Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
Moderators: sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, lilfssister, North Shore, I WAS Birddog
-
Cold and Dark
- Rank 1
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Tue Sep 19, 2006 8:42 pm
-
oldncold
- Rank (9)
- Posts: 1064
- Joined: Thu May 13, 2004 11:17 am
- Location: south of 78N latitude , north of 30'latitude
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
humpty dumpty sat on a wall humpty dumpty had a great fall all the mba s and lawyers could not put ornge back to gether again......
any one who worked in the private soa in ontario that got screwed over by ornge knew their day would come, karma is a b...ch!! when an organization goes throu 3 high qualified directors of flt ops in a year , including 1 that lasted a month. mainly because of the exec medling in shi.. they know s..fa. about. The writing is on the wall for all those who wish to see. saw this one coming in 2008
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
I sort of, kind of did, didn't I!!!Lost Lake wrote:I'm surprised Doc is not on here saying "I told you so!". He sure nailed this one on the head!!
If it smells like a skunk, looks like a skunk, acts like a skunk.......It's a SKUNK!!
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
Maybe more people should actually heed Docs words instead of always trying to fight him and demean him, he has been calling this one since the beginning of time, which judging by his posts he has been around just that long. It doesn't matter if you like his method of delivery or not, the man obviously has some experience and a bit of worldly knowledge too.
Just my 2cents
BL
Just my 2cents
BL
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
I am going to jump in here too. All those that criticized Doc's opinion on this company in the past should own up to their ridicules and offer doc their apologies.
How much would the Canadian tazpayers' have saved if politicians had just a fraction of his common sense?
How much would the Canadian tazpayers' have saved if politicians had just a fraction of his common sense?
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
ORNGE scandal: Tougher legislation, but whistleblowers muzzled
The whistleblowers of ORNGE, who brought serious patient safety and financial concerns forward, are being warned they may go to jail if they keep talking.
“If you leak information you can be held criminally liable for obstructing a criminal investigation,” interim ORNGE boss Ron McKerlie warned ORNGE’s 400 employees Thursday at a town-hall meeting.
“You can go to jail,” he said.
The stiff warning appears to be directed at the many ORNGE employees who helped the public learn just how troubled the air ambulance service was. It came just before Friday’s announcement that the province hopes to tighten its grip on the service, which the Star found was riddled with problems.
The province, Health Minister Deb Matthews told reporters, is drafting legislation to provide tougher oversight and to ensure no changes to the corporate structure or sale of assets happen without health minister approval.
One thing the Star uncovered was the creation by ORNGE of numerous for-profit companies that did nothing to help patient care in Ontario. Questioned about it earlier, Matthews said she had no power to stop ORNGE and its former boss Dr. Chris Mazza.
After more than two months of investigative stories in the Star exposing high executive salaries, perks and questionable cash payouts, Matthews told reporters Friday the changes will give the government increased audit and inspection powers over ORNGE.
The Ontario Provincial Police was called in by the ministry this week to investigate the actions of former executives.
McKerlie is the deputy minister sent in to clean up ORNGE as part of the new leadership team in place at the agency. He has earned respect for tackling problems head on, but employees were concerned about the tone of the Town Hall meeting.
ORNGE employees with whom the Star dealt believe they did the right thing speaking to the media following failed attempts to sound the alarm for two years. Those attempts included complaints to the health ministry, the finance ministry, the provincial auditor general, and ministers and opposition critics.
“We tried to fix it through channels. That did not work,” one said.
McKerlie told ORNGE employees Thursday not to talk to the media.
“If you are doing it, you need to stop now,” he said, adding that it was for their “own protection.” He referred to the media interest in ORNGE as a “soap opera” and said if “you are feeding it you have to stop.”
Told Friday morning that the Star was writing about his comments, McKerlie amended his position in a company-wide note Friday afternoon, saying he was committed to developing a “whistleblower policy to ensure that in future, staff are protected should they feel the need to come forward with information.”
McKerlie said the OPP had told him that releasing information during the investigation could “compromise” its outcome.
The Star’s investigation drew from information it obtained from numerous ORNGE sources, who spoke about serious patient safety issues, problems with the helicopters and alleged financial impropriety, which included the revelation that a $6.7 million payment was made by an Italian helicopter firm to founder Dr. Chris Mazza’s company after he and ORNGE selected its choppers for Ontario.
All the issues raised by employees are now being investigated by police, auditors and other officials. ORNGE employees have long been forbidden from speaking publicly of concerns and must sign a confidentiality agreement when hired.
At Queen’s Park, Matthews said she will let the OPP do its work and she’ll move forward with new rules governing ORNGE.
“I am not going to point fingers,” Matthews said. “I am fixing the problem.”
OPP detectives will focus their investigation on the $6.7 million payment from the Italian firm and $1.2 million in loans and a cash advance to Mazza.
There is a new interim boss (McKerlie) and a new board is in place, said Matthews. “I am not managing ORNGE. They are managing ORNGE and it is important I let them do their work.”
Under the proposed legislation, any changes to ORNGE’s corporate structure, including asset sales, would have to be approved directly by the minister. As well, conflict-of-interest provisions will be strengthened and debt-control provisions will be put in place to prevent debt increases without ministry approval.
A new patient advocate and complaints process are also being planned.
Changes to the province’s Ambulance Act will give the minister the power to appoint a supervisor over ORNGE if need be, in much the same way that the minister can appoint a supervisor in a hospital.
New ORNGE board member Dr. Barry McLellan, the CEO of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, has taken the lead on making sure that patient safety is paramount, Matthews said.
McLellan’s first task was to reconfigure the inside of the cramped interior of the medical helicopters, she said. A previous Star story found the inside of the new AW 139 helicopter was a “high risk environment” and difficult to perform CPR in or to prop up a patient who cannot breathe.
“That fix is implemented, and they are looking now at a longer term solution to reconfigure the interiors,” Matthews said.
Afterwards, Progressive Conservative MPP Frank Klees said Matthews still believes she can provide “band-aid solutions” to a very broken organization.
“The fact she continues to refer to this organization as ORNGE and insists it still can be fixed demonstrates clearly she is very much out of touch with how deep the issues are at ORNGE,” said Klees (Newmarket-Aurora).
“The fact that the minister did nothing for months indicates clearly that this minister failed to provide the proper oversight and it happened on her watch. She should step aside.”
Klees said Ontario’s air ambulance system has become so tainted that one of the first things the government should do here is change its name.
“The first thing that probably should be done is we get rid of that name ORNGE,” he said. “Let’s return to that name Ontario Air Ambulance Service.”
