fundamentally different” than what he had been promised during the hiring process. He ultimately resigned.

The lawsuit also names the provincial government, Prairie Mountain Health Region, the health centre, the Rural Municipality of North Cypress-Langford, the Town of Carberry and several other unnamed people as defendants.

The other defendants, including Banek, have yet to reply to the claim in court.

» Winnipeg Free Press