Debate over Ontario’s move to harmonized sales tax erupted in legislature today, with several Tories getting thrown out for "unparliamentary language." Among them Sarnia Conservative Bob Bailey, who said Premier McGuinty was afraid to hear public input, which he suspects would be negative.

To further complicate matters, the federal Conservatives are refusing to let Ontario First Nations keep their point of sale exemption from the provincial portion of the 13 per cent HST. This sort of idealogical power struggle between liberals and conservatives never creates a net benefit for the people at large, and it makes staples like milk and bread, which cost several times more in remote regions, significantly more expensive.

The HST will be a decisive issue when Ontarians cast their ballots in 2011.

In a Globe and Mail article, Adam Radwanski said that in leaving his senior post in Ontario’s cabinet last week, George Smitherman has put a deal that could create 15,000 jobs in jeopardy — a fact that has gone largely unnoticed because of the media attention surrounding his Toronto mayoral candidacy. Ontario`s proposed $7-billion green-energy agreement with South Korea’s Samsung Group is now in the hands of new Energy Minister Gerry Phillips, who is likely to be less enthusiastic about the deal than Smitherman.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/will-smithermans-exit-leave-the-samsung-deal-flapping-in-the-wind/article1365988/Despite animosity from the right and the left, the 13 per cent sales tax, the Dalton McGuinty government is defending its harmonized sales tax legislation that will merge Ontario’s eight per cent sales tax with the five per cent goods and services tax starting next July. Introduced today at Queen`s Park, the HST, according to a study commissioned by the government, moving to a single sales tax will help create nearly 600,000 jobs over 10 years.http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/726434–hst-will-create-jobs-not-kill-them-mcguinty-saysWith many looking to assign blame for Ontario`s ongoing eHealth scandal, deputy health minister Ron Sapsford stepped down for personal reasons, according to the Liberal government, not because of any connection with eHealth. One of the province`s most highly paid and powerful civil servants in the province, Sapsford`s performance was commended by Health Minister Deb Matthews. Critics contend, however, that said he and Matthews should ultimately be held responsible for the $42 billion health ministry and the electronic health record boondoggle.http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/ehealth/article/726600–deputy-s-decision-to-quit-personal

Ontario auditor general Jim McCarter has concluded that after almost a decade of time and $1 billion in funding to create a province-wide system of keeping Electronic Health Records, “Ontario taxpayers have not received value for money for this $1-billion investment.

“McCarter’s 50-page Special Report, released today, which examines efforts by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and its agencies to create an EHR system of computerized medical records for all Ontarians, described its efforts as “lacking in strategic direction and relying too heavily on external consultants.

“The recently created agency responsible for this task, eHealth Ontario, was found to be awarding contracts without an open competitive process. McCarter also found evidence of “questionable procurement practices” in the Ministry and at the Smart Systems for Health Agency. Allegations earlier this year that eHealth awarded contracts to certain companies without giving other firms a chance to compete were “largely true,” as were allegations of “favouritism” in the awarding of such contracts.

For instance, one firm that bid 500 per cent more than the next qualified bidder was invited to bid again, the only company offered such an opportunity, and, after lowering its bid significantly, won the contract. Another firm that was awarded untendered contracts on the first phase of several projects was awarded many subsequent contracts worth about $7 million to work on successive phases of those projects.

There was a heavy, and in some cases almost total, reliance on consultants. By 2008, the Ministry’s eHealth Program Branch had fewer than 30 full-time employees but was engaging more than 300 consultants, a number of whom held senior management positions. The recent replacements of the eHealth Ontario board chair and CEO mark “the fourth such overhaul of leadership at eHealth Ontario and its predecessor” and each of these overhauls brought with it its own period of transition where progress on the initiative’s objectives was slowed or, at times, virtually halted.

Widely used in the US and elsewhere, EHRs promise to deliver health-care services more efficiently than using paper files. All 10 provinces and three territories are working to create EHR systems, which one study says could save Canada’s health-care system $6 billion a year. Ontario is near “the back of the pack” in the development of EHRs compared to the other provinces, according to the report.

The Auditor General’s report found that of the $1 billion spent so far on the EHR initiative, $800 million was spent by the SSHA primarily to build a computer network for health-care providers that is expensive to operate and significantly underused, mainly because of a lack of available applications. Specifically, it is costing $72 million annually to operate the network, and users, on average, are using less than 1 per cent of the network’s available bandwidth (or system capacity), with peak usage averaging only about 16 per cent of available bandwidth.

Former Ontario Progressive Conservative Party leader John Tory has agreed to host our new “Live Drive” show from 4-7pm Monday to Friday on Toronto AM talk radio station CFRB NEWSTALK 1010. According to NEWSTALK 1010’s announcement, “John brings a wealth of inside knowledge to both political and business discussions, which is what our audience wants to hear.

“Tory will be on NEWSTALK 1010 from 4 to 7pm, Monday to Friday, providing “insight into the issues that matter to Torontonians, not only in our city but around the world.”

Tory ran in the November 2003 election for Mayor of Toronto, narrowly finishing in second place, behind councillor David Miller. In early 2004, he announced he would be running for the leadership of the provincial Conservatives soon after Ernie Eves announced he would be resigning. Running against former Ontario Finance Minister (now federal Minister of Finance) Jim Flaherty and Oak Ridges MPP Frank Klees, Tory positioned himself as a centrist, and defeated Flaherty 54 to 46 per cent on the second ballot.

In the 2007 general election, Tory was defeated in his own Don Valley West riding by the incumbent MPP, Ontario Liberal Education Minister Kathleen Wynne, however, he stayed on as leader. Tensions within the party prompted Tory to re-gain a seat in the Ontario legislature. When he failed to win a March 2009 by-election in Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, Tory announced his intention to resign as soon as his successor is chosen.

Following the end of his political career, Tory returned to his first love, broadcasting, as host of a Sunday evening phone-in show, The John Tory Show, on NEWSTALK 1010, which was also heard on CHAM in Hamilton and CKTB in St. Catharines. It is unclear whether he will still be hosting this show.

Topics include Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, Freedom of Information, and Harmonized Sales Tax.