Kevin Donovan can be reached at (416) 312-3503 or kdonovan@thestar.ca
The whistleblowers of ORNGE, who brought serious patient safety and financial concerns forward, are being warned they may go to jail if they keep talking.
“If you leak information you can be held criminally liable for obstructing a criminal investigation,” interim ORNGE boss Ron McKerlie warned ORNGE’s 400 employees Thursday at a town-hall meeting.
“You can go to jail,” he said.
The stiff warning appears to be directed at the many ORNGE employees who helped the public learn just how troubled the air ambulance service was. It came just before Friday’s announcement that the province hopes to tighten its grip on the service, which the Star found was riddled with problems.
The province, Health Minister Deb Matthews told reporters, is drafting legislation to provide tougher oversight and to ensure no changes to the corporate structure or sale of assets happen without health minister approval.
One thing the Star uncovered was the creation by ORNGE of numerous for-profit companies that did nothing to help patient care in Ontario. Questioned about it earlier, Matthews said she had no power to stop ORNGE and its former boss Dr. Chris Mazza.
After more than two months of investigative stories in the Star exposing high executive salaries, perks and questionable cash payouts, Matthews told reporters Friday the changes will give the government increased audit and inspection powers over ORNGE.
The Ontario Provincial Police was called in by the ministry this week to investigate the actions of former executives.
McKerlie is the deputy minister sent in to clean up ORNGE as part of the new leadership team in place at the agency. He has earned respect for tackling problems head on, but employees were concerned about the tone of the Town Hall meeting.
ORNGE employees with whom the Star dealt believe they did the right thing speaking to the media following failed attempts to sound the alarm for two years. Those attempts included complaints to the health ministry, the finance ministry, the provincial auditor general, and ministers and opposition critics.
“We tried to fix it through channels. That did not work,” one said.
McKerlie told ORNGE employees Thursday not to talk to the media.
“If you are doing it, you need to stop now,” he said, adding that it was for their “own protection.” He referred to the media interest in ORNGE as a “soap opera” and said if “you are feeding it you have to stop.”
Told Friday morning that the Star was writing about his comments, McKerlie amended his position in a company-wide note Friday afternoon, saying he was committed to developing a “whistleblower policy to ensure that in future, staff are protected should they feel the need to come forward with information.”
McKerlie said the OPP had told him that releasing information during the investigation could “compromise” its outcome.
The Star’s investigation drew from information it obtained from numerous ORNGE sources, who spoke about serious patient safety issues, problems with the helicopters and alleged financial impropriety, which included the revelation that a $6.7 million payment was made by an Italian helicopter firm to founder Dr. Chris Mazza’s company after he and ORNGE selected its choppers for Ontario.
All the issues raised by employees are now being investigated by police, auditors and other officials. ORNGE employees have long been forbidden from speaking publicly of concerns and must sign a confidentiality agreement when hired.
At Queen’s Park, Matthews said she will let the OPP do its work and she’ll move forward with new rules governing ORNGE.
“I am not going to point fingers,” Matthews said. “I am fixing the problem.”
OPP detectives will focus their investigation on the $6.7 million payment from the Italian firm and $1.2 million in loans and a cash advance to Mazza.
There is a new interim boss (McKerlie) and a new board is in place, said Matthews. “I am not managing ORNGE. They are managing ORNGE and it is important I let them do their work.”
Under the proposed legislation, any changes to ORNGE’s corporate structure, including asset sales, would have to be approved directly by the minister. As well, conflict-of-interest provisions will be strengthened and debt-control provisions will be put in place to prevent debt increases without ministry approval.
A new patient advocate and complaints process are also being planned.
Changes to the province’s Ambulance Act will give the minister the power to appoint a supervisor over ORNGE if need be, in much the same way that the minister can appoint a supervisor in a hospital.
New ORNGE board member Dr. Barry McLellan, the CEO of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, has taken the lead on making sure that patient safety is paramount, Matthews said.
McLellan’s first task was to reconfigure the inside of the cramped interior of the medical helicopters, she said. A previous Star story found the inside of the new AW 139 helicopter was a “high risk environment” and difficult to perform CPR in or to prop up a patient who cannot breathe.
“That fix is implemented, and they are looking now at a longer term solution to reconfigure the interiors,” Matthews said.
Afterwards, Progressive Conservative MPP Frank Klees said Matthews still believes she can provide “band-aid solutions” to a very broken organization.
“The fact she continues to refer to this organization as ORNGE and insists it still can be fixed demonstrates clearly she is very much out of touch with how deep the issues are at ORNGE,” said Klees (Newmarket-Aurora).
“The fact that the minister did nothing for months indicates clearly that this minister failed to provide the proper oversight and it happened on her watch. She should step aside.”
Klees said Ontario’s air ambulance system has become so tainted that one of the first things the government should do here is change its name.
“The first thing that probably should be done is we get rid of that name ORNGE,” he said. “Let’s return to that name Ontario Air Ambulance Service.”
Kevin Donovan can be reached at (416) 312-3503 or kdonovan@thestar.ca
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
Ontario Health Minister says she was misled on Ornge spending
karen howlett AND jacquie mcnish
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Last updated Friday, Feb. 17, 2012 10:27PM EST
Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews says she was misled on whether Ornge was co-mingling taxpayers’ dollars with its private ventures by the air ambulance agency’s chairman and legal team.
Ms. Matthews singled out the former Ornge chairman, Rainer Beltzner, and a team of lawyers, saying they led her staff to believe in a meeting a year ago that no public dollars were being used for their private endeavours.
Ontario to boost oversight of air ambulance service
“We had assurances in writing and verbally that there was no intermingling of for-profit and not-for-profit,” Ms. Matthews said at a news conference on Friday, one day after Ontario Provincial Police launched a probe into the agency’s for-profit operations. “That was very clearly stated, and I was told personally by the then chair of Ornge that that was not happening, and it certainly appears that it was.”
In an interview before the news conference, Ms. Matthews said Ornge’s lawyers also told her there was no “intermingling of private and public funds.”
Asked if by “lawyers” she meant Alfred Apps, who at the time was a lawyer at Ornge’s lead law firm, Fasken Martineau, Ms. Matthews responded, “Yes. ... It was the team of lawyers.”
Mr. Apps, former president of the Liberal Party of Canada and a key legal adviser to Ornge, helped executives of the air ambulance service navigate the highest levels of government at the provincial legislature.
Mr. Apps prepared speaking notes to coach Ornge founder and then-CEO Chris Mazza through a crucial meeting in 2007 with George Smitherman, health minister at the time, on the air ambulance’s expansion plans, documents obtained by The Globe and Mail show. Mr. Apps also assured officials in Premier Dalton McGuinty’s government, including Ms. Matthews, that Ornge would exploit new revenue sources without compromising the performance of the air ambulance’s core operations.
