Tim Hudak: Stop The DST

Ontario taxpayers bailed out Hamilton again

The Hamilton Spectator
(Apr 9, 2009)

Re: 'McGuinty is council's fairy godmother' (Column, April 3)

After reading about the latest $16.5 million bailout for the City of Hamilton from the Dalton McGuinty Liberal government, I would like to thank the rest of the hard-working taxpayers of Ontario for bailing out our city for the fifth year in a row.

Unfortunately for the people who live here, it has allowed our local council to avoid the hard decisions necessary to right our sinking ship and balance our books without getting millions of dollars from the rest of you.

As old habits are hard to break, I look forward to next year's bailout so we can keep our property taxes the lowest they have been since amalgamation.

-- Mark-Alan Whittle

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In association with The World According to: MAW

Ontario Liberals wasted $647M on e-health records: opposition parties

TORONTO — Five years and $647 million were wasted by the Ontario government’s attempt to develop electronic health records before the project was shut down and started all over again, the opposition parties charged today.

The government quietly shuttered the Smart Systems for Health Agency last fall and replaced it with e-Health Ontario, another body charged with the same task of creating a system that would allow people’s medical records to be shared electronically among health professionals.

The Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats say it was no accident the Liberals closed the old agency the same day the government released its first report on outbreaks of a deadly bacteria in Ontario hospitals.

“They finally recognized the agency was a failure ... and quietly pulled the plug on the same day that C. difficile results were announced, on a Friday ... and set up the other agency hoping that nobody would notice,” said Opposition critic Elizabeth Witmer.

“For five years this government allowed the agency to move forward without any accountability whatsoever.”

Witmer said “it’s unbelievable” that a government agency could spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and have practically nothing of value at the end — a sentiment echoed by NDP critic France Gélinas.

“Ontarians should be worried that $647 million was spent with very, very little to show for it,” Gélinas said. “This is a complete failure. There is no way this government will ever be able to account for the $647 million that they’ve scattered with no result.”

However, Health Minister David Caplan said the old agency did manage to set up a secure computer network linking 7,000 sites of various public health agencies and family health teams across the province.

“That is all in place, and having that secure network where health information can be transmitted is really an incredible fist step,” said Caplan, who admitted Ontario was falling behind other jurisdictions in creating electronic health records.

“I decided to make the change from that agency to e-Health Ontario with a new board and new senior management because I think we can do much better in this area with much more aggressive timelines.”

The opposition parties said they couldn’t understand how moving the implementation date for electronic health records in Ontario from 2012 to 2015 could be considered a more aggressive timeline.

They also complained that the new CEO of e-Health Ontario, Sarah Kramer, spent $51,500 on new office furniture, but Caplan said there are always startup costs with new agencies.

Kramer said the old CEO’s furniture was showing its age and needed to be replaced, and insisted the new furnishings are appropriate for the office.

“It’s professional,” she said. “It’s definitely not opulent.”

The Tories and New Democrats want the province’s auditor general to look into the now-defunct Smart Systems for Health Agency.

“If this government has nothing to hide, call in the auditor general, do the value-for-money audit, and let’s make sure that moving forward the public can be confident their tax dollars are being well-spent,” Witmer said.

“Right now we have nothing to show whatsoever.”
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In association with The World According to: MAW

Tory's loss is Ontario's loss

By THE CARIBBEAN CAMERA

When John Tory first stepped into politics in 2003, everyone in Toronto watched him suspiciously.

Why would a successful lawyer and front man for communications giant Rogers, whose entire life has been way above that of the ordinary folk, want to serve us? Was his bid an effort to turn the inner workings of Canada's largest city over to the interests of big business?

That suspicion, alas, is probably what did Tory in in almost every election he has contested since. And it's a pity, because John Tory the politician turned out to be quite a decent man, a rare entity in the world of politics.

Those who got to know him during the five years since that mayoral election will attest to the fact that Tory rose head and shoulders above most politicians who try to reach out to us simply to secure our vote.

He was real in his passion for caring about all of Ontario's residents, and made every effort to reach out across social, ethnic, religious and cultural barriers in a genuine effort to get to know the people he wanted to serve.

Tory did not just pay lip-service to these communities, but really cared about the issues facing Ontarians, whatever their backgrounds.

He was a welcome guest at almost every Hindu temple, Islamic mosque and other churches, where he involved himself deeply so he could truly understand these communities.

Not just that, but Tory also attached himself to worthy causes in our community, such as Camp Jumoke and The Caribbean Children Foundation, and used every opportunity he had to tell the wider community about the work these groups do.

At no time, however, did it seem like he was campaigning.

He once told The Camera, during his mayoral race, what he cherished most about his decision to enter politics was the opportunity it offered him to meet people and experience cultures he otherwise would not have.

We believe him.

This is why we're so sad to see him bow out of politics.

To see such a decent man walk away from politics is something every Ontarian should regret.

God knows, we don't have enough of them as it is.

To let him go without a thank you will be a dereliction of our duty.

So thanks, Mr Tory.

Your time in the arena was truly appreciated.

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In association with The World According to: MAW

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