The Auditor General has reported on the Ontario government’s efforts to introduce an electronic health records system and it is grim news indeed for the Liberal Government. You can read the details in this article or many others available on the net. Suffice it to say that the whole sordid affair was a waste of taxpayers money of epic proportions. Auditor General Jim McCarter said, “There were so many consultants, you had consultants basically approving other consultants being hired, often from their own firms”. Wow.
The Health Minister, David Caplan, has resigned, but much of the heat is going to fall on the former Health Minister, George Smitherman. Mr. Smitherman’s name has been tossed about as a possible candidate in next years Toronto Mayoralty race, but I expect this scandel could damage his chances. Yesterday I heard another potential candidate for the Mayor’s job, John Tory, say on his Newstalk 1010 radio show, that he asked tough questions of Premier McGuinty about the eHealth effort back when Tory was Leader of the Opposition. Tory complained yesterday that his questions were redirected to Mr. Smitherman, who apparently pooh-poohed them as top-line rhetoric. Mr. Tory, who has become the “drive-home” host at the radio station, has a handy platform at his fingertips these days for making political hay.
The whole business is an ugly mess.
What were these people thinking?
27th Street 
how do you delete on here? Yikes. Sorry I was trying to tidy up my comments…but now can’t find delete or edit option. Sorry 27th Street.
oops sorry missed a couple of typos/speling…
The thing is it is possibly a “good” idea to have the health converted to electronic files. Sure. What is unfortunate is that it isn’t possible for government to monitor the spending on their own. This situation of a con artist game of the consultants taking advantage of bureaucracy could have happened to any political party.
We need to make more jobs for people. And two great jobs would be a group of people hired to think of jobs that need doing. To create jobs. Why not spend money on imagination and observing? On ideas? Such a citizen oriented group could work outside in the city meeting people and cleaning up…while brainstorming ideas for new jobs. Like 50,000 people hired to clean, monitor streets via their sweep/cleaning and walk around neighbourhoods. To make sustainable “green” garbage bins on more street corners. To work for the auditor general.
Why the fuck are we giving the auditor general this job of making a report AFTER the fact? How silly. this story was in the Star months ago…and part of having these kinds of files within government re-organized should include a budget for people to monitor the work. Hire a staff to work under the auditor general…right from homes or internet cafes or libraries to help set up these renovations in government. We could create jobs of two or three thousand people, hire homemakers, homeless people to monitor and advise the government programs.
We need people to be more involved in such renovations of health care paperwork. I don’t care that the budget was 1 billion. I’m proud of us hiring people to work for the health care system. The consultants should be people directly in the citizenry. Not a middle management like “consultants”. I’m proud that a budget of 20 million is for education and millions are spent on health care and research but we need to get a more direct communication between the accounting workers and ideas. Peopel should be hired for their multi-tasking skills including a holistic range of accounting skills, computer skills and their common sense and ability to consult and problem solve.
if we had set up new workers with accounting classes and let them get a financial reward for problem solving the work we don’t need consultants.
When a goal of the work and job is also defined as making it cost efficent more time is spent finding employees that can do several skills a once. Unlike a “consultant”
What 4Dins said.
The thing is it is possibly a “good” idea to have the health converted to electronic files. sure. What is unfortunate is that it isn’t possible for government to monitor the spending on their own. This situation of a con artist game of the consultants taking advantage of bureaucracy could have happened to any political party.
We need to make more jobs for people. And two great jobs would be a group of people hired to think of jobs that ned doing. To create jobs. Like 50,000 people hired to clean, monitor streets via their sweep/cleaning and walk around neighbourhoods. To make sustainable “green” garbage bins on more street corners. To work for the auditor general.
Whe the fuck are we giving the auditor general this job of making a repost AFTER the fact? How silly. this story was in the Star months ago…and part of having these kinds of files within government re-organized should include a budget for people to monitor the wor. Hire a staff to work under the auditor general…right from their homes to help set up these renovations in government. We could create jobs of two or three thousand people, hire homemakers, homeless people to monitor and advise the government programs.
We need people to be more involved in such renovations of health care paperwork. I don’t care that the budget was 1 billion. I’m proud of us hiring people to work for the health care system. The consultants should be people directly in the citizenry. Not a middle management like “consultants”. I’m proud that a budget of 20 million is for education and millions are spent on health care and research but we need to get a more direct communication between the accounting workers and ideas. Peopel shoould vbe hired for their accounting skills, computer skills and their common sense and ability to consult and problem solve.
if we had set up new workers with accounting classes and let them get a financial reward for problem solving the work we don’t need consultants.
When a goal of the work and job is also defined as making it cost efficent more time is spent finding employees that can do several skills a once. Unlike a “consultant”
🙂
Thinking? Since when does anyone involved in politics think?