Blackmac Posted February 22, 2019 Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/local-news/sudbury-column-time-to-reprivatize-ornge? copied from Skies This article is basically a reprint of what I wrote in Vertical in previous threads, but at the time I was including Hydro One Helicopters. I have written letters to my local MP, the Premier including the Toronto Star, all to no avail. It would be nice if a few more people got involved and stated their opinion and maybe we would be saving the taxpayer a few dollars and providing jobs to the private sector. As Dougie says "Get Involved".😋 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrayHorizons Posted February 22, 2019 Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 I wholeheartedly agree that the government should relinquish operations like this back into the industry. Hydro one and OMNR should be contracting their services as well. I'm sure there will be disagreement and I accept that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiefk Posted February 25, 2019 Report Share Posted February 25, 2019 Hey BlackMac I currently work for Ornge and disagree with most of the Sudbury article. Just 2 points below, happy to discuss the rest. 1. He compared apples to carrots from the ' good ol days' $180 million is a lot of money, I totally agree. Buts it's a tiny number when you look at the 'Ambulance' part and insignificant when you look at the total budget of MOHLTC. It works out to about $11 per person per year to have a 24/7 RW/FW/Land ambulance service covering 1 million sqkm. Also the $50 mill number was just for the RW side of the business with Canadian; which is only about 1/4 of the company's current remit (FW, Medical, Maint, Dispatch, Management) and didn't mention what they use to charge for services not covered by the contract. I think the underlying issue seems, to me anyhow and I only know what I know, to be that of 'hey that's not fair, how come they get paid so much and i'm scraping by as a leasing / maintenance / helicopter company owner....' If this went back to industry we'd be expected to use older machines, because they are paid for, and do more for less to keep profits up. How can a 'private for profit' do it cheaper than a 'non profit subsidiary' without cutting corners somewhere? Having said that, like all government departments I'm sure there is some fat to trim and efficiencies to be had for the taxpayer. We could offer SAR coverage for instance with 24/7 aircraft and personnel already in place for no extra cost to the Ontario taxpayer. 2. If you "provide more jobs to the private sector" what about all the employees now unemployed - we just get employed by the new company, so where are the new jobs? How do we find that balance - Discuss... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiefk Posted February 25, 2019 Report Share Posted February 25, 2019 On 2/22/2019 at 6:21 AM, GrayHorizons said: I wholeheartedly agree that the government should relinquish operations like this back into the industry. Hydro one and OMNR should be contracting their services as well. I'm sure there will be disagreement and I accept that. Isn't Hydro One already a private company? And don't OMNR contract out for services every fire season? https://nupge.ca/content/doug-ford-unintentionally-reminds-people-privatizing-hydro-one-was-bad-idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heliian Posted February 25, 2019 Report Share Posted February 25, 2019 2 hours ago, kiefk said: Isn't Hydro One already a private company? And don't OMNR contract out for services every fire season? https://nupge.ca/content/doug-ford-unintentionally-reminds-people-privatizing-hydro-one-was-bad-idea OMNR does most everything else in house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heliian Posted February 25, 2019 Report Share Posted February 25, 2019 On 2/21/2019 at 10:34 PM, Blackmac said: https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/local-news/sudbury-column-time-to-reprivatize-ornge? copied from Skies This article is basically a reprint of what I wrote in Vertical in previous threads, but at the time I was including Hydro One Helicopters. I have written letters to my local MP, the Premier including the Toronto Star, all to no avail. It would be nice if a few more people got involved and stated their opinion and maybe we would be saving the taxpayer a few dollars and providing jobs to the private sector. As Dougie says "Get Involved".😋 Another note to some of the misinformation in this letter is that the temagami accident was under CHL still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrayHorizons Posted February 25, 2019 Report Share Posted February 25, 2019 If Hydro 1 is a private company, its a poorly run one But I digress, I'm not sure how much the province of Ontario owns as shares, but the fact Douglas Ford is attacking the company constantly, I'm not thinking it's really a "private company" per se. Regardless of the theatrics of politics involved, its a fail two fold with the privatization and the government oversight. IF OMNR didn't have contractors, then they'd burn all of Ontario to the ground by mid June. But that wasn't my point. I'd rather see the fat paychecks end and the rest that goes with it, back into competitive markets and private operators. My tax contribution would surely reduce somewhat and I'd see a few bucks back into my pocket. And Ornge doesn't have all new aircraft. Newer maybe, but look closely at the fleet. Didn't you get one from ERA not long ago? Hows the airframe time and condition on that one? As a mechanic, I've seen 20000hr astars in better shape than 1500hr ones. So its a moot point when you talk about aircraft age even though its the easiest argument to lay on the table when you talk of safety. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heliian Posted February 26, 2019 Report Share Posted February 26, 2019 21 hours ago, GrayHorizons said: And Ornge doesn't have all new aircraft. Newer maybe, but look closely at the fleet. Didn't you get one from ERA not long ago? Hows the airframe time and condition on that one? As a mechanic, I've seen 20000hr astars in better shape than 1500hr ones. So its a moot point when you talk about aircraft age even though its the easiest argument to lay on the table when you talk of safety. Better than the original ones. The worst part about ornge's 139's is the poor paint that was laid down originally. The 139 is a great ship and I enjoy working on them. They are modern, powerful and useful and have amassed over a million hours globally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heliian Posted February 26, 2019 Report Share Posted February 26, 2019 21 hours ago, GrayHorizons said: I'd rather see the fat paychecks end and the rest that goes with it, back into competitive markets and private operators. My tax contribution would surely reduce somewhat and I'd see a few bucks back into my pocket. Yes, let's put all flying back into the private sector so that it can be lowballed and degraded. Maybe some tfw's in there too. Don't kid yourself, you'll never see the returns, even if they just closed it all to save 150million a year. It's less than a fraction of a percent of the health care budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Three_Per Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 On 2/25/2019 at 9:01 AM, kiefk said: How can a 'private for profit' do it cheaper than a 'non profit subsidiary' without cutting corners somewhere? This right here. I have yet to have one of my “privatize it all” friends explain how they think a for profit entity can deliver the SAME service for less. There will always be compromise. Even at first glance it looks cheeper (initial contract) there will always be “added costs” at the end of the day. Just look at the maintenance contract for the CH-146 fleet. The taxpayer is getting totally ******. But at least Bell is still making profits, am I rite!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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