Ontario has no plan for surgery backlog

Last May, British Columbia and Ontario took starkly different approaches to plans to resume elective surgeries following COVID -19-related cancellations. B.C.’s government promised to eliminate the surgical backlog within 17 to 24 months by operating surgery rooms at maximum capacity and hiring additional staff. It also committed to issuing written reports on progress beginning in July. Ontario dodged commitments, releasing instead a “planning ” document for hospitals. Not good enough.

Last month, B.C. — as promised — released its first written update. It reported that operating rooms are essentially back at full capacity, surgeries have been completed for 52 per cent of the 17,750 people whose operations were postponed, and the remaining backlog is expected to be eliminated in 15 months. Except for Doug Ford’s recent commitment to get the backlog “cleaned up as quickly as possible,” we’ve heard crickets from Ontario.

For the sake of those in the backlog who were asked to make life-altering sacrifices in order to help us deal with the COVID-19 crisis, it’s time for greater transparency from our leaders on this issue.

Baxter MacDonald, Greely that the Flats were required for a new National Defence headquarters. It was never built. Now that years have passed and the original owners have died, the land is largely being transferred for private development. This is dishonest. LeBreton Flats should remain public property and be devoted entirely to public and social use. The NCC doesn’t own the Flats in the private-property sense. It holds them in trust for us.

Lindsay Lambert, Ottawa