The former head of the McGill University Health Centre is in hospital in the Bahamas being treated for cancer.
CTV News has learned that Dr. Arthur Porter underwent a surgical procedure Wednesday for what is being described as a newly discovered malignancy.
There is no word on Porter's condition.
Porter was named the CEO of the MUHC in 2004. He stepped down in December 2011 under a cloud of controversy.
Last September, Quebec's anti-corruption squad raided MUHC headquarters looking for information about the contract for the new super-hospital, which was awarded under Porter's management.
In November, McGill University announced it was taking legal action against Porter to reimburse $317,000 they claim he owes them.
“Despite the fact that he had promised to reimburse the university, the amount owing remains outstanding,” the university wrote in a statement released at that time. “The university has therefore decided to take action to ensure the prompt repayment of these sums.”
The $317,000 includes the balance of a loan granted to Porter in 2008 and $30,000 in back pay which was given to him after his resignation last December. He apparently wasn't entitled to that compensation.
Porter had also resigned from Canada's spy agency CSIS a month earlier over allegations that he had business dealings with a controversial lobbyist.
However, Porter left the MUHC on good terms, only three months before his contract was up, and apparently because there were concerns he was involved in too many other things that took him away from his duties at the MUHC.
