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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, A pr il 25 ,2 01 9 | 6 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised family of newspapers is comprised f of more than 80 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca editor@oakvillebeaver.com facebook.com/OakvilleBeavfacebook.com/OakvilleBeavf @OakvilleBeaver WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Director of Distribution Charlene Hall Circulation Manager Kim Mossman Director of Production Mark Dills Regional Production Manager Manny Garcia Regional General Manager Steve Foreman Halton Media General Manager Vicki Dillane Regional Director of Media Holly Chriss CONTACT US Oakville Beaver 901 Guelph Line Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 Phone: 289-293-0617 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Digital/Flyer/Retail: 289-293-0624 Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 200 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We for verification purposes. We f reserve the right to edit, con- dense or reject letters. Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail kmossman@metroland.com or call 905-631-6095. OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT INSIDEHALTON.COM Recently, the Supreme Court struck a victory for the public's right to know when it refused to hear an appeal from physicians who want to keep the names of Onta- rio's top 100 publicly-paid doctors secret. Indeed, the court's decision - which came after a five- year quest by the Torstar's Theresa Boyle to obtain the records - is sure to lead to more transparency and ac- countability in how health care dollars are spent by doctors and the government that pays them. At more than $12 billion, physician compensation is 7.5 per cent of the entire provincial budget. That is rea- son enough for the public to know a lot more about how that money is spent. There are two things that must happen now. First, the Ontario Ministry of Health must comply with a years-old order from the province's information and privacy commissioner, Brian Beamish, to release physician-identified billing data as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, though, it appears the Ontario Med- ical Association - which has fought the release of this information through the courts - is trying to stand in the way once again. Its claims to be in "early discussions" with the health ministry on how this can be done implies that the asso- ciation is the arbiter of how the information will be released and when, rather than the government. And its argument in an email to doctors that the names of the top billers should only be disclosed by an act of the provincial legislature appears, on the face of it, to be another attempt to delay the release of this in- formation. As the earlier unanimous Ontario Divisional Court ruling on this case stated: "The public is entitled to in- formation in the possession of their government so that the public may, among other things, hold their govern- ments accountable." The government has the means to make this happen, without new legislation, and it should. Secondly, Beamish's office should move quickly on another information request by the Toronto Star seek- ing the release of physician-identified billings for all Ontario doctors, which he had put on hold pending the Supreme Court's ruling on the top 100. The fact is, releasing physician-identified billings is hardly groundbreaking. It already occurs in British Columbia, Manitoba and New Brunswick and in the United States. But in Ontario, taxpayers have been left in the dark, wondering what to make of a health min- istry audit conducted five years ago that raised some troubling questions. Among them: How can one doctor bill for 100,000 patients in a single year? And why did the province's top-billing doctors receive payments averaging $4 mil- lion apiece, with one billing $7 million? In the end, with the Supreme Court siding with trans- parency over privacy the public is going to learn how much each of the province's 28,100 practising doctors is billing OHIP. The sooner the Ford government makes that happen, the better. TIME FOR FULL DISCLOSURE OVER INDIVIDUAL DOCTORS' OHIP BILLINGS EDITORIAL LETTERS & COMMENTARY MISINFORMATION ON VACCINATION WORRIES OAKVILLE DOCTOR As a doctor in our com- munity, I'm increasingly worried about misinfor- mation in the news and on social media about vaccination. In medical school, doc- tors are taught to "do no harm," which makes it hard for us to live up to our professional respon- sibility when we see peo- ple choosing not to get vaccinated because of fake news. fake news. f The facts are clear - since the introduction of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine there's been a 99 per cent reduc- tion in cases. And, since Canada in- troduced the polio vac- cine, the disease has been eradicated. These condi- tions are debilitating and deadly. Because childhood vaccinations are proven safe and effective in On- tario, we've forgotten how quickly and easily these diseases can spread and how devastating they can be. And we all need to get vaccinated if we can, because "herd immunity" matters. Herd immunity is like building a wall to keep ill- ness at bay, and each per- son who gets vaccinated is another brick in that wall. If you have concerns, talk to your doctor about vaccines and don't spread fake news or misinforma-fake news or misinforma-f tion. Get the facts from a professional - get the facts from a doctor.facts from a doctor.f DR. ROHIT KUMAR, OAKVILLE VALUE TOWN'S HEALTHY BIODIVERSITY Responding to the lady who is afraid of the coy- otes and wants some- thing done, I disagree. We too live in Oakville,We too live in Oakville,W have a pair of coyotes who daily traverse our prop- erty, and have pets and are careful to avoid inter- actions. We value the biodiver-We value the biodiver-W sity of the neighbour- hood, even if waiting to exit the car until a skunk has ambled away or when contending with a ornery possum. We chose to move toWe chose to move toW Oakville from Toronto 40 years ago to escape a con- crete jungle. What next, hunt rac- coons because they rum- mage through garbage or birds because the morn- ing chorus is too loud? We should value andWe should value andW encourage a healthy bio- diversity. It never turns out well when humans attempt to manage nature. Take reasonable pre- cautions to avoid interac- tions and celebrate our healthy ecosystem. ANDREW MCALLAN OAKVILLE SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM