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editorial

While provincial opposition members and media outlets pounce upon the latest revelations about bonuses, severance packages and $1.39 snacks, the real scandal about eHealth Ontario is that the people brought in to expedite an electronic health-record system have instead set it back.

Since 2002, Ontario's governments have been trying to build that system. Last year, having spent hundreds of millions of dollars but achieved little, the provincial Smart Systems for Health Agency was shut down. In its place, Dalton McGuinty's government established eHealth. Dr. Alan Hudson, a respected neurosurgeon and the former president of the University Health Network, was enlisted to chair its board; Sarah Kramer, a high-profile health-care executive, was hired to serve as president and chief executive officer.

Ms. Kramer, and other members of the private sector recruited to work on eHealth, should have known they would be under a magnifying glass - not least because some members of the public service were disgruntled that the project had been taken away from them. But they behaved as if they expected no attention at all, giving their critics such an easy target that Ms. Kramer lasted only seven months.

Some of the most sensational complaints were overblown. The $114,000 received by Ms. Kramer on top of her $380,000 annual salary, for example, may have seemed excessive. But executives - or anyone else - cannot be blamed for negotiating with their employers for the best possible deal, and in many instances (such as Ms. Kramer's $317,000 severance compensation, which was breathlessly reported this week) their arrangements were commensurate with what they would have received outside government.

More problematic was the way in which millions of dollars in untendered contracts were allegedly given to long-time friends and associates of Ms. Kramer and Dr. Hudson, a matter under review by a provincial auditor. They understandably wished to fast-track work on the project and were drawn to people with whom they had worked closely. But since the previous agency was disbanded in part because of high consultancy fees, eHealth's management should have been careful to ensure that every dollar stood up to scrutiny.

The consequences go beyond Ms. Kramer's job loss. Dr. Hudson and Health Minister David Caplan could be held accountable as well, especially since some of the controversial contracts seem to have predated Ms. Kramer's hire. Meanwhile, with the deputy health minister having replaced Ms. Kramer on an interim basis, it is improbable that the government will again import high-powered talent. The project is likely will return to the hands of the public service, which failed to achieve much the first time.

The eHealth controversy will fade. But not so quickly as the prospect of efficiently digitalizing Ontarians' health records.

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