The for-profit ventures are now at the centre of a criminal probe, with the OPP investigating whether Ornge insiders used money earmarked for the publicly funded air ambulance service for the private ventures.
Mr. Apps recently left Fasken Martineau and could not be reached for comment on Friday. A spokesman for Faskens declined to comment, saying the firm cannot discuss client affairs.
Mr. Beltzner said he believed what he told Ms. Matthews was true.
“I relied on assurances and information provided to me by Ornge, as I reasonably believed I could do,” he said in an email to The Globe. “If there were inaccuracies in the information I provided to the minister, that was the unintentional result of my reliance on inaccurate information from Ornge.”
Mr. Beltzner stepped down as chairman when Ms. Matthews replaced the entire board this month.
Sources said Mr. Apps played a key role in helping Ornge shape its message for government officials. In the talking points he prepared, he advised Dr. Mazza to focus on plans to buy aircraft and look for new sources of revenue. “My advice: Do not discuss “International” - premature (i.e. we don’t have viable business plan,” he said, according to documents.
Sources said Mr. Apps also helped to draft a 34-page stakeholder briefing dated Jan. 19, 2011, and addressed to Ms. Matthews. The document outlines Ornge’s plans to supplement the $150-million in annual funding it receives from the province by pursuing new business ventures.
“Ornge is functionally organized to operate as an independent business, free of ‘political’ interference,” the document says.
Too independently, Ms. Matthews acknowledged on Friday at the news conference, where she unveiled steps to put Ornge on a shorter leash.
She must now approve any changes in Ornge’s corporate structure, including asset sales. As well, the government plans to introduce legislation that would give it the power to appoint investigators or a supervisor for Ornge.
Progressive Conservative MPP Frank Klees, who first raised questions about Ornge 10 months ago, said the changes do not go far enough.
“She believes she can apply some Band Aid solutions to a very broken organization,” he told reporters.
karen howlett AND jacquie mcnish
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Last updated Friday, Feb. 17, 2012 10:27PM EST
Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews says she was misled on whether Ornge was co-mingling taxpayers’ dollars with its private ventures by the air ambulance agency’s chairman and legal team.
Ms. Matthews singled out the former Ornge chairman, Rainer Beltzner, and a team of lawyers, saying they led her staff to believe in a meeting a year ago that no public dollars were being used for their private endeavours.
Ontario to boost oversight of air ambulance service
“We had assurances in writing and verbally that there was no intermingling of for-profit and not-for-profit,” Ms. Matthews said at a news conference on Friday, one day after Ontario Provincial Police launched a probe into the agency’s for-profit operations. “That was very clearly stated, and I was told personally by the then chair of Ornge that that was not happening, and it certainly appears that it was.”
In an interview before the news conference, Ms. Matthews said Ornge’s lawyers also told her there was no “intermingling of private and public funds.”
Asked if by “lawyers” she meant Alfred Apps, who at the time was a lawyer at Ornge’s lead law firm, Fasken Martineau, Ms. Matthews responded, “Yes. ... It was the team of lawyers.”
Mr. Apps, former president of the Liberal Party of Canada and a key legal adviser to Ornge, helped executives of the air ambulance service navigate the highest levels of government at the provincial legislature.
Mr. Apps prepared speaking notes to coach Ornge founder and then-CEO Chris Mazza through a crucial meeting in 2007 with George Smitherman, health minister at the time, on the air ambulance’s expansion plans, documents obtained by The Globe and Mail show. Mr. Apps also assured officials in Premier Dalton McGuinty’s government, including Ms. Matthews, that Ornge would exploit new revenue sources without compromising the performance of the air ambulance’s core operations.
The for-profit ventures are now at the centre of a criminal probe, with the OPP investigating whether Ornge insiders used money earmarked for the publicly funded air ambulance service for the private ventures.
Mr. Apps recently left Fasken Martineau and could not be reached for comment on Friday. A spokesman for Faskens declined to comment, saying the firm cannot discuss client affairs.
Mr. Beltzner said he believed what he told Ms. Matthews was true.
“I relied on assurances and information provided to me by Ornge, as I reasonably believed I could do,” he said in an email to The Globe. “If there were inaccuracies in the information I provided to the minister, that was the unintentional result of my reliance on inaccurate information from Ornge.”
Mr. Beltzner stepped down as chairman when Ms. Matthews replaced the entire board this month.
Sources said Mr. Apps played a key role in helping Ornge shape its message for government officials. In the talking points he prepared, he advised Dr. Mazza to focus on plans to buy aircraft and look for new sources of revenue. “My advice: Do not discuss “International” - premature (i.e. we don’t have viable business plan,” he said, according to documents.
Sources said Mr. Apps also helped to draft a 34-page stakeholder briefing dated Jan. 19, 2011, and addressed to Ms. Matthews. The document outlines Ornge’s plans to supplement the $150-million in annual funding it receives from the province by pursuing new business ventures.
“Ornge is functionally organized to operate as an independent business, free of ‘political’ interference,” the document says.
Too independently, Ms. Matthews acknowledged on Friday at the news conference, where she unveiled steps to put Ornge on a shorter leash.
She must now approve any changes in Ornge’s corporate structure, including asset sales. As well, the government plans to introduce legislation that would give it the power to appoint investigators or a supervisor for Ornge.
Progressive Conservative MPP Frank Klees, who first raised questions about Ornge 10 months ago, said the changes do not go far enough.
“She believes she can apply some Band Aid solutions to a very broken organization,” he told reporters.
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
Well I think the Ornge employees did a great job blowing the whistle on the management at Ornge, but now I think they need to muzzle themselves until the OPP can properly do their investigation and put these criminals behind bars. After that, let the celebration continue.
-
Driving Rain
- Rank 10
- Posts: 2696
- Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2004 5:10 pm
- Location: At a Tanker Base near you.
- Contact:
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
I'd like to see some law suits filed against Ornge by companies that were affected by this bamboozling flim-flam artist. He was after all set up by the gumitup and protected by that same gumitup.
Let the games begin...
Let the games begin...
-
markymarkl
- Rank 2
- Posts: 86
- Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:35 pm
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
WTF MS M when you hand over that kind of coin and take there word for it LOL, YOUR an idiot then IMHO. So what you are saying is you have no idea whats going on!! Holly sh&t send me some money then.
"Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews says she was misled on whether Ornge was co-mingling taxpayers’ dollars with its private ventures by the air ambulance agency’s chairman and legal team."
Time to step down girl!
"Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews says she was misled on whether Ornge was co-mingling taxpayers’ dollars with its private ventures by the air ambulance agency’s chairman and legal team."
