Soon after Ontario Auditor General Jim McCarter’s Tuesday report that the province misspent $1.2 billion due to overpayments and fraud in welfare and disability support programs, a Toronto doctor came under scrutiny.
But Dr. Roland Wong, who is accused of filling out forms so people on social assistance could get extra money for dietary ailments they did not have, defends his actions as an effort to address the widespread health problems associated with poverty. He adds that city welfare workers even sent some recipients to see him so he could sign the forms.
Dr. Wong is now facing a disciplinary hearing from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario and could lose his medical licence for checking off ailments on “special dietary allowance” forms so assistance recipients could get extra money without confirming they had those ailments.
Dr. Wong points out that the province gutted social assistance under former premier Mike Harris who cut spending on many government programs in efforts to reduce the deficit.
“I really don’t know what’s going to happen. When you do things, you try to do what needs to be done, in this case to help some of the marginalized people,” said Dr. Wong when asked about the prospect of losing his licence.
Dr. Wong said poverty remains a top determinant of health and for some people on assistance a cheque of $500 leaves only $100 for the month after rent is paid.
“A person like that is rather desperate.”
Many others share Dr. Wong’s views and the Epoch Times heard from one person on assistance that it was the two intake workers at a social services office who first told her about Dr. Wong and encouraged her to see him.
“Last year in October my husband went on vacation and didn’t come back. He took the rent money out of the bank on his way out,” said the woman, who asked that her name not be printed for fear she would lose her social assistance.
“I am trying to finish my degree while working part time—a good plan when there is a working man in the picture. When he left everything fell apart.”
The woman, whom we will call Jane, went to social services when she was almost months behind in her rent. Her intake worker explained that she could get $1,000 a month, said Jane, who pays $1,350 for rent for a three-bedroom apartment for herself and her three children. Jane was making $900 a month at her job, but would only be able to keep $200 of that when on assistance.
At this point Jane said her intake worker went aside and spoke to another intake worker. After leaving the room briefly they returned with the special diet form and Dr. Wong’s number.
“I said I didn’t think I could pretend to have illnesses—my kids and I were pretty healthy. She said, ‘My God, think of your children.’ She knew what was ahead better than I did. I didn’t go to Dr. Wong though. I went to my family doctor. We talked about it and he filled out the forms for me after I showed him what welfare plus work added up to. He ticked a bunch of boxes on each form.”
That was a year ago. Last week Jane returned to get the form filled in for this year. Humiliated at the situation, Jane said she apologized to the doctor for asking him to do this again.
“He said, ‘You have nothing to be sorry about.’”
Jane said she knows that many people are scamming welfare and she personally knows of cases of refugees and recent immigrants who have expensive homes in their home country or who apply for welfare immediately upon arrival in Canada and have also visited Dr. Wong.
But for her, Jane said the extra money is the difference between an apartment and a homeless shelter.
Dr. Wong said he also knows of frontline social service workers who have sent recipients to him to get the special diet form filled out.
“Some of the social workers have sent people to me because a lot of these workers are very good people and they realize that these people are not getting through with whatever benefits they have and they know I am not opposed to these forms.”
“I would say that some of these social workers find it difficult to sit in an office and see someone cry that they have no food and no home. They see these people that need help and they are happy to send them to me.”
But Kevin Sack, a spokesperson for the city, said he had never heard of frontline social services workers directing applicants to go visit Dr. Wong for this reason and he did not believe this actually happened.
“I don’t think that is the case,” he said. “Our staff is very well trained,” he noted, adding that they know this is not permitted.
“We have never heard of such an allegation.”
The special dietary allowance program gives assistance recipients extra money for healthy food if they have medical conditions, such as $75 for HIV/AIDS or $20 for extreme obesity.
But the program came under fire when Ontario’s Auditor General concluded in a report released earlier this week that a campaign by “advocacy groups critical of Ontario Works allowance amounts” had caused spending on special dietary allowances to balloon by 12 times what it cost nine years ago, from $5 million in 2002−03 to $67 million in 2008−09.
