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Illustration by TheIndependent.ca.<\/p>\nIllustration by TheIndependent.ca.<\/p>\n
In the wake of a scandal<\/a> involving fabricated sources found in the province\u2019s Education Accord, The Independent has confirmed another major government-commissioned policy report contains false citations like generated by artificial intelligence, calling into question the credibility of policy papers involving the use of AI.<\/p>\n Authored by global consulting firm Deloitte and published by the Department of Health and Community Services in May, Newfoundland and Labrador\u2019s Health Human Resources Plan contains at least four citations which do not, or appear not to, exist. <\/p>\n The report cost the province nearly $1.6 million, according to documents obtained through an access to information request and published<\/a> on blogger Matt Barter\u2019s website.<\/p>\n The Health Human Resources Plan was commissioned by the previous Liberal government as part of its efforts to develop an effective human resource strategy for the province\u2019s healthcare sector, which has been plagued by nurse and doctor staffing shortages.<\/p>\n The research papers cited in the 526-page document are used to support claims related to recruitment strategies, monetary recruitment and retention incentives, virtual care, and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers.<\/p>\n In one case, the report cites a team of researchers and their work to support the claim that monetary and recruitment incentives \u201chave inherent cost savings benefits as it will cost less than recruiting and training new employees in the medium- and long-term.\u201d<\/p>\n Martha MacLeod, a professor emerita in the University of Northern British Columbia\u2019s School of Nursing and one of the co-authors of the article cited in that claim\u2014\u201cThe cost-effectiveness of a rural retention program for registered nurses in Canada\u201d\u2014told The Independent the citation is \u201cfalse\u201d and \u201cpotentially AI-generated\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOur team certainly has done rural and remote nursing research,\u201d she said in an email. \u201cBut we never did do a cost-effectiveness analysis, nor did we ever have the financial data to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n In another case, a team of researchers is cited to back the claim that, \u201cLocal recruitment is typically the most cost-effective strategy, as it eliminates the need for costly relocation packages, reduces likelihood of turnover, and can reduce recruitment and training costs.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the authors of that paper\u2014which according to the report is titled \u201cThe cost-effectiveness of local recruitment and retention strategies for health workers in Canada\u201d\u2014told The Independent that while she and some of the researchers named in the citation have worked on the economics of recruitment and retention strategies, the paper itself \u201c\u200adoes not exist.\u201d Gail Tomblin Murphy, an adjunct professor in the School of Nursing at Dalhousie University and former vice-president of research, innovation and discovery with Nova Scotia\u2019s health authority, said she has only worked with three of the six other authors named in the citation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt sounds like if you\u2019re coming up with things like this, they may be pretty heavily using AI to generate work,\u201d Tomblin Murphy said. \u201cAnd I definitely think that there\u2019s many challenges with that. We have to be very careful to make sure that the evidence that\u2019s informing reports [is] the best evidence, that it\u2019s validated evidence. And that, at the end of the day, these reports\u2014not just because they cost governments and they cost the public\u2014[are] accurate and evidence-informed and helpful to move things forward.\u201d<\/p>\n A third citation is used to support the uncontroversial claim that registered respiratory therapists \u201cworking in acute care settings reported increased workload and stress levels due to the pandemic.\u201d The Deloitte report claims a group of researchers \u201cfound\u201d this to be the case in an article titled \u201cThe impact of COVID-19 on respiratory therapist workload and stress levels in Canada,\u201d published in the Canadian Journal of Respiratory Therapy.<\/p>\n The report includes a hyperlink to an article on the Canadian Journal of Respiratory Therapy website that does not deal with registered respiratory therapists workload and stress levels due to the pandemic. The Independent has not been able to confirm the article\u2019s existence as it doesn\u2019t appear in academic search engines or on the Canadian Journal of Respiratory Therapy\u2019s website.\u00a0<\/p>\n Not a first for Deloitte<\/p>\n Last month Deloitte made international headlines after its firm in Australia produced a report for the Australian government that contained \u201capparent AI-generated errors, including a fabricated quote from a federal court judgment and references to nonexistent academic research papers,\u201d according to the Associated Press.<\/p>\n The firm reportedly agreed to partially refund the government US$290,000, but Deloitte did not answer questions from AP about the potential involvement of AI. The firm told the AP the \u201cmatter has been resolved directly with the client.