Time to step down girl!
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
Totally agree. There are companies who's very existence depended on the medevac work they received. I'll not name names, but we all know I'm correct on this. Ornge should NEVER have even existed. These companies have almost an obligation to sue the Ontario Government for this fiasco. Time for a complete changing of the guard in Queen's Park. Helen Keller could have seen through these bandits. Hell, I did!Driving Rain wrote:I'd like to see some law suits filed against Ornge by companies that were affected by this bamboozling flim-flam artist. He was after all set up by the gumitup and protected by that same gumitup.
Let the games begin...
-
Colonel Sanders
- Top Poster
- Posts: 7512
- Joined: Sun Jun 14, 2009 5:17 pm
- Location: Over Macho Grande
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
WARNING: BLATANT HERESY FOLLOWS
I know that ORNGE is near and dear to your hearts, but honestly it is a fart in a windstorm.
Ontario is hosed after all these years of Dalton McGuinty. The manufacturing sector is gone. Unemployment is up. Ontario is now a have-not province. Government spending is out of control. The Ontario government debt and deficits are ruinous. We're talking hundreds of billions of dollars. Reckless public sector spending has to be reined in. Taxes are going to have to go up. And no one cares. No one is doing anything.
Compared to what else Dalton has done to Ontario, ORNGE is a tiny, irrelevant sideshow.
And you people elected him to a third term. Incredible.
I know that ORNGE is near and dear to your hearts, but honestly it is a fart in a windstorm.
Ontario is hosed after all these years of Dalton McGuinty. The manufacturing sector is gone. Unemployment is up. Ontario is now a have-not province. Government spending is out of control. The Ontario government debt and deficits are ruinous. We're talking hundreds of billions of dollars. Reckless public sector spending has to be reined in. Taxes are going to have to go up. And no one cares. No one is doing anything.
Compared to what else Dalton has done to Ontario, ORNGE is a tiny, irrelevant sideshow.
And you people elected him to a third term. Incredible.
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
+1 on the last post!
I couldn't believe either how mguinty got voted in again. It was like the americans voting bush in for a second term. I thought we would be a little smarter here. Guess not.
Another example is when the HST came in. Ontarians just bent over and took it. At least BC put up a fight.
I couldn't believe either how mguinty got voted in again. It was like the americans voting bush in for a second term. I thought we would be a little smarter here. Guess not.
Another example is when the HST came in. Ontarians just bent over and took it. At least BC put up a fight.
-
markymarkl
- Rank 2
- Posts: 86
- Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:35 pm
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
"And you people elected him to a third term. Incredible."
Simple look at an election map! TORONTO proper voted him in!
The part that is pissing most of us off is the LACK of accountability with OUR money its NOT theirs to play with and ORNGE is a prime example of government stupidity!
Notice the other parties AKA clowns are really doing nothing. Holly sh!t if it were you or I we would be looking at at least 3000 years in the can.
Call your MPP and ask WTF is going on. Then forward their response to your local paper and include the STAR.
Simple look at an election map! TORONTO proper voted him in!
The part that is pissing most of us off is the LACK of accountability with OUR money its NOT theirs to play with and ORNGE is a prime example of government stupidity!
Notice the other parties AKA clowns are really doing nothing. Holly sh!t if it were you or I we would be looking at at least 3000 years in the can.
Call your MPP and ask WTF is going on. Then forward their response to your local paper and include the STAR.
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
Comments in the Star:
jail!!
wrong move mckerlie! u have now threatened the working schmucks who did nothing wrong, while the real crooks are "on indefinite medical leave", fired with severance, or still employed! not cool! u have lost much respect and confidence from the troops looking to you for leadership. why not tell the front line staff, if they want to talk, talk directly with OPP first! save the jail talk for those deserving of it!
McKerlie Shirley
Another puppet of the liberal cover up. This guy praises a former ORNGE employee who is as guilty as the rest. Time for this dude and Deb Matthews to be canned too. Lets get on with cleaning this mess up once and for all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
McKerlie needs to go!
What is he doing making threats against Ornge employees? It is not "obstructing justice" to leak information to the media. You can't "go to jail" for doing that so why is McKerlie making these threats? It should be obvious that McKerlie is attempting to bury this scandal and protect his political masters. We have had enough with the enablers of corruption! McKerlie needs to go!
[i]McKerlie and Matthews are both in over their heads
I would love to say get rid of both of them today but McGuinty's talent pool is pretty shallow. Let the OPP interrogate everyone right down to the janitor if need be. Someone knows everything and damn the confidentiality agreements. This is now a criminal matter. I hope the minister gets a court order to pull Mazza's and his gang's passports real soon.[/i]
jail!!
wrong move mckerlie! u have now threatened the working schmucks who did nothing wrong, while the real crooks are "on indefinite medical leave", fired with severance, or still employed! not cool! u have lost much respect and confidence from the troops looking to you for leadership. why not tell the front line staff, if they want to talk, talk directly with OPP first! save the jail talk for those deserving of it!
McKerlie Shirley
Another puppet of the liberal cover up. This guy praises a former ORNGE employee who is as guilty as the rest. Time for this dude and Deb Matthews to be canned too. Lets get on with cleaning this mess up once and for all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
McKerlie needs to go!
What is he doing making threats against Ornge employees? It is not "obstructing justice" to leak information to the media. You can't "go to jail" for doing that so why is McKerlie making these threats? It should be obvious that McKerlie is attempting to bury this scandal and protect his political masters. We have had enough with the enablers of corruption! McKerlie needs to go!
[i]McKerlie and Matthews are both in over their heads
I would love to say get rid of both of them today but McGuinty's talent pool is pretty shallow. Let the OPP interrogate everyone right down to the janitor if need be. Someone knows everything and damn the confidentiality agreements. This is now a criminal matter. I hope the minister gets a court order to pull Mazza's and his gang's passports real soon.[/i]
-
markymarkl
- Rank 2
- Posts: 86
- Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:35 pm
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
"If you leak information you can be held criminally liable for obstructing a criminal investigation,” interim ORNGE boss Ron McKerlie warned ORNGE’s 400 employees Thursday at a town-hall meeting.
“You can go to jail,” he said." ---or long term MED. leave with pay LOL
You gotta luv this guy!!! SO you Ornge folks shut up so we can cover this mess UP the minister has spoken!!!! God forbid we get to the truth that would ruin a perfect record for this government.
The only reason a company need a whistle blower policy is if they have something to hide IMO
“You can go to jail,” he said." ---or long term MED. leave with pay LOL
You gotta luv this guy!!! SO you Ornge folks shut up so we can cover this mess UP the minister has spoken!!!! God forbid we get to the truth that would ruin a perfect record for this government.