Part of that campaign has been an effort to get doctors in Ontario to approve special dietary allowances to boost assistance amounts even when no medical condition exists.
But Dr. Roland Wong, who is accused of filling out forms so people on social assistance could get extra money for dietary ailments they did not have, defends his actions as an effort to address the widespread health problems associated with poverty. He adds that city welfare workers even sent some recipients to see him so he could sign the forms.
Dr. Wong is now facing a disciplinary hearing from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario and could lose his medical licence for checking off ailments on “special dietary allowance” forms so assistance recipients could get extra money without confirming they had those ailments.
Dr. Wong points out that the province gutted social assistance under former premier Mike Harris who cut spending on many government programs in efforts to reduce the deficit.
“I really don’t know what’s going to happen. When you do things, you try to do what needs to be done, in this case to help some of the marginalized people,” said Dr. Wong when asked about the prospect of losing his licence.
Dr. Wong said poverty remains a top determinant of health and for some people on assistance a cheque of $500 leaves only $100 for the month after rent is paid.
“A person like that is rather desperate.”
Many others share Dr. Wong’s views and the Epoch Times heard from one person on assistance that it was the two intake workers at a social services office who first told her about Dr. Wong and encouraged her to see him.
“Last year in October my husband went on vacation and didn’t come back. He took the rent money out of the bank on his way out,” said the woman, who asked that her name not be printed for fear she would lose her social assistance.
“I am trying to finish my degree while working part time—a good plan when there is a working man in the picture. When he left everything fell apart.”
The woman, whom we will call Jane, went to social services when she was almost months behind in her rent. Her intake worker explained that she could get $1,000 a month, said Jane, who pays $1,350 for rent for a three-bedroom apartment for herself and her three children. Jane was making $900 a month at her job, but would only be able to keep $200 of that when on assistance.
At this point Jane said her intake worker went aside and spoke to another intake worker. After leaving the room briefly they returned with the special diet form and Dr. Wong’s number.
“I said I didn’t think I could pretend to have illnesses—my kids and I were pretty healthy. She said, ‘My God, think of your children.’ She knew what was ahead better than I did. I didn’t go to Dr. Wong though. I went to my family doctor. We talked about it and he filled out the forms for me after I showed him what welfare plus work added up to. He ticked a bunch of boxes on each form.”
That was a year ago. Last week Jane returned to get the form filled in for this year. Humiliated at the situation, Jane said she apologized to the doctor for asking him to do this again.
“He said, ‘You have nothing to be sorry about.’”
Jane said she knows that many people are scamming welfare and she personally knows of cases of refugees and recent immigrants who have expensive homes in their home country or who apply for welfare immediately upon arrival in Canada and have also visited Dr. Wong.
But for her, Jane said the extra money is the difference between an apartment and a homeless shelter.
Dr. Wong said he also knows of frontline social service workers who have sent recipients to him to get the special diet form filled out.
“Some of the social workers have sent people to me because a lot of these workers are very good people and they realize that these people are not getting through with whatever benefits they have and they know I am not opposed to these forms.”
“I would say that some of these social workers find it difficult to sit in an office and see someone cry that they have no food and no home. They see these people that need help and they are happy to send them to me.”
But Kevin Sack, a spokesperson for the city, said he had never heard of frontline social services workers directing applicants to go visit Dr. Wong for this reason and he did not believe this actually happened.
“I don’t think that is the case,” he said. “Our staff is very well trained,” he noted, adding that they know this is not permitted.
“We have never heard of such an allegation.”
The special dietary allowance program gives assistance recipients extra money for healthy food if they have medical conditions, such as $75 for HIV/AIDS or $20 for extreme obesity.
But the program came under fire when Ontario’s Auditor General concluded in a report released earlier this week that a campaign by “advocacy groups critical of Ontario Works allowance amounts” had caused spending on special dietary allowances to balloon by 12 times what it cost nine years ago, from $5 million in 2002−03 to $67 million in 2008−09.
Part of that campaign has been an effort to get doctors in Ontario to approve special dietary allowances to boost assistance amounts even when no medical condition exists.
