Ont. Liberals block committee probe of eHealth chiefs

Does this surprise anyone at all?
It's a joke what our elected leaders do, and then the opposition parties get all up in arms because they want they same power.
I thank the CBC for being on top of stories like this.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Ontario's Liberal government used its majority Tuesday to block opposition attempts to force top brass from eHealth Ontario to appear before a legislative committee.

The Conservatives and New Democrats wanted the committee to dig deeper into spending and expense abuses at eHealth, a problem that has since cropped up at other agencies and boards.

But the Liberals unanimously out-voted the opposition parties without offering an explanation.

The opposition has been complaining about eHealth since June, after it was learned the agency awarded $16 million in untendered contracts to consultants.

It was also discovered that some consultants who were paid up to $2,700 a day billed extra for snacks and beverages.

The government subsequently fired Sarah Kramer, CEO of the electronic health records agency. Kramer reportedly received nearly $317,000 in compensation, the equivalent of 10 months' salary.

The Liberals also promised an independent review of procurement practices at eHealth by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. But in July, Health Minister David Caplan quietly dropped the review at the request of eHealth, saying it would duplicate the work of Ontario's auditor general.

In August, Premier Dalton McGuinty denied intervening in Kramer's appointment over the objections of some civil servants.

McGuinty appealed to everyone paid with taxpayers' money, whether in government or at an arms-length agency, to follow the rules.

The premier has dismissed suggestions his government has lost control over the 600 agencies, boards and commissions, and warned against tarring all public workers with the same brush.

CBC.CA