The only reason a company need a whistle blower policy is if they have something to hide IMO
-
Driving Rain
- Rank 10
- Posts: 2696
- Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2004 5:10 pm
- Location: At a Tanker Base near you.
- Contact:
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
Doc wrote
Where a service (like air ambulance) can be provided by the private sector the government should have no right to enter that area other than to regulate.
Reminds me of the end of Air Ontario. Bearskin Airlines famous owner used that very argument to end it's days. How quickly they forget.
Simply put, the government should never be allowed to use your tax dollars to go into competition against you. Make no mistake, that's exactly what happened in this debacle.Totally agree. There are companies who's very existence depended on the medevac work they received.
Where a service (like air ambulance) can be provided by the private sector the government should have no right to enter that area other than to regulate.
Reminds me of the end of Air Ontario. Bearskin Airlines famous owner used that very argument to end it's days. How quickly they forget.
-
Colonel Sanders
- Top Poster
- Posts: 7512
- Joined: Sun Jun 14, 2009 5:17 pm
- Location: Over Macho Grande
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
Wasn't that Air Canada's business model from 1936 to 1988? And even since then, the federal government has guaranteed the continued operation of Air Canada with taxpayer's money, protection that no other supposedly private corporation enjoys.the government should never be allowed to use your tax dollars to go into competition against you
-
Beefitarian
- Top Poster
- Posts: 6610
- Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 10:53 am
- Location: A couple of meters away from others.
-
markymarkl
- Rank 2
- Posts: 86
- Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:35 pm
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
Ornge was the private sector company!!!
NOT! Public funding but a private -- the grand experiment continues! Thank god its not the politicians money. Where would we be then! Walking to the hospital.
Sorry to be bitter but this sucks and smells like bullsh&t
NOT! Public funding but a private -- the grand experiment continues! Thank god its not the politicians money. Where would we be then! Walking to the hospital.
Sorry to be bitter but this sucks and smells like bullsh&t
-
markymarkl
- Rank 2
- Posts: 86
- Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:35 pm
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
Doc wrote:Totally agree. There are companies who's very existence depended on the medevac work they received. I'll not name names, but we all know I'm correct on this. Ornge should NEVER have even existed. These companies have almost an obligation to sue the Ontario Government for this fiasco. Time for a complete changing of the guard in Queen's Park. Helen Keller could have seen through these bandits. Hell, I did!Driving Rain wrote:I'd like to see some law suits filed against Ornge by companies that were affected by this bamboozling flim-flam artist. He was after all set up by the gumitup and protected by that same gumitup.
Let the games begin...
YEP I worked for one!!!!! And they were darn good at it WE save many lives!!!! T-AIR i will name them!
Re: Mazza FIRED. Ornge in receivership
Interim Ornge CEO rode with air ambulance crew
karen howlett
TORONTO— From Thursday's Globe and Mail
Ron McKerlie got a bird’s eye view of problems at Ornge’s communications centre on a recent Monday, when he rode along in an air ambulance helicopter with a patient.
Ornge was transferring a patient from intensive care at Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital in Orillia to St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, and Mr. McKerlie, interim chief executive officer of the air ambulance service, was along for the 30-minute ride with the helicopter crew.
Sources familiar with the transfer of the patient said Mr. McKerlie was surprised at how little support paramedics on the flight received from dispatchers back in the communications centre in Mississauga. Paramedics are supposed to get an update on a patient’s condition prior to making contact with the patient. But in this case, the sources said, paramedics were given little information.
This was not the only communications breakdown, the sources said. After the helicopter arrived on the roof of St. Michael’s, dispatchers did not follow normal protocol by contacting the flight captain directly to notify him that another air ambulance was on its way and would be landing on the hospital’s helipad in 10 to 15 minutes. The centre contracted the paramedics, who were in the emergency department with the patient, thus wasting precious time while they in turn relayed the message to the captain.
Mr. McKerlie would not confirm that there were problems that day. “While flying with this crew, I did fly to St. Mike’s Hospital and the pilots were aware of another aircraft inbound to the helipad,” he said in an e-mail response to questions from The Globe and Mail.
Sources said the problems that happened on Feb. 13 are not an isolated incident. They are a result of former Ornge CEO Chris Mazza’s efforts to replace employees in the centre who had specialized training in medicine and aviation with less qualified “communications officers” who could handle all aspects of the job, from tracking flights to fielding calls from paramedics and hospitals.
The incident involving St. Mike’s was one of several Progressive Conservative MPP Frank Klees raised during Question Period on Wednesday, where he again called for the resignation of Health Minister Deb Matthews.
“Had the minister done her job three years ago, two years ago, one year ago, there would be no need for a criminal investigation [into Ornge] today,” Mr. Klees said in Question Period.
He presented Ms. Matthews (and reporters) with a list of 11 incidents: A helicopter at Ornge’s London base was out of service four nights in a row last week because there were no pilots; a helicopter was sent to the wrong hospital in London, a delay that resulted in the patient being transported to a hospital in the United States, because there was no longer a bed in London.
“This is all due to the fact that there are unqualified people throughout the ranks of this organization,” Mr. Klees told reporters.
A spokesman at Soldiers’ Memorial in Orillia confirmed on Wednesday evening that a patient was transferred from intensive care to St. Mike’s on Feb. 13, but he had no further details. A spokeswoman at St. Mike’s could not immediately confirm the transfer.
Mr. McKerlie said in the e-mail that he takes any allegations very seriously and that he has been dealing with a number of issues since he assumed the helm last month.
“While I acknowledge there are challenges, patients can rest assured they are getting high quality care when they are being transported by Ornge crews,” he said.
Zita Astravas, a spokeswoman for Ms. Matthews, said the government has forwarded the list of incidents to Ornge officials, but she said they have not yet been able to confirm the accuracy of all of the incidents because of the “lack of detail” provided by Mr. Klees.
karen howlett
TORONTO— From Thursday's Globe and Mail
Ron McKerlie got a bird’s eye view of problems at Ornge’s communications centre on a recent Monday, when he rode along in an air ambulance helicopter with a patient.
Ornge was transferring a patient from intensive care at Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital in Orillia to St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, and Mr. McKerlie, interim chief executive officer of the air ambulance service, was along for the 30-minute ride with the helicopter crew.
Sources familiar with the transfer of the patient said Mr. McKerlie was surprised at how little support paramedics on the flight received from dispatchers back in the communications centre in Mississauga. Paramedics are supposed to get an update on a patient’s condition prior to making contact with the patient. But in this case, the sources said, paramedics were given little information.
