"I have repeatedly asked for a copy of this report, a report that has been given to all west coast Progressive Conservative caucus members, but refused to myself and the Member for Bay of Islands," said Mr. Parsons. "I have recently received a letter from the CEO of the WHCC that states he has been directed not to provide me with a copy of this report. Today the Minister confirmed that she would not give me a copy of this report. What happened to this government’s commitment to release all reports within 30 days? Have they decided to scrap the message of openness and transparency that was contained in the Speech from the Throne a few days ago?

"Minister Marshall seemed very uncomfortable in responding to my questions today. In fact, after watching her body language and hearing her very brief and non-informative answers, I fear that health services on the west coast are going to take a very big hit in the upcoming budget. If this Minister truly wanted to consult and search for options to save money, she would share this report with all MHA’s and community leaders in an attempt to reach an acceptable solution. Instead, it appears the new approach is to unilaterally make decisions without the input of local people.

"This Minister cannot continue to hide behind her department when making decisions. I encourage her to release this report publicly so that the people of the west coast can have a constructive debate and address concerns regarding the recommendations contained in the report. It is only then we can say that this government is living up to their Throne Speech message of openness and accountability. Unfortunately, this government has only used this as a message and has not put it into action. I fear this will be another broken promise of this government and the people of the province will have to suffer."