The former CEO of the IWK Health Centre has been sentenced to nine months in jail for defrauding the children’s hospital during her time in charge.

Tracy Kitch was convicted last year after the court found she spent more than $30,000 on her corporate credit card to pay for personal expenses, including flights and limo services.

Kitch, who is now unemployed, had pleaded not guilty to fraud over $5,000.

During her sentencing hearing last month, she told the court she failed to properly prioritize oversight of her expense claims.

2:14
Sentencing hearing underway for former IWK CEO found guilty of defrauding hospital

On Wednesday, Judge Ronda van der Hoek sentenced Kitch to nine months behind bars. She will also be on probation for 24 months after her jail time.

Kitch left the courtroom in handcuffs following the judge’s decision.

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The defence was seeking 12 months of house arrest, but the judge ultimately sided with the Crown.

“We’re of the view of something of this seriousness with this degree of breach of trust requires no sentence less than a period of incarceration in a provincial institution,” said Crown attorney Peter Dostal outside the courtroom.

Kitch is appealing her conviction, with a court date set for Thursday.

Found guilty twice

Kitch was first charged in 2018 and subsequently convicted of fraud in February 2022.

That decision was overturned by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal before a new trial began in 2024, where she was convicted again.

1:36
Former IWK CEO gets bail one day after being sentenced for fraud

Judge van der Hoek said Ktich was motivated by “greed and a sense of entitlement” and betrayed the public with her actions.

The judge said while Kitch made repayments, she demonstrated little insight into her wrongdoing, which the judge said doesn’t bode well for rehabilitation.

“In order for the public to trust our government, to trust our hard-working civil services, we have to make it clear if anyone’s going to start self-serving before they serve the public, there’s going to be serious consequences and I think that decision today makes that very clear,” said Dostal.

During the retrial, the judge also said Kitch’s decisions deprived the hospital of money needed to provide health care for mothers and children.

Kitch began her role as CEO in 2014 with a starting salary of $280,000. She resigned in 2017 after an independent review of the hospital’s credit card transactions and claims identified $47,273 of potentially personal expenses, of which $25,009 had been reimbursed.

Those personal expenses included air fare tickets, flight passes, meals, hotel rooms, mobile data overages, and iTunes charges.

“Hotel costs include a hotel stay by a family member of the CEO during a visit to Halifax, as well as hotel charges related to a personal trip to the U.S. that were charged to the corporate credit card,” the report found.

— with a file from The Canadian Press 

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He tried to cover up his crimes using fake WhatApp messages

A former head chef at a Michelin Star restaurant has narrowly going to prison after trying to cover up a sexual assault using a fake WhatsApp generator. Shannon White, 31, attacked a woman at the Chubby Castor in Peterborough Road, Castor, at around on October 18, 2024.

The victim, aged in her 20s, rejected his advances. White ignored her and put his hands around her neck, applied pressure, and whispered sexual comments. White sexually assaulted her, touching the victim several times and resisting her attempts to push him away.

After examining White’s phone, officers found he had used a fake WhatsApp generator to create a message pretending it had been sent by the victim to use as his defence.

At Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Monday, January 26, White, of Verde Close, Eye, near Peterborough, was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 12 months, after being found guilty of sexual assault by a judge. He has also been handed a two-year restraining order against the victim.

DC Stacey Caley, who investigated, said: “White shamefully attacked the victim and then used a fake app in an attempt to cover up his tracks.

“Although the sentence was not custodial, I hope it reassures the victim that justice has been done. It also highlights how seriously we take all allegations of violence against women and girls. If you or someone you know has been a victim, we urge you to get in touch.”

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A tugboat owner in Nanaimo, B.C., says he is frustrated with the justice system after a recent incident.

On Saturday, a man was caught on Andrew Reynold’s security camera illegally entering his tugboat, which was docked off Cameron Island.

The man spent nearly 30 hours on board, helping himself to food and even cooking a meal, before vandalizing some of the furniture on board.

Reynolds said the man smashed the wheelhouse and cabin cameras and threw them overboard.

Then he appeared to be smoking something at one point and engaging in bizarre behaviour.

“He was running around the salon area, kicking, karate chopping, doing strange things, climbing on tables,” Reynolds said.

It appears the man left the tugboat on Feb. 1 and attempted to steal some groceries from Thrifty Foods in the Port Place Mall around 2:45 p.m.

A short time later, the same man was seen boarding Reynold’s tugboat and that’s when he barricaded himself in and refused to leave.

2:03
Nanaimo grocery store puts locks on meat cooler to deal with shoplifting

The Emergency Response Team used tear gas to eventually end the standoff and the 44-year-old man was arrested around 5:30 p.m.

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He was released on Monday, but was spotted back at the same dock not long after.

“I called 911 immediately,” Reynolds said. “Minutes later, he starts walking away.”

He said he is frustrated to learn the man was released from custody.

“He’s out on the streets again, 24 hours later, doing whatever he wants to do.”

Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog said people are understandably upset.

“I think most people are pretty upset and are looking for why and how this happened and appears to continue to happen across this province far too frequently,” he said.

Marcel Alvin Fontaine, who has no fixed address, is now under a series of release conditions, which include staying 100 metres away from Reynold’s boat.

He is also charged with assaulting three people with a weapon on Dec. 23 and police allege he assaulted or tried to assault staff at Thrifty Foods, stole items and obstructed the attending officer.

Fontaine’s next court appearance is Feb. 10.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Multiple police forces in Quebec and New Brunswick are conducting a series of raids Wednesday targeting a criminal organization with links to the Hells Angels, according to the Sûreté du Québec.

The Quebec provincial police force said in a release that more than 160 officers have been working since early in the morning in municipalities in both provinces.

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“The ongoing investigation demonstrates that the organization in question is active in cocaine distribution and territory management for the benefit of the Hells Angels of the various chapters in Quebec,” the release added.

“The results of this operation will follow in the coming days.”

The operation is a collaboration between Escouade régionale mixte (ERM) Rive-Nord — a specialized Quebec police unit that targets organized crime — and the National Organized Crime Enforcement Squad (ENRCO), along with RCMP and local municipal forces.