This was not the only communications breakdown, the sources said. After the helicopter arrived on the roof of St. Michael’s, dispatchers did not follow normal protocol by contacting the flight captain directly to notify him that another air ambulance was on its way and would be landing on the hospital’s helipad in 10 to 15 minutes. The centre contracted the paramedics, who were in the emergency department with the patient, thus wasting precious time while they in turn relayed the message to the captain.
Mr. McKerlie would not confirm that there were problems that day. “While flying with this crew, I did fly to St. Mike’s Hospital and the pilots were aware of another aircraft inbound to the helipad,” he said in an e-mail response to questions from The Globe and Mail.
Sources said the problems that happened on Feb. 13 are not an isolated incident. They are a result of former Ornge CEO Chris Mazza’s efforts to replace employees in the centre who had specialized training in medicine and aviation with less qualified “communications officers” who could handle all aspects of the job, from tracking flights to fielding calls from paramedics and hospitals.
The incident involving St. Mike’s was one of several Progressive Conservative MPP Frank Klees raised during Question Period on Wednesday, where he again called for the resignation of Health Minister Deb Matthews.
“Had the minister done her job three years ago, two years ago, one year ago, there would be no need for a criminal investigation [into Ornge] today,” Mr. Klees said in Question Period.
He presented Ms. Matthews (and reporters) with a list of 11 incidents: A helicopter at Ornge’s London base was out of service four nights in a row last week because there were no pilots; a helicopter was sent to the wrong hospital in London, a delay that resulted in the patient being transported to a hospital in the United States, because there was no longer a bed in London.
“This is all due to the fact that there are unqualified people throughout the ranks of this organization,” Mr. Klees told reporters.
A spokesman at Soldiers’ Memorial in Orillia confirmed on Wednesday evening that a patient was transferred from intensive care to St. Mike’s on Feb. 13, but he had no further details. A spokeswoman at St. Mike’s could not immediately confirm the transfer.
Mr. McKerlie said in the e-mail that he takes any allegations very seriously and that he has been dealing with a number of issues since he assumed the helm last month.
“While I acknowledge there are challenges, patients can rest assured they are getting high quality care when they are being transported by Ornge crews,” he said.
Zita Astravas, a spokeswoman for Ms. Matthews, said the government has forwarded the list of incidents to Ornge officials, but she said they have not yet been able to confirm the accuracy of all of the incidents because of the “lack of detail” provided by Mr. Klees.
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
ORNGE mistakes disrupt patient care
Published On Wed Feb 22 2012
The OPP were called in last week to probe a $6.7 million payment from ORNGE involving an Italian helicopter firm and $1.2 million in no-interest loans and a $250,000 cash advance given to former ORNGE boss Dr. Chris Mazza.
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Tanya Talaga and Kevin Donovan Staff Reporters
Scandal-plagued ORNGE has been hampered by a litany of service disruptions, such as a lack of pilots and a helicopter being sent to the wrong hospital, the Legislature was told Wednesday.
Using information obtained from whistleblowers, Progressive Conservative MPP Frank Klees provided Health Minister Deb Matthews with a list of service disruptions at ORNGE that have occurred in the last few weeks.
Klees said the service problems at ORNGE are “just an indication of the underlying problems at this organization.” He said “it really is a matter of a lot of unqualified people who think running an air ambulance service is like a walk in the park and it is not.”
Within the last week, Klees said there were four consecutive nights in London and three consecutive nights in Sudbury where the bright orange ambulances were grounded and unavailable to transport patients due to a lack of pilots.
Klees expressed concern many mid-level ORNGE managers are unable to perform their duties.
“There are dispatches that are being made that are quite frankly dangerous and there are circumstances that happen every day that concern pilots and paramedics,” he said. “I am told it is all about patient and crew safety at this time.”
London Health Sciences Centre confirmed they were aware of a shortage of ORNGE helicopters but patient services weren’t impacted, said spokesperson Rachelle Wood.
Paramedics and others at ORNGE filed “CARE” reports when something goes wrong. The acronym stands for “collaboration, action, report, evaluation” and the Star’s ongoing investigation has uncovered many reports showing serious problems at ORNGE. The Star found many of the CARE reports were ignored by ORNGE management until the newspaper started asking questions.
Matthews, who has been dogged all week by accusations regarding the air ambulance service, told journalists that whenever an incident is reported it is followed up on. She added the health ministry will have stronger oversight on ORNGE with the new performance agreement and forthcoming transparency and accountability legislation.
“We’ll greatly enhance oversight so the people of this province know how the tax dollars are being spent,” she said outside question period. “They also have every right to know the air ambulance service is functioning so if they need it, or, if someone they love needs it, then the air ambulance or land ambulance is there for them.”
A series of Star stories has detailed how taxpayers’ money was behind a spending spree that included executive perks, high salaries and questionable loans to former ORNGE boss Dr. Chris Mazza.
The Ontario Provincial Police were called in last week to probe a $6.7 million payment from ORNGE involving an Italian helicopter firm and $1.2 million in no-interest loans and a $250,000 cash advance given to Mazza.
“Had the minister done her job three years ago, two years ago, one year ago, there would be no need for a criminal investigation today,” said Klees, remarking on the amount of times both he and the NDP have brought up ORNGE issues in the Legislature.
“Unfortunately, it’s now up to whistleblowers to provide oversight of our air ambulance service,” he said.
The New Democrats wondered why an operational review of the organization completed in November 2010, didn’t flag any of the problems that have since been found at ORNGE. The NDP wants the report released.
“They’ve been sitting on information about ORNGE that they refuse to share with a skeptical public,” said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
In total, Klees notified Matthews of nearly a dozen incidents including an air ambulance being sent to a closed helipad and a helicopter being sent to the wrong hospital in London — as a result a patient lost out on a pediatric bed and had to be transported to Detroit for care.
In another incident, ORNGE central command had no idea a London-based helicopter was in the air and with a patient. In another, staff lost the whereabouts of one aircraft for nearly 90 minutes, said Klees.
“It is beyond bizarre,” he said and added if it wasn’t so tragic, this would be comical. “This minister just does not get it.”
Published On Wed Feb 22 2012
The OPP were called in last week to probe a $6.7 million payment from ORNGE involving an Italian helicopter firm and $1.2 million in no-interest loans and a $250,000 cash advance given to former ORNGE boss Dr. Chris Mazza.
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Tanya Talaga and Kevin Donovan Staff Reporters
Scandal-plagued ORNGE has been hampered by a litany of service disruptions, such as a lack of pilots and a helicopter being sent to the wrong hospital, the Legislature was told Wednesday.
Using information obtained from whistleblowers, Progressive Conservative MPP Frank Klees provided Health Minister Deb Matthews with a list of service disruptions at ORNGE that have occurred in the last few weeks.
