Today, Rob Leone, MPP for Cambridge, supported Sylvia Jones MPP for Dufferin-Caledon’s motion calling for the strengthening of whistle-blower legislation which was debated and successfully passed in the House. Leone hailed the motion’s passage as a strong message that ORNGE whistle-blowers will be protected.
“Today is a good day for employees who came forward and informed the public of the unethical actions taking place at ORNGE,” Leone said. “Now these employees know that they will not be unfairly persecuted for raising the alarm about the abuses taking place at ORNGE.”
Employees at the province’s troubled air ambulance service were forced to sign confidentiality agreements. Now some employees and former employees have expressed fears of financial or legal reprimand for disclosing unethical incidents at the province’s air ambulance service. Some of these fears are as a result of comments made by the recently appointed interim CEO of ORNGE, Ron McKerlie.
“For McKerlie to stand up and now tell those same employees that if they keep speaking out about problems at ORNGE they could go to jail is just flat out wrong, period,” said Leone.
As the ORNGE scandal continues to unfold, it has become a hotly contested issue. The various incidents at the agency and the Ministry of Health’s handling of the scandal have been debated in the Legislature every day since the House resumed sitting February 21, 2012. Almost all of the incidents in question have come from whistle-blowers from within the agency.