Getting private health care because of long waits

Good morning!

Quite the weekend, wasn’t that? Had almost forgotten what it was like to sit on the grass on a sunny day. T-shirts? Remember those? Very strange to be walking around in one outside, but it was lovely.

Bit of housekeeping, this week’s City Hall Insider will be coming to your inbox on Thursday instead of Tuesday because of some scheduling issues. But fear not, it will land this week.

If you don’t know what City Hall Insider is, it’s our members-only newsletter covering the inner-workings of city hall. If you’re interested in learning all the intricacies of municipal issues (and want to support the Lookout) become a member today.

We have some news about wait times for cancer treatment (they’re not good), an upcoming review of bus service and plenty more in today’s issue.

Let’s get to it.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

Consider forwarding this to your friends so they can discover the Lookout. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free.

Weather Report

Monday: +19 🌡️ +3 | 🌧

Tuesday: +9 🌡️ 0 | 🌦

Wednesday: +7 🌡️ -2 | 🌧/❄️

WEEKLY LOOKOUT

🌊 Ottawa River flooding: Rapid melting, and the possibility of rain early this week means the Ottawa River could flood from Lake Coulonge to Montreal. The flooding is expected to be minor. [CTV]

🪧 Public service strike: The Public Service Alliance of Canada is expected to announce next steps after about 150,000 public service workers entered a legal strike position last week. The union will hold a press conference this morning at 9 am. [CTV]

HEALTHCARE

Cancer surgery wait times forcing women to get private care

What happened: Some women in the city have timely, possibly life-saving cancer surgeries scheduled so far off in the future, they have decided to get private care, the Ottawa Citizen reported. The Ottawa Hospital has some of the longest wait times in the province, with only 13 percent of surgeries at the General happening on time.

One patient described finding a breast lump last October, it would turn out to be cancerous and while early, had already spread to her lymph nodes. Without a family doctor she had to navigate the health system herself, before a doctor told her she may not be able to get surgery until January.

• “There was no way I was going to make it through the winter and Christmas. I have mental health issues already. I knew I would go downhill really fast,” the woman, Lisa, told the paper.

Instead, she opted to head to a Montreal clinic, where she paid $50,000 for a double mastectomy. The clinic, VM-Med Montreal Breast Center, said it had recently seen an uptick of patients coming from Ottawa.

One woman in the public system told the Citizen she will have waited 27 weeks for surgery, 24 weeks after first seeing a doctor. Before the pandemic, the wait time was eight to 10 weeks.

Wait times: Depending on the severity of the cancer, wait time targets are between two to 12 weeks. Only 13 percent of patients at the General hospital are having surgery within the target time, 21 percent at the Civic are within the target time, and 55 percent at the Riverside. The Queensway Carleton has 95 percent of patients get surgery in the target time, and the Monfort has 50 percent.

• The provincial average is 71 percent, the Citizen reported.

Loophole: Technically, it is against the law to charge for services that are otherwise covered by the public system. But there is a loophole that allows patients to travel out of province to get treatment, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

📚 $180 million: The amount the Ontario government will spend to hire 1,000 educators in math and literacy. [CTV]

😷 $60 million: COVID cost Ottawa Public Health this much in 2022. The health board ran a deficit of just over $300,000 for the year. [CTV]

TRANSIT

Bus routes to be reviewed

What happened: OC Transpo is going to review bus routes across the system this spring, the city said in a memo. The review comes at a time when the system is facing a serious budget deficit, and ridership numbers are still well below pre-pandemic levels.

• “With changes to ridership since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and with the upcoming opening of the Stage 2 O-Train extensions, there is a need to optimize our existing transit system,” transit chief Renée Amilcar said in the memo.

Consulting: The review will start off with consultations. First with councillors, then, later this month, OC Transpo will launch a dedicated website for the review, followed by public meetings on the possible changes.

The website will “provide additional information about the route review and the survey will be the first opportunity for customers to provide input on how they use Ottawa’s transit system, and what they want the future of transit in Ottawa to look like,” the memo said.