Klees said the service problems at ORNGE are “just an indication of the underlying problems at this organization.” He said “it really is a matter of a lot of unqualified people who think running an air ambulance service is like a walk in the park and it is not.”
Within the last week, Klees said there were four consecutive nights in London and three consecutive nights in Sudbury where the bright orange ambulances were grounded and unavailable to transport patients due to a lack of pilots.
Klees expressed concern many mid-level ORNGE managers are unable to perform their duties.
“There are dispatches that are being made that are quite frankly dangerous and there are circumstances that happen every day that concern pilots and paramedics,” he said. “I am told it is all about patient and crew safety at this time.”
London Health Sciences Centre confirmed they were aware of a shortage of ORNGE helicopters but patient services weren’t impacted, said spokesperson Rachelle Wood.
Paramedics and others at ORNGE filed “CARE” reports when something goes wrong. The acronym stands for “collaboration, action, report, evaluation” and the Star’s ongoing investigation has uncovered many reports showing serious problems at ORNGE. The Star found many of the CARE reports were ignored by ORNGE management until the newspaper started asking questions.
Matthews, who has been dogged all week by accusations regarding the air ambulance service, told journalists that whenever an incident is reported it is followed up on. She added the health ministry will have stronger oversight on ORNGE with the new performance agreement and forthcoming transparency and accountability legislation.
“We’ll greatly enhance oversight so the people of this province know how the tax dollars are being spent,” she said outside question period. “They also have every right to know the air ambulance service is functioning so if they need it, or, if someone they love needs it, then the air ambulance or land ambulance is there for them.”
A series of Star stories has detailed how taxpayers’ money was behind a spending spree that included executive perks, high salaries and questionable loans to former ORNGE boss Dr. Chris Mazza.
The Ontario Provincial Police were called in last week to probe a $6.7 million payment from ORNGE involving an Italian helicopter firm and $1.2 million in no-interest loans and a $250,000 cash advance given to Mazza.
“Had the minister done her job three years ago, two years ago, one year ago, there would be no need for a criminal investigation today,” said Klees, remarking on the amount of times both he and the NDP have brought up ORNGE issues in the Legislature.
“Unfortunately, it’s now up to whistleblowers to provide oversight of our air ambulance service,” he said.
The New Democrats wondered why an operational review of the organization completed in November 2010, didn’t flag any of the problems that have since been found at ORNGE. The NDP wants the report released.
“They’ve been sitting on information about ORNGE that they refuse to share with a skeptical public,” said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
In total, Klees notified Matthews of nearly a dozen incidents including an air ambulance being sent to a closed helipad and a helicopter being sent to the wrong hospital in London — as a result a patient lost out on a pediatric bed and had to be transported to Detroit for care.
In another incident, ORNGE central command had no idea a London-based helicopter was in the air and with a patient. In another, staff lost the whereabouts of one aircraft for nearly 90 minutes, said Klees.
“It is beyond bizarre,” he said and added if it wasn’t so tragic, this would be comical. “This minister just does not get it.”
-
markymarkl
- Rank 2
- Posts: 86
- Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:35 pm
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
“This minister just does not get it.”
REALLY go figure!! Its not her money after all
REALLY go figure!! Its not her money after all
Re: Mazza FIRED. Orgne in receivership
Roughly $25 million dollars raised by ORNGE with Ontario taxpayers’ help cannot be accounted for.
Investigators, financial and criminal, are digging into the case to see if the money was blown on a spending spree, bad business decisions or if some of it lined executives’ pockets.
The money comes from $275 million that ORNGE raised from Canadian investors in 2009 to purchase new airplanes, helicopters and an office building. Ontario taxpayer money is repaying the investors.
The Star has reviewed documents related to the deal and ORNGE payments and can account for only $250 million of purchases. They include the following:
• $150 million for 12 AgustaWestland helicopters and the high-tech medical interiors
• $46.8 million for 10 Pilatus single-engine airplanes, including medical interiors and communication equipment
• $16 million to purchase and renovate the office building employees have dubbed the “Crystal Palace”
• $30 million for ORNGE’s purchase of a fleet of aging S-76 Sikorsky helicopters from Canadian Helicopters, which had the air ambulance contract for years in Ontario.
• Roughly $6 million in assorted payments, including the purchase and renovation of a Thunder Bay hangar; new tractors to pull the helicopters in and out of the hangars; the lease on a Hamilton hangar that was not used for 14 months; and purchase of rarely used ground ambulances.
• $1.3 million in fees to the financial company that handled the transaction
In total, the Star and ORNGE insiders who have looked at the same documents can find $250 million clearly accounted for. In addition there were legal fees but even including $2-3 million for those leaves the known expenditures far short of the $275 million that came flooding into ORNGE in 2009.
An ORNGE spokesperson said that due to the OPP probe, these and other questions cannot be answered.
“We are unable to provide the information you requested as it may or may not fall within the parameters of the OPP investigation,” said ORNGE spokesperson James MacDonald.
ORNGE already receives $150 million a year from Ontario taxpayers to run the air ambulance service, which uses helicopters for emergency calls and airplanes to transfer patients between hospitals.
Historically, ORNGE’s predecessor (Ontario Air Ambulance) contracted with Canadian Helicopters and a series of small air carriers to deliver the service.
When former health minister George Smitherman and Dr. Chris Mazza created ORNGE in 2005, that began to change. By 2007, Mazza was moving ahead on plans to change ORNGE from an air ambulance coordinator to an air ambulance company. The problem he faced was how to purchase aircraft while still using the province’s annual $150 million to deliver the service.
With the help of former Fasken Martineau counsel Alf Apps, the newly created “ORNGE Issuer Trust” issued debentures in a private placement, selling $275 million in $1,000 units. With interest of 5.72 per cent, and the knowledge that taxpayers money would repay investors (payments of interest and principal) the debentures sold quickly. According to a Fasken Martineau news release the deal closed in June 2009.
“Ornge Issuer Trust intends to use the proceeds from the financing to, among other things, fund essential infrastructure required for Ontario’s air medical transport service, including the purchase of new rotary and fixed-wing aircraft as well as the acquisition and improvement or expansion of certain related aircraft infrastructure. Ornge Issuer Trust will lease or license such aircraft and infrastructure to an affiliate of Ornge that provides the aero-medical transport services to the Province of Ontario,” the release states.
Apps, who previously told the Star the deal was one of the most successful of its kind, recently left Fasken Martineau after stories in the Star revealed high legal fees paid from ORNGE to the law firm.
ORNGE insiders say ministry of finance investigators and now the police are trying to determine where money that has come into ORNGE was spent, including money from the debentures.
