Provincial Auditor Releases Annual Report

Northern Ontario’s doctor shortage is drawing the attention of Ontario’s Auditor General.
In her annual report, Bonnie Lysyk stated that while the province has increased the number of physicians, only 5% are practising in rural areas where 14% of Ontario’s population live.
Lysyk notes that locum doctors, meant to cover short-term vacancies in eligible communities, are instead being used for long periods of time.
At the time of the audit, there were about 200 specialist vacancies in Northern Ontario, and a third of the hospitals had been using temporary physician services continuously since 2007.
Ontario’s Auditor General adds the Ministry of Natural Resources is finding it difficult to protect Ontario’s park system.
She points to the additions of several new parks in the past decade and expanded responsibilities.
In her report, Lysyk says she found significant portions of the park system that were subject to little or no enforcement of regulations on hunting and fishing.
She adds that prohibited activities such as commercial timber harvesting occur regularly.