Latest news with #ProgressiveConservative
Hamilton Spectator
2 days ago
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Doug Ford expanding medical procedures covered by OHIP in private clinics
Ontario is expanding privately run surgical and diagnostic centres to deliver MRI and CT scans for patients 'paid for by their OHIP card not their credit card,' says Premier Doug Ford. Ford said Friday his Progressive Conservative government would spend $155 million over two years on 57 new private clinics licensed to deliver scans and gastrointestinal endoscopy services across the province. 'These centres will help cut wait times and provide convenient, publicly funded care for people in their communities so they can get care when they need it, paid for by their OHIP card not their credit card,' the premier said at the Schroeder Ambulatory Centre in Richmond Hill. The Tories hope the expansion of 35 diagnostic centres and 22 endoscopy clinics will help 1.2 million people access such services more quickly and 'relieve hospital capacity' at a time when the system is bursting at the seams. 'Right now, a lot of hospitals are at full capacity, but this will relieve them,' insisted Ford, whose government has been criticized for increasing the role of private-sector in health-care delivery. 'At the end of the day, the people want to know when they can get their hip replaced or their knee replaced, or get cataracts done or get an MRI or a CT scan — and we're taking a massive burden off the system and off hospitals,' he said. But a cloud was cast over the announcement by word that 200,000 home-care patients had their health data breach due to a 'third-party vendor.' Liberal MPP Adil Shamji (Don Valley North), a medical doctor, said the province's information and privacy commissioner should investigate the leak of the personal health information of tens of thousands of Ontario Health atHome patients on or around March 17. 'As elected officials, we are accountable to the people who elected us. That is why I feel it is my obligation to notify the commissioner and compel Premier Ford to act on this clear and present risk to patients,' said Shamji, expressing concern about privacy violations, identity theft and insurance fraud. 'If your personal health information had been stolen, how long would you want to wait before being told? It has been three and a half months, and to my knowledge, not one of the 200,000 or more affected Ontario Health atHome patients has been notified,' he said. 'That's nearly one third of all home care patients in Ontario at risk.' Health Minister Sylvia Jones confirmed 'Ontario Health is absolutely investigating right now.' 'We have a division that focuses on any potential cyber breach and, as is standard operating (procedure), we will — Ontario Health and Ontario Health atHome — will notify if there has been any form of breach to individual patients, but that investigation is going on right now,' said Jones. 'It was a third-party vendor,' she added. Ford, noting his own personal health data was once made public, stressed such records are 'sacred in Ontario.' 'Anyone who breaches health-care records needs to be fired, immediately, gone, be charged. That's what needs to happen here in Ontario,' he said. Friday's announcement is part of the Tories' push to shorten wait times by approving additional privately owned clinics to provide cataract surgeries, scans and hip and knee replacements under the belief that the status quo is not working. The controversial transition to more private clinics has been in the works since the passage of the Your Health Act two years ago but kept on the down-low before the Feb. 27 provincial election that saw Ford win a third consecutive majority. Critics have warned the move to more procedures in private clinics will bleed the public health system of doctors, nurses and other resources at a time when patients face record waits in emergency rooms and pave the way for corporations to profit instead of increasing government support for public hospitals where operating rooms sometimes sit empty. There are also concerns that increased reliance on private clinics means that patients will be pressured into paying for extras not covered by OHIP — despite repeated assurances to the contrary from Ford and Jones. For example, Ontario's auditor general warned in 2021 that cataract surgery patients — mostly seniors whose eye lenses blur as they age — are the most vulnerable to 'misleading sales practices' in some circumstances. Options include certain tests and upgraded lenses that can eliminate the need for eyeglasses. Ontario now has more than 900 private clinics providing OHIP-covered medical services, as has been the case for decades under governments of all political stripes.
