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Home My WebLink AboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-10-14, Page 6Page 6 - Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, October 14, 2009 www.goderichsignalstar.com Proprietor and published by Bowes Publishers, P.O. Box 220, 120 Harkin Street, Goderich, Ontario N7A 4B6 EDITORIAL Recovering from eHealth a long and painful road The goal seemed to be pretty simple and clear. The government wanted to create a secure, private lifetime health record for each Ontarian, that would be available electronically to any and all authorized health care providers. Simple and clear. But somewhere along the rocky road to eHealth happiness, overpaid and abun- dant consultants, rampant favoritism in the awarding of contracts, faulty tendering processes and a program that is years behind schedule has cost taxpayers $1 bil- lion. There was no map to follow and the aimless journey will cost taxpayers dearly. "We concluded that Ontario taxpayers definitely have not received value for money for the $1 billion spent to date on eth electronic health records initiative," Auditor General Jim McCarter said when he presented his report at Queen's Park last week. To suggest that taxpayers have not received value for the money is an unmiti- gated understatement. It is a polite term for the rapaciousness of an uncaring government. Premier Dalton McGuinty has taken full responsibility for the debacle, fired his Health Minister David Caplan and assured Ontarians that he will implement recommendations for change and attempt to regain the trust of taxpayers that has been badly damaged if not lost outright. The eHealth scandal just continues to spiral out of control as tales of wanton spending, contracts awarded without a competitive bidding process and consul- tants approving the hiring of other consultants within their own firms, persist.. It was a nasty, freewheeling and unregulated process that showed total disre- gard for tax dollars. The auditor general found that the Health Ministry had 300 consultants, so full-time staff on its own internal eHealth programs and those consultants often hired consultants from their own firms. One consultant worked for seven years and his firm was paid $2 million while another firm got $2.4 million over six years of work. Two consultants were effectively paid a rate of more than $700,000 annually before expenses until their contracts were terminated after the media published that information. The Ministry of Health got two bids on a project — one for $60,000 and another for $600,000 which it chose without documentation. The list of egregious mishandling of funds is long and alarmingly demonstrates blatant misappropriation of money.. The Auditor General is now recommending an overhaul of the plan with a goal of providing electronic records for all Ontarians by 2015. So how do we get out of this mess? The government can't lose sight of the need to bring our healthcare system into the 21st century with electronic records that will make the system safer, account- able and more efficient. We have already spent $1 billion and have little to show for it. But healthcare is the most important issue on the minds of voters. Simply, it is important and our money can't be wasted frivolously, especially at a time when people are losing jobs and communities are struggling to find doc- tors, nurses, beds and provide the basic necessities of care for its residents. • McGuinty is going to have to be more contritous than David Letterman and ensure taxpayers that this project can proceed on a clean and accountable path. We deserve much better. -We will have to settle for a lot less. DS ACCEPTI,G TI4E AWARD FoR " BEST INThRNATI }1At.. COMMUOME5 IN BLOOM " IS Goof -Rol fooNDER ...TIGER DUNLOP; 1'D LIKE TO THANK ALL. THE VOLuNTEFRS WHO Por i N CounITL.ESS HouRS To Ac4tEvE TiW15 AwARD... WE ROCK!! AND Heft SpfAjosI G of Roo{ ... CHecK OUT MY TOMB NoRTN ' Of TotAki G.GcRooakq Congratulations to Goderich for Communities in Bloom win To the Editor, Once again, The town of Goderich has shown it's spirit and determination, having won the prestigious "International award for small towns" at the recent "Communities in Bloom" awards event in Vaughan, ON. Congratulations to all the CIB Volunteers, to the Town Parks Department and to the resi- dents of Goderich for helping make our town one of the prettiest, not only in Canada, but in a lot of the rest of the world! The award judges gave special mention to "Community Involve- ment in Floral Displays", something any visi- tor or observer would easily agree with! The Goderich Signal -Star. - published every Wednesday at Goderich, Ontario is one of The Signal -Star Publishing Group of Community Newspapers, a division of Bowes Publishers. The Goderich Signal Star shall not be liable for failure to publish an ad jor typographical errors in publication except to the extent of the cost of that portion of the ad in which the error occurred. The Goderich Signal -Star reserves the right to rr,ject or edit any advertisement. The Goderich Signal -Star is a proud member of the Canadian Community Newspapers Association (CCNA) and The Ontario Community Newspapers Association (OCNA). 1111111011111111111 Editorial Deadlines... Friday at 2 pm All Advertising Deadlines... Entertainment, Births, Deaths, In Memoriams... Classifieds... Display Advertising... Friday at 2 pm Telephone Fax.... Publisher... Reporters... 519-524-2614 519-524-5145 Dave Sykes Dominique Milburn Gerard Creces Denny Scott • Letters opinion As one of the many volunteers, and on be- half of all the residents of Goderich, I would personally like to thank our hard-working chairperson, Shelley Peet, our Parks Dept. Manager Martin Quinn, as well as Parks Dept staff, especially Jennifer and Erin, for all their efforts! And a special thanks to our Town Council for their vision and support. I just received a lovely card from my neigh - Continued on page 7 Classifieds & Subscription... Accounting... Office Manager... Display Sales... Advertising Manager... Judy Austin Rhonda Butt Mary Johnston Janet Shrier Lisa McLaren Keith Moreland Steve Northey Kevin Shrier Email... gssnews@bowesnet.com,gsssports@bowesnet.com gssads@bowesnet.com, goderichads@bowesnet.com website... www.goderichsignalstar.com PUGUCAraNS MAIL AGREEMENT No. 40064683 PAP REGISTRATION No. 7602 REnmw UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADORESSES To: Circulation Dept, 120 Hefts St., P.O. Box 120, Goderich, ON, _ NTA 486 (519) 524.2614 MAC geenews@bowwesnet.com We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing costs. ocna Canada maim.