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Pa ge 6 T hu rs da y, O ct ob er 1 , 2 01 5 - T he IF P - H al to n H ill s - w w w .th ei fp .c a The Independent & Free Press is published Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The Independent & Free Press is a member of the Ontario Press Coun- cil, which is an independent ethical organization established to deal with editorial concerns. For additional information or to file a complaint, contact info@ ontpress.com or call 416-340-1981. The Independent & Free Press CCACs need to improve service Letters to the editor 905-873-0301 Publisher: Dana Robbins General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca, 905-234-1011) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca, 905-234-1012) Managing editor: Chris Vernon (cvernon@metroland.com, 905-234-1020) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca, 905-234-1019) Classifieds/Real Estate Kristie Pells (realestate@theifp.ca, 905-234-1016) Advertising Sales Jenny Hawkins (jhawkins@theifp.ca, 905-234-1014) Jennifer Spencer (jspencer@theifp.ca, 905-234-1013) Rachael Scutt (rscutt@theifp.ca, 905-234-1015) Kelli Kosonic (kkosonic@theifp.ca, 905-234-1018) Classified Call Centre 1-800-263-6480, Fax 1-866-299-1499 classifieds@metroland.com Accounting 1-866-773-6575 Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca, 905-234-1021) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/photographer (emaher@theifp.ca, 905-234-1023) Composing Shelli Harrison (sharrison@theifp.ca 905-234-1017) Get the latest headlines delivered to your inbox by signing up for our twice weekly electronic newsletter. Go to www.theifp.ca and click on 'Newsletter sign-up' at the bottom of the homepage. Ontario's auditor general says the Liberal govern- ment "needs to take a hard look" at the $2.4 bil- lion spent annually by community care access centres and their private contractors. The 14 CCAC's co-ordinate home and commu- nity-based nursing care, therapy and supports to about 700,000 patients outside of hospitals, and in some cases provide direct care. Auditor Bonnie Lysyk disputes claims that 92 per cent of their spending goes to direct patient care, and says it's closer to 61 per cent when you define it as actual face-to-face treatment. She says the costs-per-client-served by CCAC's range between $2,892 and $3,775, and nurses they directly employ are paid up to $15 an hour more than nurses at the service agencies that they use. Lysyk also says eligibility criteria for complex care patients discharged from hospitals vary between community care access centres, and nearly half the people don't get treatment within 24 hours as required. The community care centres have 264 con- tracts with 160 third-party providers, including private companies and non-profit organizations, but the auditor says they pay inconsistent rates for contracted services. "One provider of personal support services charged $48.98 per hour in one geographic area and $29.50 per hour in another geographic area within the same CCAC," wrote Lysyk. "In all, there are 14,000 distinct contracted rates for 94 differ- ent service categories." She identified lack of clarity about real vs. reported cost of services. She questioned the CCAC claim that 92 per cent of expenditures go to direct care, pointing out examples where the per- centage is much lower. She raised concerns about the administrative expense at CCACs. She found that patients needing complex transitional care aren't receiving it within 24 hours as required. And she found CCAC expenses rose 26 per cent between 2009 and 2014, and that CEOs saw their salaries jump by 27 per cent in about the same period. This is not a good picture. The Wynne government needs to respond and explain what it plans to do about the challenges OPINION Re: Does Spandex cause brain damage?, Letters, Sept. 24. As an avid cyclist that is on rural roads 9 to 13 hours a week on any given week, I am always cognizant of the folks I share the road with. That being said, I don't think some of those I share the roads with are as obser- vant as I am. First and foremost, I ride alone almost always. I adhere to the Highway Traffic Act likely as accurately as most drivers do. Keeping the above in mind, I get honked at, sworn at, and run off the road, often on less traveled roads. It appalls me the behaviour of drivers towards cyclists in our community. I have a family, am lessening the load on our healthcare system by staying fit, sticking to rules of the road, and enjoying our community roads, yet continue to get honked at, shown obscene gestures, or run off the road often. It's time to take a step back and re- Motorists need to chill out Cartoon was out of line: reader spect humanity folks. I and many others like myself are en- joying being outside staying healthy, in- fluencing my children, and just loving our community. Chill out. Two minutes longer to get to your destination without killing a loving family member on their bike in your trav- els isn't a bad thing. Neil Ireland, Georgetown RE: Cartoon of Thursday, Sept. 24, illustrating a group of caricature "refugees" being "welcomed" to On- tario, as represented by a group of disgruntled citizens. Although surely intended to be ironic in that the "refugees" have second thoughts once in sight of the quality of life here, I don't think it is humourous or appropriate, and I do find it offensive and catering to the lowest rung on the cultural sensitiv- ity ladder. We can make fun by easily juxta- posing first world problems against a developing world crisis and suffer- ing, or we can strive for a level of cultural intelligence and compas- sion worthy of the most multicul- tural community in the world-- the GTA. How "welcoming" is Canada, On- tario and our home Town? Perhaps Halton Hills is being held back by attitudes expressed in cartoons like this one. Eric Doubt, Georgetown