A Kingston, Ont., doctor celebrated for organizing drive-thru vaccination clinics that helped thousands get shots at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic is now being ordered to pay back more than $600,000 in fees for those same services.

Dr. Elaine Ma said she organized 45 mass vaccination clinics that administered roughly 35,000 doses between April 2021 and the following February.

Her work was recognized by the Ontario College of Family Physicians, which granted her its Award of Excellence in 2021, in part pointing to Ma's role in boosting local vaccination rates.

About a year later, the doctor said she received notice from the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) seeking to recoup the money she had billed for the shots — approximately $600,000, plus around $35,000 in interest.

A Kingston, Ont., doctor celebrated for organizing drive-thru vaccination clinics that helped thousands get shots at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic is now being ordered to pay back more than $600,000 in fees for those same services.

Dr. Elaine Ma said she organized 45 mass vaccination clinics that administered roughly 35,000 doses between April 2021 and the following February.

Her work was recognized by the Ontario College of Family Physicians, which granted her its Award of Excellence in 2021, in part pointing to Ma's role in boosting local vaccination rates.

About a year later, the doctor said she received notice from the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) seeking to recoup the money she had billed for the shots — approximately $600,000, plus around $35,000 in interest.

I love these nerds

Ontario grocery stores — particularly smaller, independent shops — say new bottle return requirements that were sprung on them a week before they're set to take effect may make it impossible to participate in Premier Doug Ford's expansion of alcohol sales. [...]

Grocery stores [...] that sell alcohol will also have to accept empties.

Having the smell of stale beer mingling with the smell of fresh food — and having to put not-quite-entirely-empty bottles that become fruit-fly magnets near produce sections — would not be good for business, they said.

But with new and detailed requirements communicated to them this week by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario just days before they begin, retailers say they don't know how they will make it work, and some are planning to hand back their licences.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/31690088

Global News recently reported that the Progressive Conservative Party will begin nominating candidates this month, the latest sign that Premier Doug Ford is considering a snap vote.

In 2022, the PCs formed a second “false majority” government after winning just 41% of the vote. Given that progressive parties—the OLP, ONDP, and GPO—received a combined 54% of the vote, it seems Ontario’s democratic majority was once again denied its right to govern.

What made the situation even more dire, however, was the historically low voter turnout of 43%, which meant Ford was handed a majority government by a meagre 18% of eligible voters. These results spell a crisis of legitimacy for our democracy, especially when it comes to the legislation passed by such a government.

For instance, in 2019, the PCs passed Bill 124, which capped salary increases for broader public sector workers (including teachers and nurses) to 1% per year for three years. It was later deemed unconstitutional by the Ontario Court of Appeal, which ruled that it violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms with respect to unionized employees.

Here is a list of other legislation passed by the PCs that might not have come into force under PR:

1. Bill 60: Your Health Act (May 2023) allowed private clinics to conduct more OHIP-covered surgeries despite critics warning that it would lead to a two-tiered system. At the time, the NDP said it presented 74 amendments to the Your Health Act to the committee, but none were accepted or even considered by the PCs.
2. Bill 3: Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act (Sept 22) gave mayors more power by allowing them a veto on bylaws passed by council, the ability to hire and dismiss senior managers, and stewardship over the city budget. While municipal powers are determined by the provincial government, the bill is widely seen as a continuation of the erosion of municipal powers and councillors, who are elected by citizens to exercise their democratic will.
3. Bill 39: Better Municipal Governance Act (2023) extended “strong mayor” powers to other municipalities. Opposition parties were critical of how it allowed mayors to pass certain bylaws with just one-third of council support.
4. Bill 23: More Homes Built Faster Act (2022) reduced development fees (to boost construction) despite significant opposition from environmental groups, municipal governments, and Indigenous communities.
5. Bill 7: More Beds, Better Care Act (2022) allowed hospitals to free up hospital beds by discharging elderly patients to long-term care homes without their consent. The bill faced backlash for infringing on patient rights.

Finally, while not a legislative bill, the Greenbelt land swap scandal raised significant issues in 2023 when the Ford government came under scrutiny for opening up previously protected Greenbelt land for development against the will of elected municipal councillors. The Auditor General’s report revealed that the process disproportionately favoured certain developers...

I'm sure most people here would recognise this as fishy but I'm sharing anyway. Warn your more trusting friends and family!

I sure hope Tay Tay is footing the bill for OPP to do this. I sure in the fuck do not want my tax dollars to protect a billionaire

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/31516123

It's happening, the worst mayor Toronto has ever had is removing three major recently completed bike lanes at tax payer expense. That's right, Ontario tax payers are footing the bill for Ford to meddle in Toronto municipal infrastructure. This is of course to distract us from failing healthcare and education while appealing to his mostly car centric base.

There is a protest happening Wed. 23rd of October, please come out if you can. https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/rally-ride-for-road-safety-tickets-1045417761667

Error in judgement??? Sounds like corruption and the province needs to be reimbursed and these people need to be banned from all public office jobs

"The move will be a signature element of the government's fall economic statement," a government source said, which will be released on Oct. 30.

#onpoli