The problems: OC Transpo expects to run a deficit this year of $39 million. The city had hoped another level of government would bail out the system, but none did. By the end of the year, it only expects to have about 70 percent of pre-pandemic ridership, CTV reported. The system has struggled with bus cancellations because of staffing issues. Plus, there are the ongoing problems with the LRT.

You can read the full memo here.

NEW LOCAL JOBS

Check out the new open positions in Ottawa.

1. Director of renovations services at the Canadian Home Builders’ Association

2. Visitor services manager at the Canadian Museum of History

3. Shop foreperson at Parts for Trucks

4. Real property coordinator at Parliamentary Protective Service

5. Manager of inventory management at Canada Post

THE AGENDA

🏭 Ontario’s carbon emissions rose slightly in 2021 from the previous year’s levels to 159.6 million tonnes. That’s up 2.7 percent from 2020 levels but well below pre-pandemic emissions. The province’s target for 2030 is 144 million tonnes. [CBC]

🚑 A woman was run over by an OC Transpo bus at Tunney’s Pasture. She was taken to the hospital in critical condition. OC Transpo said the woman had been running to catch a bus when she fell and was hit by the bus. [CTV]

🏢 Residents of the Heron Gate development are protesting rent hikes that average about seven percent. The company disputes the size of the increases. [CBC]

🚨 The province’s police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit, is investigating the circumstances that led to a man fleeing from police in a car hitting a pedestrian in Westboro. The 46-year-old man who was hit is in the ICU. [CTV]

🥌 The Granite Curling Club of West Ottawa will close its Westboro home of 70 years and relocate in the fall near Pinecrest and the 417. The property taxes at its current location have risen too high. [CBC]

🚨 An Ottawa Flying Club plane crash landed near the airport. No one was injured. [CTV]

🚓 The City of Gatineau is looking to suspend the warrants for about 300 homeless people. The warrants are to jail the people for non-payment of fines, which have been prohibited since 2020. [CBC]

⚖️ A man who claimed to have burned$1 million in cash to keep it from his wife in a divorce, and who has refused to give financial records over to the courts, is holding a fundraiser to cover his legal fees. [Ottawa Citizen]

EVENTS

Your guide to the week

Music

🎸 Black Flag, Tuesday 7 pm: Punk band Black Flag are playing the My War album and a best of setlist. At the Brass Monkey 250 Greenbank Rd. Tickets $43.

🎷 Jazz Night, Thursday 7pm: Live jazz at the Apothecary Cocktail Lounge, in the ByWard Market, 54 York St. Free admission.

Kids/Family

🌪️ The Wizard of Oz, Wednesday 7 pm: The Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group Community Theatre are putting on the Wizard of Oz, at the Glebe Community Centre, 175 Third Ave. Tickets start at $20.

Other

🌱 Net-zero leadership summit, Wednesday 8:30 am: How can governments reduce carbon emissions to meet our net zero goals? This summit is looking to point to the ways. with speakers including Mark Carney, Lisa Raitt, and Anne McLellan.Tickets start at $141.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• More than 7,000 people showed up for the start of Atlético Ottawa’s season. [CTV]

• At the end of the month, waffle and coffee shop Sharpfle Waffle will be closing its doors. [Instagram]

• The owner of the Sacramento Kings looks to be one of the bidders for the Sens. [Hockey Latest]

• The turtles are out along the Rideau River, spring is certainly here. [Reddit]

• CBC reported Priscilla Ki Sun Hwang won a Canadian Association of Journalists for access to information reporting. [CBC]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Contact our partnership team for more info.

TOP PHOTO

Today’s photo comes from a very special photographer, M. Scotti, who took this photo at Hog’s Back a few weeks ago.

Do you have a photo you’d like to share with the Lookout community? Send it in!

OTTAWA QUIZ

Congrats to everyone who got last week’s Wordle. The answer was BALMY, as in the weather over the weekend.

For this week’s quiz, we want to know which hospital in the city has the best record for meeting their cancer surgery targets? The first five people to write in with the correct answer will get their names mentioned in the next issue.

LATEST COVID STATS