A Petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

WHEREAS a report from Ontario’s Auditor General on the province’s air ambulance service Ornge found a web of questionable financial deals where tens of millions of taxpayers dollars have been wasted and public safety compromised; and

WHEREAS Ornge officials created a “mini conglomerate” of private entities that enriched former senior officers and left taxpayers on the hook for $300-million in debt; and

WHEREAS Government funding for Ornge climbed 20 per cent to $700 million, while the number of patients it airlifted actually declined; and

WHEREAS a subsidiary of Ornge bought the head office building in Mississauga for just over $15-million and then leased it back to Ornge at a rate 40 per cent higher than fair market rent; and

WHEREAS the Liberal Minister of Health completely failed in her duty to provide proper oversight of Ornge; and

WHEREAS this latest scandal follows the eHealth boondoggle where $2 billion in health dollars were wasted;

WE the undersigned petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows: That the he Government of Ontario immediately appoint a special all-party Select Committee to investigate the scandals surrounding Ornge.