Asian Tribune Your Multilingual Newspaper covering World and local news News
The Ontario legislature is set to resume sitting today after a two-month winter break that began in December. The province is expected to introduce legislation containing heath reforms promised last month. The legislation will include allowing private clinics to perform more surgical procedures and diagnostic tests among other changes designed …
Read More »Ford government polling collected opinion on private health care, asked if system in ‘crisis’
As Ontario battled a triple-threat of respiratory illnesses in the fall of 2022, placing overwhelming strain on hospitals province-wide, the Ford government commissioned a public opinion poll on whether or not the health care system was in a state of crisis. The polling, conducted for the Ontario government in late-October …
Read More »Ontario expands virtual mental health counselling for youth
Ontario is putting $4.75 million toward expanding a virtual walk-in counselling program for children and youth to access mental health services. Health Minister Sylvia Jones says the One Stop Talk program is a way to offer modern, convenient options for youth in ways in which they are used to communicating. …
Read More »Ontario Liberals set to file ethics complaint over Ford government Greenbelt deal
The Ford government could be facing an additional ethics complaint into the controversial Greenbelt land swap as another political party is preparing to ask the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario for an expanded inquiry. Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake launched an inquiry into whether Housing Minister Steve Clark traded insider information …
Read More »Ontario sees 100K-plus waiting longer than recommended for surgery during pandemic
Ontario doubled the number of so-called “long-waiters” during the pandemic — patients whose surgeries have been delayed longer than their maximum clinical guidelines — according to figures obtained by Global News, leading to concerns about poorer medical outcomes. According to government documents, almost half of the patients on Ontario’s surgical …
Read More »Ford government set to expand gas power as Windsor blesses new project
More than a decade after Ontario scrapped plans to build two natural gas power plants, the Ford government is set to usher in a new era of fossil-fuelled electricity. The expansion of gas power — the first since former premier Dalton McGuinty ditched two controversial gas plants in 2011 — …
Read More »Ontario set aside funds for 2 private hospitals as part of surgery backlog strategy
As the Ford government strategized ways to cut down on the COVID-19 surgical backlog, provincial health officials set aside a small pot of public funding for private hospitals and independent heath facilities, according to documents obtained by Global News. A Ministry of Health presentation on the province’s surgical and diagnostic …
Read More »How many health-care workers does Ontario need? The province won’t say
Officials with the Ford government and the Ministry of Health are refusing to divulge how many new nurses, personal support workers and physicians Ontario needs to fill the staffing gaps in Ontario’s health-care system, citing potential damage to the economy if the information is released. In a response to a …
Read More »Critics blast Ford government’s continued defence of Bill 124 after new revelations
The Ford government is facing furious criticism after internal documents, obtained by Global News, acknowledged that low wages and Bill 124 have had a negative impact on Ontario’s ability to retain nurses in the province’s health care sector. The internal government documents, which were intended to brief Health Minister Sylvia …
Read More »Ford government documents admit low wages, Bill 124 worsening health staffing issues
Premier Doug Ford’s controversial wage restraint legislation contributed to the staffing crisis in Ontario’s health-care system, according to internal briefing documents given to the minister of health. The admission was made in briefing notes prepared for Sylvia Jones in 2022, after she was appointed minister of health, and obtained by …
Read More »