Ontario Hansard - 25-April2006

OHIP OFFICE

Ms. Laurie Scott (Haliburton-Victoria-Brock): To the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care: Minister, in yet another example of Ontarians paying more and getting less, the people of my riding of Haliburton-Victoria-Brock are losing the OHIP outreach office in Lindsay, thanks to your decision to close this office.

The service is extremely valuable to the people of the city of Kawartha Lakes, which is a community of over 72,000. The office operates two days a month and provides much-needed access to OHIP cards for my constituents. Minister, why are you closing the outreach office for the OHIP in Lindsay?

Ms. Scott: Minister, without a health card, the people of my riding can't access the health care that they need, and it's getting less. The people in Lindsay, Bobcaygeon, Coboconk, Fenelon Falls and all other communities in the city of Kawartha Lakes will now have to travel even farther to get their OHIP cards.

It's not just in my community. In the words of your spokesman John Letherby, these closures are happening "far and wide across Ontario." The outreach offices have been in operation for many years. They're a valuable and important service to the people in rural Ontario.

Your spokesperson said that many services are available online, but you can't renew your health card online; you can only change your address. How does this, in the words of another of your staffers, "balance the delivery needs of the public"? Minister, will you reconsider the decision to close the office in Lindsay?