EHealth Ontario CEO expensed limos
Province floods reporters with 6 binders full of expense claims from tarnished agency
Last Updated: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 | 7:37 PM ET
The Canadian Press
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EHealth Ontario
In depth:
- Examining eHealth Ontario
- Key players in the contract and spending scandal
- Electronic health records
- Potholes on the road to eHealth
In the news:
- EHealth scandal a $1B waste: auditor
- Oct. 7, 2009
- Former eHealth CEO challenges auditor's findings
- Oct. 7, 2009
- Opposition calls for Smitherman's head
- Oct. 7, 2009
- Ontario health minister quits
- Oct. 6, 2009
- Rules not followed in London eHealth contract
- Sept. 21, 2009
- EHealth Ontario probe quietly dropped
- July 22, 2009
- Ontario premier defends eHealth's board
- June 9, 2009
- EHealth's problems go beyond fired CEO, opposition says
- June 8, 2009
- Head of eHealth Ontario is fired amid contracts scandal, gets big package
- June 7, 2009
- Kramer's $114,000 bonus was double eHealth's allowable rate
- June 5, 2009
- Another untendered contract surfaces at embattled eHealth Ontario
- June 4, 2009
- Personal ties exposed in eHealth's untendered contracts
- June 3, 2009
- EHealth storm may trigger reforms for taxpayer-funded consultants: McGuinty
- June 2, 2009
- Minister orders review of spending at eHealth Ontario
- June 1, 2009
- Opposition wants minister's resignation over eHealth spending
- May 28, 2009
- Ont. health agency scrutinized for contract tendering practices
- May 27, 2009
Documents:
- Kramer's salary, information about bonus cuts (PDF)
- Letter regarding freedom of information request (PDF)
- Billing from Anzen consulting (PDF)
- Receipts from two Alberta consultants (PDF)
External links:
The ousted CEO of scandal-plagued eHealth Ontario liked to travel in style on the taxpayers' dime, billing repeatedly for limousine rides, while members of the agency's board were reimbursed for flights from as far away as Florida to attend meetings in Toronto.
Sarah Kramer was given a severance package worth about $317,000 after leaving her post as eHealth CEO and president last month. (CBC)After weeks of watching details trickle out about spending and expense abuses at eHealth, the Liberal government on Wednesday released hundreds of pages of receipts, day-planners, meeting minutes and other documents from the troubled agency.
The government wanted to be as transparent as possible, said Health Minister David Caplan, so it released all of the documents at one time. But the opposition parties accused him of trying to bury the story under mountains of paper.
"I think it's in the public's interest for us to be transparent and accountable, and that's why we're handing out the information in an open and unaltered way," Caplan said in an interview.
The New Democrats dismissed Caplan's explanation.
"They're trying to flood everyone with information with the hopes the whole smelly mess will go away sooner rather than later, and I don't think the people of Ontario are going to buy that," said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
EHealth CEO Sara Kramer resigned in June, as did board chair Dr. Alan Hudson, after the opposition parties complained about $5 million in untendered contracts awarded to consultants by eHealth, a figure that has since grown to about $15 million.
Six large binders full of documents released Wednesday show eHealth, and its predecessor agency Smart Systems for Health, spent nearly $82 million on consultants in 2007 and 2008. It's not clear how many of the contracts were awarded without competitive bidding.
"It keeps growing and growing," said Opposition Leader Tim Hudak.
"I worry this is just the tip of the iceberg of the McGuinty government growing far too comfortable and far too fat in office," the Progressive Conservative party leader said.
Board members billed for Florida flights, road tolls
The papers show Kramer billed for limo rides whenever she travelled for eHealth, including one $400 ride from Toronto to London, along with seeking reimbursement for meals at expensive restaurants.
EHealth board member Khalil Barsoum billed taxpayers nearly $2,400 for a round-trip flight from Florida, car rentals and road tolls to attend a board meeting in Toronto.
"This kind of abuse of taxpayers' dollars is outrageous and I want to know whose head is going to roll," said Hudak.
"To have someone flown back and forth to board meetings is the height of entitlement and that really is outrageous," added Horwath.
EHealth said Wednesday it will try to lower the travel expenses by holding future meetings when Barsoum is already in Toronto, but Caplan said the board would no longer approve the out-of-country travel claim.
"I've been assured that moving forward, the board members' travel expenses from Florida will no longer be reimbursed," said Caplan.
Another board member who lives in Ottawa, Heather Sherrard, is reimbursed for flying back and forth to Toronto to attend eHealth meetings, while Toronto-based board member Michael Decter billed for $10 cab rides to and from each meeting, for which he is paid $380 to attend, and another $380 for preparation time.
Both opposition parties are angry with the government for cancelling a promised third-party review of eHealth by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, which Caplan had promised would "provide us with the proper advice, guidance and recommendations."
After the eHealth documents were released, Hudak said, "I think we understand now why the Liberals quietly dropped the PriceWaterhouseCoopers review in the dog days of summer.
"Somebody's head's gotta roll. The minister has to go."
The New Democrats also called for Caplan's head over the eHealth scandal, which also saw consultants who were being paid $2,700 a day billing taxpayers extra for snacks and beverages.
"The stench of this scandal continues to grow and the government has done nothing to put it at the feet of the minister, which is where it should have been," said Horwath.
EHealth Ontario was set up last September to replace Smart Systems for Health, another provincial agency which had spent $650 million trying to create electronic health records, but produced virtually nothing of value.
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