As the Star continues its investigation, we have learned that, in the words of a former ORNGE accountant, money was spent “like water.”
The question for police is: were there simply bad business decisions or was it something more sinister?
In the former category, the Star has found numerous examples of unusual decisions. What is not clear is the source of funds for the examples that follow (and others) and where additional funds were spent.
For example, ORNGE’s chief operating officer (aviation) Rick Potter, who lives in Thunder Bay, and works in Mississauga, is flown each week at ORNGE expense back and forth to Thunder Bay. ORNGE pays his weekly accommodation bill in Mississauga. ORNGE told the Star that Potter does work for the air ambulance firm in Thunder Bay when he is there.
In another example of wasted money, ORNGE will by this October have paid about $760,000 in lease payments for its long empty former offices and to get out of a lease early. A new tenant was finally found last December, but as part of the deal ORNGE is still paying half the rent until October. ORNGE purchased the “Crystal Palace” and moved in more than a year ago, leaving behind an empty and nicely renovated series of offices.
For the police and financial investigators, the difficulty will be sorting through ORNGE’s two streams of revenue — the $275 million in private financing and the $150 million in annual public funding. Then investigators need to determine where the millions went.
Insiders say they are probing the expense accounts of Mazza and other executives, as well as looking into $1.2 million in no-interest loans and a cash advance to Mazza.
Detectives will also be confronted with large travel expenses, including executive trips to Switzerland, France and Brazil, typically first class air fare and the finest hotels. Those trips were taken to visit aircraft suppliers and also to try and kick start ORNGE’s for-profit companies, which have now been shut down.
Kevin Donovan can be reached at (416) 312-3503 or kdonovan@thestar.ca
Investigators, financial and criminal, are digging into the case to see if the money was blown on a spending spree, bad business decisions or if some of it lined executives’ pockets.
The money comes from $275 million that ORNGE raised from Canadian investors in 2009 to purchase new airplanes, helicopters and an office building. Ontario taxpayer money is repaying the investors.
The Star has reviewed documents related to the deal and ORNGE payments and can account for only $250 million of purchases. They include the following:
• $150 million for 12 AgustaWestland helicopters and the high-tech medical interiors
• $46.8 million for 10 Pilatus single-engine airplanes, including medical interiors and communication equipment
• $16 million to purchase and renovate the office building employees have dubbed the “Crystal Palace”
• $30 million for ORNGE’s purchase of a fleet of aging S-76 Sikorsky helicopters from Canadian Helicopters, which had the air ambulance contract for years in Ontario.
• Roughly $6 million in assorted payments, including the purchase and renovation of a Thunder Bay hangar; new tractors to pull the helicopters in and out of the hangars; the lease on a Hamilton hangar that was not used for 14 months; and purchase of rarely used ground ambulances.
• $1.3 million in fees to the financial company that handled the transaction
In total, the Star and ORNGE insiders who have looked at the same documents can find $250 million clearly accounted for. In addition there were legal fees but even including $2-3 million for those leaves the known expenditures far short of the $275 million that came flooding into ORNGE in 2009.
An ORNGE spokesperson said that due to the OPP probe, these and other questions cannot be answered.
“We are unable to provide the information you requested as it may or may not fall within the parameters of the OPP investigation,” said ORNGE spokesperson James MacDonald.
ORNGE already receives $150 million a year from Ontario taxpayers to run the air ambulance service, which uses helicopters for emergency calls and airplanes to transfer patients between hospitals.
Historically, ORNGE’s predecessor (Ontario Air Ambulance) contracted with Canadian Helicopters and a series of small air carriers to deliver the service.
When former health minister George Smitherman and Dr. Chris Mazza created ORNGE in 2005, that began to change. By 2007, Mazza was moving ahead on plans to change ORNGE from an air ambulance coordinator to an air ambulance company. The problem he faced was how to purchase aircraft while still using the province’s annual $150 million to deliver the service.
With the help of former Fasken Martineau counsel Alf Apps, the newly created “ORNGE Issuer Trust” issued debentures in a private placement, selling $275 million in $1,000 units. With interest of 5.72 per cent, and the knowledge that taxpayers money would repay investors (payments of interest and principal) the debentures sold quickly. According to a Fasken Martineau news release the deal closed in June 2009.
“Ornge Issuer Trust intends to use the proceeds from the financing to, among other things, fund essential infrastructure required for Ontario’s air medical transport service, including the purchase of new rotary and fixed-wing aircraft as well as the acquisition and improvement or expansion of certain related aircraft infrastructure. Ornge Issuer Trust will lease or license such aircraft and infrastructure to an affiliate of Ornge that provides the aero-medical transport services to the Province of Ontario,” the release states.
Apps, who previously told the Star the deal was one of the most successful of its kind, recently left Fasken Martineau after stories in the Star revealed high legal fees paid from ORNGE to the law firm.
ORNGE insiders say ministry of finance investigators and now the police are trying to determine where money that has come into ORNGE was spent, including money from the debentures.
As the Star continues its investigation, we have learned that, in the words of a former ORNGE accountant, money was spent “like water.”
The question for police is: were there simply bad business decisions or was it something more sinister?
In the former category, the Star has found numerous examples of unusual decisions. What is not clear is the source of funds for the examples that follow (and others) and where additional funds were spent.
For example, ORNGE’s chief operating officer (aviation) Rick Potter, who lives in Thunder Bay, and works in Mississauga, is flown each week at ORNGE expense back and forth to Thunder Bay. ORNGE pays his weekly accommodation bill in Mississauga. ORNGE told the Star that Potter does work for the air ambulance firm in Thunder Bay when he is there.
In another example of wasted money, ORNGE will by this October have paid about $760,000 in lease payments for its long empty former offices and to get out of a lease early. A new tenant was finally found last December, but as part of the deal ORNGE is still paying half the rent until October. ORNGE purchased the “Crystal Palace” and moved in more than a year ago, leaving behind an empty and nicely renovated series of offices.
For the police and financial investigators, the difficulty will be sorting through ORNGE’s two streams of revenue — the $275 million in private financing and the $150 million in annual public funding. Then investigators need to determine where the millions went.
Insiders say they are probing the expense accounts of Mazza and other executives, as well as looking into $1.2 million in no-interest loans and a cash advance to Mazza.
Detectives will also be confronted with large travel expenses, including executive trips to Switzerland, France and Brazil, typically first class air fare and the finest hotels. Those trips were taken to visit aircraft suppliers and also to try and kick start ORNGE’s for-profit companies, which have now been shut down.
Kevin Donovan can be reached at (416) 312-3503 or kdonovan@thestar.ca
