This news release is also available in Traditional and Simplified Chinese below.

January 26, 2007

MARKHAM – Health and Long-Term Care Minister George Smitherman today announced the appointment of Toronto lawyer Richard Ling as chair of Cancer Care Ontario (CCO), effective March 14, 2007.

“I’m pleased to announce Richard Ling’s new role as the next chair of Cancer Care Ontario,” Smitherman said. “He has a wealth of community experience, including serving as director of two hospital foundations and a long-term care home, and I look forward to working with him in his new position to support our work to provide Ontarians with greater access to cancer care.

Ling will assume the position of chair of CCO on March 14, 2007, taking on the reins from Mr. Peter Crossgrove who has served CCO and the people of Ontario with distinction.

Cancer Care Ontario is the Ontario government's principal cancer advisor and the provincial agency that steers and coordinates Ontario’s cancer services.

Ling, a lawyer at the Toronto office of Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG), has spent extensive time practising corporate law in China and Canada. Prior to joining BLG, he was a senior partner with Ling and Wong.

Ling currently sits on the Board of Directors for Sunnybrook Hospital Foundation and Powerstream Hydro Inc. In the past, he has been a director of the St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation Board and the Mon Sheong Foundation (Home for Old Aged and Chinese Language Schools). He has also sat on the Board of Directors for Ontario Realty Corporation, Liquor Control Board of Ontario, Sheridan College and the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto.

A graduate of McGill University and a distinguished alumnus of Renison College, University of Waterloo, Ling is a recipient of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and the 125th Anniversary Canadian Confederation Medal.

“It is a privilege for me to support the front line heroes of cancer care in Ontario,” Ling said. “I look forward to working closely with my new colleagues, the health care providers, and the government in waging the war against cancer with all vigor and to advance, improve and further humanize cancer care in this province.”

Today’s announcement is the latest in a series of announcements made by the McGuinty government in its commitment to fight cancer. Other initiatives include :

• Launching Canada’s first province-wide screening program to provide early detection of colorectal cancer
• Reducing radiation treatment wait times since 2003 by 33 per cent, from 6.4 weeks to 4.3 weeks
• Providing more than $356 million in base and one-time funding for cancer drug treatments covered under the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s New Drug Funding Program since 2004-05
• Investing $44.5 million in new or expanded programs at six regional cancer centres (Mississauga, Oshawa, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Sudbury and Thunder Bay).

Today’s initiative is part of the McGuinty government’s plan for innovation in public health care, building a system that delivers on three priorities - keeping Ontarians healthy, reducing wait times and providing better access to doctors and nurses.

For further information :

Members of the general public :
1-866-532-3161

Traditional Chinese

Simplified Chinese

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