Proposed legislation ( Ambulance Amendment Act (Air Ambulances), 2012) being introduced would, if passed, prevent any future abuse of power at Ornge by:

• Protecting whistle-blowers who disclose information to an inspector, investigator or the government.
• Allowing the government to directly appoint members to Ornge’s board of directors and change the performance agreement with Ornge at any time.
• Taking control of Ornge in extraordinary circumstances through the appointment of a supervisor, and appointing special investigators when it is in the public interest to do so.

The amended performance agreement, ratified this week by the government and Ornge, will give Ontarians better air ambulance care by:

• Appointing a new Patient Advocate, and publicly posting a complaints process.
• Creating a new Patient Declaration of Values.
• Conducting annual surveys of staff, and members of the public, regarding their performance, and making the information public.
• Improving the reporting of emergency dispatch information by including cancelled and declined air and critical land ambulance calls.
• Creating a Quality Improvement Committee to advise the Ornge board, and publishing an annual Quality Improvement Plan.

The performance agreement also provides taxpayers with more value for money by:

• Giving the Ministry the authority to conduct surprise audits and unannounced inspections
• Linking the compensation of Ornge executives to public performance improvement targets.
• Tying Ornge’s funding to key performance indicators.
• Giving the government control over any changes to Ornge’s corporate structure and any sale of assets over a threshold of $100,000.
• Taking tighter control over how Ornge uses government funding.
•  Giving the Ministry the ability to recover funding based on performance.
•  Ensuring full compliance with the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act.
• Requiring public reporting of expenses and restrictions on meals, travel and hospitality.
• Requiring regular, detailed, financial reports from Ornge and creating new financial planning controls.