
Ontario’s Ornge air ambulance system remains under government scrutiny. In testimony before the Provincial Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee March 6, the then-head of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), Chris Lewis, said its anti-rackets branch is expanding its investigation to include interviewing witnesses in the U.S. and Italy and seeking documents from those jurisdictions. At issue is the conduct of former Ornge executives, including an examination of whether they orchestrated multimillion-dollar kickbacks from suppliers disguised as marketing agreements and charitable donations and also siphoned millions of public dollars into private entities they controlled. The OPP began its investigation of Ornge in 2012 after Ontario’s Auditor General uncovered financial irregularities. Following those revelations, the provincial Ministry of Health and Long Term Care replaced the leadership at Ornge. The OPP was expected to complete its work last year.