Hamilton Spectator
2 days ago
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Ontario expanding publicly funded private surgical and diagnostic centres
Ontario is expanding its suite of publicly funded private community surgical and diagnostic centres. Premier Doug Ford says the province is investing $155 million over the next two years to create 57 new centres for MRI and CT scans and gastrointestinal endoscopy services. Ford says the new clinics will help ease the burden on hospitals and reduce wait times. The province says it will add 35 new centres for MRI and CT scans that it says will serve more than 800,000 patients. And it will add 22 centres to deliver endoscopy services. Ford's Progressive Conservative government first introduced sweeping changes to the delivery of health care in 2023 in response to a massive surgical and diagnostic test backlog. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ontario expanding publicly funded private surgical and diagnostic centres
Ontario is expanding its suite of publicly funded private community surgical and diagnostic centres. Premier Doug Ford says the province is investing $155 million over the next two years to create 57 new centres for MRI and CT scans and gastrointestinal endoscopy services. Ford says the new clinics will help ease the burden on hospitals and reduce wait times. The province says it will add 35 new centres for MRI and CT scans that it says will serve more than 800,000 patients. And it will add 22 centres to deliver endoscopy services. Ford's Progressive Conservative government first introduced sweeping changes to the delivery of health care in 2023 in response to a massive surgical and diagnostic test backlog. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2025.
Global News
4 days ago
- Health
- Global News
Nova Scotia won't buy air conditioners for low-income people with health issues
A Nova Scotia woman on income assistance who succeeded in forcing the province to pay for her air conditioner says she's sad other low-income people won't get the same relief. Last October Julie Leggett from New Glasgow, N.S., won an appeal to receive provincial funding for an air conditioner because of a chronic health condition. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy But the decision by the income assistance appeal board didn't force the province to cover the cost of air conditioners for other low-income people with health issues. Leggett raised her concerns during the November provincial election campaign, arguing government policy should be changed to help people cope during heat waves. Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston, whose party won the election, had said on the campaign trail that he would look into adding air conditioners to a list of special needs covered by the social assistance program. Story continues below advertisement But a spokesperson for the Department of Social Development said on Tuesday that the government was not planning on changing the policy. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Province denies wrongdoing in former commission chair's wrongful dismissal lawsuit
The NDP government is denying wrongdoing in a lawsuit over a longtime Progressive Conservative staffer's abrupt dismissal from a role on a provincial commission earlier this year. The government revoked Jonathan Scarth's appointment as chair of the Clean Environment Commission on Jan. 29 through an order-in-council. Scarth had been appointed to the role from from Jan. 1, 2022 through Dec. 31, 2026 by an earlier order-in-council — a public record of a decision made by provincial cabinet — in September 2021, under the previous PC government. Scarth filed suit in Court of King's Bench over what he alleged was a wrongful dismissal, breach of contract and breach of duty earlier this year. But the province, in a statement of defence filed by private lawyers working on its behalf last month, argues the Environment Act provides the lieutenant-governor the power to terminate commission appointments at any time. The province's filings argue the court should toss out the lawsuit and grant it costs. The commission, an arm's-length agency, conducts public reviews and hearings on matters of environmental concern and gives independent advice and recommendations to the environment minister. The government also says the terms in the original order-in-council allowed the position to be revoked. Scarth and the province did not sign a written employment agreement related to the commission chair role, but the government claims there had been multiple written communications about preparing one. The government filing claims the clerk of the executive council provided Scarth an agreement, with defined obligations upon termination of employment, in December 2022 — before the NDP formed government in October 2023 — which Scarth refused to sign. The clerk then sent Scarth an email in January 2023 advising that if he did not sign the agreement, his employment would be governed by the province's policies, say the government defence filings. His starting salary, inked in the order-in-council, was $170,502. As of his termination, Scarth's annual salary was $196,431, with five weeks vacation and other benefits. He was given six week's pay in lieu of termination notice. The province says Scarth was not entitled to due process, as he argued. The longtime PC staffer argued his 'unlawful' dismissal should be considered void, which the government denied in the filings. The government denies its conduct was malicious and says it breached no contracts or duties. Scarth's claim seeks a court declaration that the termination of his appointment was invalid and damages for wrongful dismissal equivalent to the pay, benefits and pension contributions he would have received if he had completed his term. He's also seeking aggravated and punitive damages as well as interest and court costs. The province argues in its filings it does not owe Scarth any damages. Scarth first began working in PC politics in the 1990s under former premier Gary Filmon. He was later tapped in the 2000s to serve as former PC leader Hugh McFadyen's chief of staff and was the party's chief executive officer for a stint, before later joining former premier Brian Pallister's government as the premier's principal secretary — his most senior aide — in 2016. Erik PinderaReporter Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik. Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
