Ontario’s Opposition leader said he will “listen relentlessly” to people across Northern Ontario as he embarks on a one-week swing through the region.
Patrick Brown kicked off the Northern Ontario tour Saturday morning in North Bay, accompanied by Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli, Simcoe-Grey MPP Jim Wilson and Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP Norm Miller.
A fentanyl patch exchange program initiated in North Bay two years ago is expected to be rolled across the province within the next six months.
Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli’s private member’s Bill 33, the Safeguarding Our Communities Act, received Royal assent Thursday after passing final reading earlier this week with support from all three parties.
MPP Vic Fedeli‘s private members bill, involving the Patch4Patch program, has received Royal Assent at Queen’s Park.
On Monday, Bill 33 received third and final reading from the Legislature, meaning the program will be going province-wide.
A patch for patch fentanyl exchange program developed in North Bay and recently adopted by Sarnia-Lambton is becoming law in Ontario.
The Safeguarding Our Communities Act, a private member’s bill from Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli, received all-party support during its third reading Monday at Queen’s Park
TORONTO – The Ontario legislature has passed a private member’s bill aimed at combating abuse of the pain killer fentanyl, which is blamed for at least 655 deaths in Canada in the past six years.
Fentanyl is a powerful opiate that usually comes in transdermal patches that slowly release 72 hours worth of medication through the skin, but its abuse by people looking to get high has soared since 2009.
The bill from North Bay’s Vic Fedeli, which passed final reading with support from all three parties, incorporates the so-called patch-for-patch program which is already operating in 45 Ontario communities.
The auditor general says the North East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) met only four of the 15 targets set out by the Ministry of Health last year.
The report said the LHIN, which is mandated by the province to control health care dollars in the region, had the second longest wait time for home care, with a wait of 11 weeks, nearly triple the provincial average.
It also has the second highest hospital readmission rate and the highest percentage of patients who stay in hospital because they can’t get care elsewhere.
“It’s pure ineptness of the North East LHIN. This is nothing new,” said Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli.
Ontario auditor-general Bonnie Lysyk’s value-for-money annual report, as it pertains to the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, outlines a pattern of inaction by the government to do anything to develop the Ring of Fire.
Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli, who has visited the Ring of Fire five times, couldn’t agree more with what he called a “searing” report by Lysyk. He said the audit shows that millions of dollars is being spent by government on administration and none to develop infrastructure.
City politicians and realtors are breathing a sigh of relief after Municipal Affairs Minister Ted McMeekin announced Tuesday the government will not allow towns and cities to impose their own land transfer tax on top of the province’s.
Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli warned in October that such a tax would threaten the home ownership dream for many people.
Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli today asked the Wynne government to address the serious funding crisis at North Bay Regional Health Centre around the same time the rally took place in North Bay protesting recent jobs cuts at the hospital.
“Health care professionals and patients alike in my riding are concerned that the quality of care we’re getting in Nipissing is in jeopardy. And it’s creating turmoil in the community,” Fedeli said.
“Will the Deputy Premier commit to restoring proper ongoing funding to the North Bay hospital?”
So overly optimistic were Finance Minister Charles Sousa’s predictions this week in his Fall Economic Statement, they belonged at Canada’s Wonderland, not Queen’s Park. They’re products of some fantasy world, a kingdom of plastic mountains and mechanical unicorns where every wish, however ridiculous, comes true for a while. The trouble is, when you leave, you’re back in the real world.
Sign up for email updates to get the latest news from Queen's Park.
© 2015 Vic Fedeli, MPP. All Rights Reserved.