Becky Barrett - Since 2003

Since 2003

In 2006, Manitoba Auditor General Jon Singleton released a report that was strongly critical of the management of the Manitoba Workers Compensation Board under its former chairman, Wally Fox-Decent. In the resulting controversy, it was noted that Barrett had received a written complaint about Fox-Decent from former WCB chief executive officer Pat Jacobsen in March 2001. Barrett chose to refer the matter back to the WCB board of directors, a decision that some critics later described as an abdication of ministerial responsibility. Barrett's successor Nancy Allan argued that she acted properly, as the WCB board held legal authority over the matter. For his part, Fox-Decent rejected Jacobsen's complaint as a "poison pen" letter from a disgruntled employee.