eHealth Ontario overspending probe cancelled - New expense control coordinator to be hired

Ontario's government is weathering a storm of protest from opposition parties and taxpayers after quietly cancelling a promised independent review of scandal-plagued eHealth Ontario. The government had said a major accounting firm would look into procurement practices at the provincial agency, which is working (Is this right? ed.) to create electronic health records for Ontario residents.

David McKaplan, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, said the investigation (surely "review" - ed.) is no longer necessary because "all those who charged eHealth for tea and muffins have resigned or been fired, at no little expense to the taxpayer." (Check this. ed.) (Maybe "cheque this"? sr. ed.)

In a related move, the government announced the creation of a new, senior management post: Expense Control Coordinator. The person to be appointed, besides having a proven track record as a defeated Liberal candidate, will have demonstrated ability to curb excessive pay and expenses by senior executives in top-heavy public-sector organizations. He/she will work closely with the newly appointed Expense Coordination Controller, and will report directly to the newly appointed Director of Expense Control and Coordination.

Mr. McKaplan said the Minister of Health is confident that the new expense control team will be successful in reducing unnecessary layers of management and keeping eHealth Ontario's payroll and expense budget to within not less than 300% of projections.