\u201d<\/p>\n The report was removed from the Australian government\u2019s website then later reappeared, this time with a disclosure in its appendix that a generative AI system called Azure OpenAI was used in part of the report; the company didn\u2019t specifically link the errors to the AI program.<\/p>\n According to media reports, the company said the use of AI had no impact on the report\u2019s \u201csubstantive content, findings or recommendations.\u201d<\/p>\n Deloitte itself encourages the use of AI technologies, both within its company and with its clients. A statement from Deloitte Canada CEO Anthony Viel on the firm\u2019s website notes that Deloitte is \u201chelping and inspiring Canadian organizations to unlock all the possibilities, equipping them with the necessary industry knowledge, infrastructure and cloud services so that they can develop, train, and deploy generative AI models safely, ethically and impactfully, which serve us all in the age of digital transformation.\u201d<\/p>\n In the N.L. Health Human Resources Plan, Deloitte recommends the use of generative AI \u201cto support healthcare providers in clinical decision-making and inform the development of personalized treatment plans.\u201d The report also suggests AI can \u201chelp analyse hospital data (e.g., electronic health records, medical claims data, etc.) and analyse patterns and trends to inform resource allocation.\u201d<\/p>\n In a report published on its website earlier this year, Deloitte Canada says \u201cgrowing confidence [in generative AI] underscores a critical responsibility for Canadian enterprises: to ensure that trust is not taken for granted but actively nurtured through transparency and collaboration.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is essential that all parties are engaged, and that governance is embedded into the design, development, and implementation of AI solutions,\u201d the report says, adding \u201cit is crucial to establish guardrails for the responsible deployment of Generative AI solutions while prioritizing upskilling to ensure that people understand the technology and know how to use it effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n Deloitte did not respond to questions from The Independent by the time of publication.<\/p>\n Wakeham, PCs silent so far<\/p>\n In the wake of the Education Accord scandal, then Premier-designate Tony Wakeham told the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers\u2019 Association it was \u201cembarrassing\u201d the report contained the errors, as reported by CBC\/Radio-Canada, and that the PC\u2019s \u201cfirst step will be to review the Education Accord in detail and speak directly with the writers about the content [to] determine what is factual and what is not.\u201d<\/p>\n The Independent recently asked the premier<\/a> if his government would be reviewing its policies around Artificial Intelligence, but a spokesperson from Wakeham\u2019s office said it was \u201cnot prioritizing\u201d one.<\/p>\n In light of a second major government-commissioned report found to contain errors likely generated by AI, The Independent asked Wakeham and the province\u2019s Department of Health and Community Services what the government will do in response to the situation, how it will verify the veracity of claims made in the report, whether it will be requesting a refund from Deloitte, and whether it will be considering a policy around the use of AI in third-party reports.<\/p>\n The government had more than two days to respond but did not by the time of publication.<\/p>\n NDP Leader Jim Dinn says he\u2019s \u201cdisgusted\u201d by the revelation, especially given how recent the Education Accord scandal unfolded.\u00a0\u201cYou\u2019re playing with people\u2019s lives,\u201d he said Friday. \u201cWe already have enough reports in the media that are undermining confidence in the healthcare system as it is, and people are desperate. So this doesn\u2019t do anything to inspire confidence in the fact that they\u2019re trying to fix the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n Dinn said to whatever extent AI was used in both reports, \u201cit undermines confidence in the reports and in the decisions\u201d that will come.<\/p>\n In June Deloitte was chosen by the provincial government to conduct a core staffing review of nursing resources<\/a> in the province, which is expected in the spring.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/MarthaMacLeod.png\")
Martha MacLeod studied health services for decades before retiring in 2022. UNBC.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Gail-Tomblin-Murphy-VP-Research-Innovation-and-Discovery-and-CNE-April-2022-800x1024.jpg\")
Gail Tomblin Murphy said the article she allegedly co-authored, which is cited in the Deloitte report, \u201cdoes not exist.\u201d NS Health.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ChenEhmann-1024x147.jpg\")
This citation appears on page 207 of the Deloitte report. GovNL.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AnthonyVielDeloitte-945x1024.png\")
Anthony Viel is CEO of Deloitte Canada. Deloitte.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/LelaEvansTonyWakeham_Nov2025_WakehamFB-1024x692.jpg\")
Health and Community Services Minister Lela Evans and Premier Tony Wakeham did not respond to The Independent\u2019s questions about the Health Human Resources Report. Tony Wakeham\/Facebook.<\/p>\n