Knock knock. [Who’s there?] ORNGE. [ORNGE Who?] ORNGE you glad it's not Drummond!
A terrible joke, I know, but I couldn't think of a better way to say that ORNGE, the troubled provincial air ambulance service, has stolen the Ontario political spotlight from Mr. Don Drummond and his report. Last Tuesday, the Ontario Legislature sat for the first time after a lengthy Christmas break, and the talk was all about ORNGE.
The Globe and Mail
Tory MPP Accuses McGuinty Government of ORNGE Cover-Up
Karen Howlett writes that the Progressive Conservatives put the Liberals on the defensive on the very first day of the legislature’s spring session, accusing them of trying to cover up the scandal that's engulfed ORNGE, and asking for Minister of Health Deb Matthews to resign.
Progressive Conservative MPP Frank Klees called on Health Minister Deb Matthews to resign, saying in Question Period on Tuesday that he believes a criminal probe into ORNGE could lead to her office – an allegation he repeated outside the chamber. ...
Mr. Klees raised questions about ORNGE 10 months ago. He has been on the outs with his caucus colleagues in recent months for defying Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak by running unsuccessfully for Speaker. But he received two standing ovations from his Tory colleagues in Question Period as he accused the government of trying to cover up the scandal swirling around ORNGE.
Government officials, including Ms. Matthews, have known for at least a year that for-profit entities created by ORNGE were doing business under the same roof as the publicly funded air carrier, Mr. Klees said.
And you can read more about ORNGE here, here, here, here and here.
Toronto Star
ORNGE Mistakes Disrupt Patient Care
In the paper where the ORNGE story broke, Kevin Donovan and Tanya Talaga write that Frank Klees also revealed in the legislature a list of service disruptions that have occurred in the last few weeks at ORNGE.
Within the last week, Klees said there were four consecutive nights in London and three consecutive nights in Sudbury where the bright orange ambulances were grounded and unavailable to transport patients due to a lack of pilots. …
In total, Klees notified Matthews of nearly a dozen incidents including an air ambulance being sent to a closed helipad and a helicopter being sent to the wrong hospital in London — as a result a patient lost out on a pediatric bed and had to be transported to Detroit for care.
In another incident, ORNGE central command had no idea a London-based helicopter was in the air and with a patient. In another, staff lost the whereabouts of one aircraft for nearly 90 minutes, said Klees.
Cohn: ORNGE Leaves a Black Mark on Deb Matthews’ Ambitious Health Reforms
Also in the Toronto Star, Queen’s Park columnist Martin Regg Cohn writes that "ORNGE is sucking up all the oxygen in the minority Legislature," and suppressing what was supposed to be the focus of Ontario's political agenda: the Drummond report and Ontario’s fiscal fitness. And, in this light, Regg Cohn makes the case for Matthews staying on as Minister of Health. Not only because the McGuinty team is lacking bench strength, but because of how she has handled the ORNGE scandal.
... Matthews has rebounded — regaining control over the rogue ORNGE since it hit the front pages of the Star. She sidelined its infamous CEO Chris Mazza, he of the $1.4 million salary (not counting bonuses, loans and smoothies). She ordered ORNGE to show her the money after months of double-talk and double-dealing. She dumped the board of directors, wound up its errant for-profit subsidiaries, ordered in forensic auditors, opened doors for the auditor general and called in the OPP.
She did much of that without any legal authority to force compliance — due to the Frankenstein framework created by Smitherman years before — instead relying on moral suasion to get the ORNGE board to bend to her will. Arguably, she has made up for early mistakes.
Also, in the Toronto Sun, University of Toronto political science professor Nelson Wiseman argues that Matthews will not be fired at this time.
The Globe and Mail
Ontario Tories: They’re At the post, They’re Off … Every Which Way
With Queen’s Park back in session – and with a minority government, no less – Adam Radwanski has some advice for how the opposition Progressive Conservatives and leader Tim Hudak, in particular, can gain ground on the Liberals.
Since running and losing on an ill-conceived election platform that favoured marginal wedge issues over substantive differences with government policy, Mr. Hudak has made an admirable effort to recast himself as a serious-minded fiscal conservative. Although he doesn’t yet have a platform to back it up, his tonal shift – away from glib potshots at Mr. McGuinty, toward more substantive questions about whether the Premier is tough enough to do what’s needed – has been a good start.
But to really make that case, Mr. Hudak needs to show that he himself is willing to make difficult decisions. In opposition, that means forsaking the temptation to score political points when the government does potentially unpopular things that fit with the principles he himself has set out.
The Canadian Press
Ontario Updates G20 Secret Law to Limit Scope to Court Houses, Power Stations
Remember the Public Works Protection Act? No? Well, you might know it as the “secret law” the McGuinty government enacted to give police the authority to stop and search people during the G20 summit in Toronto in 2010. Well, after much controversy, the government is scaling it back.
... they are now updating the act to limit its scope to apply only to court houses and hydro generating stations.
The opposition parties say the law was used to justify mass suspensions of civil liberties, and updating it is the Liberals' way of admitting their mistake.
Ontario MPPs Support End to Pit Bull Ban
Also via the Canadian Press: members of all parties passed a private member’s bill last Thursday, urging the government to lift Ontario’s ban on pit bulls.
Progressive Conservative Randy Hillier, who owns two dogs he said could be seized and destroyed under the Dog Owner's Liability Act, said the ban was introduced because of what he called a very few high profile dog attacks, mostly in the Toronto area.
"It was clear to everyone that the government of the day felt significant pressure to be seen to be doing something regardless if it was doing the right thing," Hillier told the legislature.
"Good public policy is driven by the interests of our constituents, by science and by evidence, not by media hysteria, nor bold headlines and slogans."
You can always keep track of Ontario political news via social media, using the Twitter hashtag #onpoli. You can also subscribe to a list of The Agenda producers on Twitter, who tweet about Ontario news, as well as many other topics.
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