Memramcook-Tantramar MLA Megan Mitton and her colleagues on the New Brunswick legislature’s Public Accounts committee had a chance to pepper deputy Health minister Eric Beaulieu with questions on Tuesday.

The department of health was before the committee to discuss their 2021-22 annual report, and MLAs took the opportunity to ask questions about the a number of health issues, including the past and ongoing handling of cases of neurological degenerative symptoms of unknown origin in the province.

While MLA and former Health Minister Dorothy Shephard wondered why the investigation into the mysterious symptoms hadn’t been put to bed, Mitton’s line of questioning tended towards asking for more public disclosure of decision making processes.

Mitton asked Beaulieu about new involvement from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), who are sending two epidemiologists to the province to help Dr. Alier Marrero complete reporting on between 100 and 200 neurological cases that the neurologist has flagged as having no known cause. Beaulieu said the two epidemiologists would be arriving in late September, and he told Mitton that everything that can be made public about their work, will be made public.

NB Chief Medical Officer of Health Jennifer Russell sits beside Deputy Minister Eric Beaulieu as he answers questions from MLA in the Standing Committee on Public Accounts on September 5, 2023. Screencap: legnb.ca

Mitton later asked Beaulieu to explain in detail why communications between federal and provincial scientists were abruptly shut down in May of 2021, and referred to results of Right to Information (RTI) requests made by media and the advocacy group Bloodwatch. Beaulieu wasn’t deputy minister during the time period discussed, having arrived in the Health department in July 2022. Throughout this line of questioning, medical officer of Health Jennifer Russell is at Beaulieu’s side, consulting with him, but Russell doesn’t directly address the committee.