The legislature’s summer break, which starts Friday, couldn’t come soon enough for the Liberal government, which has been under constant fire over $5 million in untendered contracts and questionable expenses at eHealth Ontario.
Premier Dalton McGuinty Thursday again dismissed calls for Health Minister David Caplan’s resignation over eHealth, which was set up last fall after the first provincial agency tasked with creating electronic health records spent $650 million, but produced virtually nothing.
“The opposition has raised some real concerns (and) I acknowledge those,” McGuinty told the legislature.
The Conservatives and New Democrats have accused eHealth chairman Alan Hudson and CEO Sarah Kramer of giving Liberal-friendly firms lucrative contracts without taking competitive bids.
The eHealth controversy overshadowed what will likely be a more long-term problem for the government and taxpayers — the ballooning of the Ontario deficit to $18.5 billion by June from $500 million last fall.
