Jones supports Auditor General’s review of Community Care Access Centres

April 11, 2014 · 0 Comments

Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones last week commended Progressive Conservative Health Critic and Deputy Leader Christine Elliott for calling on Ontario’s Auditor General to review the province’s 14 Community Care Access Centres (CCACs) and the Ontario Association of Community Care Access Centres.
Elliott tabled a motion at the Standing Committee on Public Accounts last Wednesday (Feb. 26) calling on the Auditor General to conduct a thorough review of CCACs across the province; including a review of executive compensation practices.
Jones called into question the exorbitant salary increases awarded to CEOs at each of the CCACs from 2009 to 2012.
“When you see CEO salary increases of 48 per cent, 50 per cent and even 76 per cent, as was the case at our local Central-West CCAC over a three year period, something is terribly wrong,” Jones said.
She pointed out that while CEOs are seeing their salaries balloon to huge sums, frontline health-care workers and services have been squeezed over the same period.
Jones also questioned Health Minister Deb Matthews’ judgement.
“The Minster was appointed in 2009, and since that time we have seen CCAC CEOs’ salaries skyrocket,” Jones remarked. “And yet, I consistently hear from Dufferin-Caledon residents about the persistent difficulties they experience when services are cut back at the CCAC.”
“I applaud my PC colleague MPP Christine Elliott for showing leadership on this issue and requesting the Auditor General investigate the clear mismanagement going on at CCACs across the province,” Jones said. “This is about more than money. This is people’s health and well-being we are talking about. The fact that in Minister Matthews’ Health Ministry a higher priority is put on high-level bureaucrats’ salaries increasing than on improving front-line health care and services is a real shame.”