Reasons behind rare termination of St. Anthony doctor remain a mystery

A medical doctor based in St. Anthony for the past 11 years has been dismissed without cause by the health authority that employed him, and the mystery remains about why such a rare and drastic action was taken.

• 'I was very outspoken': Long-serving St. Anthony doctor terminated without cause

The Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association represents doctors in the province, and its executive director acknowledged Friday that it has not received an explanation.

"They're staying very quiet about the circumstances," NLMA executive director Robert Thompson told CBC News, referring to Labrador-Grenfell Health.

Dr. Alexis Caro-Guzman worked as a salaried physician in St. Anthony since June 2006.

His contract was terminated this week, with neither the health authority nor Dr. Caro-Guzman offering any explanation.

The only clue came from Caro-Guzman, who admitted during an interview that he's been outspoken during his time in St. Anthony.

The health authority defended its silence by saying it is respecting the privacy of its former employee, while Caro-Guzman has said he wanted to seek legal help before revealing details of his admittedly testy relationship with Labrador-Grenfell.

CBC News spoke briefly with Caro-Guzman on Friday, but he was travelling and declined an interview.

Health authority CEO Tony Wakeham has not responded to a request for an interview.

Meanwhile, Robert Thompson said the health authority has every right to terminate Caro-Guzman's contract, and it appears it followed the established protocols in doing so.

But Thompson said he can't remember such a scenario occurring in the past.

"The provision is there for a circumstance like this to occur, but it is a rare situation," he said.