A Submission from the Office of Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath
Queen’s Park, May 10, 2013 – Andrea Horwath, Leader of Ontario’s New Democrats, says people want to see some accountability in Ontario’s Budget and their healthcare. That’s why she is calling for Ontario’s Ombudsman to have oversight into the health care sector.
Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath
“Ontarians told us they want clear, concrete change in health care. They’re tired of the Liberal government saying ‘just trust us’,” said Horwath. “Asking Ontario’s Ombudsman’s Ombudsman to have oversight into the health care sector is a fair and reasonable way to start building trust.”
“Families have seen their faith in the health care system shaken by chemotherapy underdosing, scandals at Ornge air ambulance and the government’s failure to guarantee home care wait times. We need to do better,” said Horwath.
New Democrats have been consulting with Ontarians following the introduction of the Liberal Budget and thousands of Ontarians have responded with their feedback and ideas.
“People have been telling us that they have been let down by the Liberals before and they want to see some accountability and some transparency,” continued Horwath. “This is a practical way to ensure that Ontarians have access to health care they can have faith in.”
The New Democrat proposal would give the Ombudsman oversight over hospitals, ambulance services (including air ambulance services), long-term care homes, community care access centres, and retirement homes.
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Niagara At Large 
Of course the Ontario Ombudsman should have oversight over the healthcare etc.
The Liberals are proof positive of this need.
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The only way to accountability is ONE WAY…….an that’s JAIL!!!!
Why can’t they understand that???
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The best reason to give Marin oversight is that neither the Liberals nor the PCs want him to have it. So that should tell you something…
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Fiona McMurran has hit the nail on the head!
But it must go much further than having the ombudsman look at the health care system! The provincial auditor should dig deep into some of the financial affairs of the hospitals and especially, the LHINs.
Far too much money goes into high salaries for drones who really have no connection to the front-line health-care workers.
I don’t care what anyone says — NO ONE in hospital management is worth more than $150,000 per year! But many of the top earners in Ontario are hospital “executives” who haven’t dealt with a patient in years.
Why is it that when governments say “we must cut health spending,” the hospital administrators immediately say “we must close beds?” The answer is simple — they don’t want to cut back on all the administrators. Cut the front-line staff instead. They know the public will scream at the politicians and get the funding cuts reversed.
And as long as we have that twit Deb Matthews as health minister, the stupidity will continue.
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We have candidates that cheat and lie to get elected. We have whole parties that cheat and lie to get elected. There is no consequence to their cheating and lying so therefore they continue to cheat and lie to stay elected.
We have the right to a free and fare election to dump any party with a record of cheating and lying. Cheating and lying should be a cause for immediate dismissal. We should have a recall mechanism to empower voters to correct mistakes.
We should also have term limits! Our politicians should run on the basis of doing their duty, NOT as a career or to become rich!
The saddest thing to hear is the possibility that the NDP may collaborate with the current Ontario Liberal Government to cheat us out of a free and fare election! SHAME!
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Bit of a contradiction here, Mr. Haskell. How can we ever have “a free and fair election” if candidates and whole parties cheat and lie to get elected? While many — perhaps most — Ontarians are sick and tired of the lying Liberals, many of us don’t have the same faith in an election as a cure for what ails Ontario politics. Why? Because the likelihood is that we’d spend a great deal of money to end up more or less where we are now, perhaps with a different party leading in a minority government. Even PC party members don’t seem to have much faith in Tim Hudak…for good reason.
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I must agree with Fiona McMurran … much as many of us dislike the Liberals, especially McGuinty, we are faced with little in the way of options! I tend to be conservative (note: small c) but there is no way in hell I will vote for any conservative in Ontario as long as the party is led by the likes of Tim Hudak! He and McGuinty are peas in a pod as far as I am concerned.
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The voters are in a catch 22 situation in Ontario, vote for the same obtuse and spendthrift morons in power now or put in the devil with horns running the Conservative Party, The choice of the Devil and the deep blue sea,.me I will vote Green Party, Try getting the Green Party point of view in the Sun Media controlled press , it ain’t gonna happen, as they will not print my letters , not for want of trying.The NDP is still suffering from the damage done to it by Bob Rae the turncoat who decimated any good will that the Party had., Bob Rae who never worked or lived as a normal citizen of Ontario. left a bad taste in the mouths of senior voters who once supported and voted NDP.
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No one is held accountable with serious consequences if & when they stray from serving the people as they vowed they would do…… how sweet is that!!!! It gets easier & easier to USE the taxpayers money in any way they want without having to answer to or explain their decisions BEFORE its done! Example: Placement of new hospital….. lack of accessibility to new hospital…. ambulance delays etc. They make the decisions and we PAY the price in many ways!!! They continue on their merry way ,making their merry mistakes , says OOOppps….. and not giving a hoot because they did it “THEIR WAY”!!! I say they should be fined or jailed or some other heavy consequence to make them think twice about what their doing to the public who are paying their way!!!!
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