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Oral
Questions
May 13, 2009
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| In the House | Question
Period
MS
JONES:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, earlier in
the session the Minister of Finance stated that
government was concerned about the nursing shortage and
the ability to recruit nurses and the ability to retain
nurses in the Province, and that was why they went
outside of the monetary template that had been in place.
This morning, the Premier stated that if nurses are
legislated back to work they will lose any additional
monetary offers that were put on the table to address
recruitment and retention, and instead get the same
template as everyone else.
I ask the Premier, today:
Why are you threatening to
remove these monetary benefits?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, in the last week over 300 people have lost
their jobs in Mount Pearl – is that correct? A call
centre is going to be closed. In the last three or four
months 700, 800 people have lost their jobs in Central
Newfoundland and Labrador. People have been laid off in
Labrador West, Wabush and Lab City. Hundreds of
thousands of Canadians across this country have lost
their jobs, auto workers and others, and we offered the
nurses in the Province a raise of 31 per cent. A
significant raise. What do we get for that?
Last night, any of us who
happened to watch the news would have seen the president
of the nurses’ union make a statement that basically
said that her action was going to place significant
pressure on the health care system. Even more than a
regular strike. Then with a smirk on her face, she stood
up and she said: I can’t wait to see how they are
going to handle it.
So that is the gratitude
and that is the thanks that this government gets for
trying to be generous to nurses, to try and resolve
their problems, to try and deal with their issues. That
is all I did this morning, was told them that basically,
if she wants to go to court, which is what she set out
to do right from that, then here is what we are going to
do if she goes that route.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, it is unfortunate, because it seems it is
attitude on both sides that is standing in the way of
getting a resolution on this issue.
Mr. Speaker, if
government is truly concerned about recruitment and
retention of nurses –
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
MS JONES: -
which they have indicated many times, then monetary
benefits would remain a part of any future settlement
that is negotiated or legislated.
I ask the Premier, today:
Is this tactic, is this
threatening move towards nurses only to punish them and
to try and force them back into the hospitals in this
Province?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, some seventeen months ago we started to
negotiate with nurses because we felt it was important.
We felt their issues were important and we wanted to
deal with them. It became very obvious to us after a
period of time that there was an agenda in place here.
It was a national agenda, and the national union in
conjunction with the president of the nurses’ union
here wanted to go to court. It was all about getting a
matter before the courts so that they could test whether
binding arbitration was enforceable or not.
That has been the plan.
That has gone on for seventeen months. Every time we
stepped up, every time we asked to negotiate, they had
another reason. They did some work-to-rule, they talked
about not defrosting refrigerators, they went through it
all. So we then stepped up and we put a very, very good
offer on the table. Now we find that, despite all that,
it is a cake and eat it too situation. We want to
cherry-pick this; we want to take what you have here; we
also are objecting to this. So as a result, we want to
go to court. She does want to go to court.
All I was saying this
morning is that if she does want to go to court, and she
will get her wish at the end of the day, then if she
goes to court and at the end of the matter the court
orders an arbitration, well, then the arbitrator will
deal with it. But, our primary concern here is patient
safety and patient health. If she says that she is going
to jeopardize and place greater pressure on a health
care system that the Opposition are already saying is in
some difficulty and it is under great pressure, then we
are telling her what the consequences of her actions
will be. Because if we have no other choice and we have
to legislate them back, well that is in the interests of
patients’ safety.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
But, there is only one
party in this Province who can stop the nurses from
going to court and that is the government. Mr. Speaker,
that is the government.
Right now Omnifacts
Research is indicating that 86 per cent of the people in
Newfoundland and Labrador support this government going
to binding arbitration on these two issues. So Premier, nurses
do not have to get their wish to have their day in
court. You can stop that today by going to binding
arbitration, settling these two issues and keeping the
hospital rooms in this Province open. Are you prepared
to do it?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, as I see it, in this matter we have two primary
responsibilities. The main responsibility is the health,
the welfare and the safety of the patients in this
Province, the people of this Province, with respect to
their health care system. That is our primary duty. The
secondary responsibility, we also have responsibility
for the Treasury of Newfoundland and Labrador and we
cannot allow groups in this Province to hold us to
ransom, to try and blackmail us, to try and extort funds
from us on the basis of they are going to basically
jeopardize the health care system.
If that was the
rationale, if nurses came in and asked for 100 per cent
wage increases, then based on your thinking and your
logical reasoning, according to yourself, then we should
give it to them; because we should not allow the health
care system to be in jeopardy and we could end the
strike.
What we have said to the
nurses here is, if you go this course, and if patient
safety and health is in jeopardy, we would have no other
alternative than to legislate back. That is not what we
want to do. When we legislate back then they will go to
court, which is what they want to do, and by 2013, after
they go through that court process, then they will get a
decision and it would go to binding arbitration. I will
be here in this office then, and I will write the cheque
out humbly and willingly.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The reality is that the
two issues that are outstanding are not monetary issues.
They have no implications on the budget of the
government, so there is no reason to have legislated
nurses, there is no reason to have court action, there
is a way to resolve this and it is through independent
arbitration.
I ask the Premier: Why
are you prepared to sacrifice the long-term stability of
our health care system by withdrawing the very monetary
package today that would have given long-term stability
to the nursing profession in this Province?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, this government has no intention on trying to
jeopardize the health care system in this Province. The
leader of the nurses’ union last night said that it
was her goal, it was her action - it was her course of
action - that she was going to put added pressure on the
health care system which we all know is under some
stress. That is her goal and she laughs about it. It is
a game to Ms Forward, and we are not into playing games
here. We are not playing games with the lives of the
people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
When it comes to these
other issues, these are big issues. They are issues that
were acceptable to over 30,000 other public employees in
the Province and they should be acceptable to the
nurses. From our perspective, we have put a package
before them. It was a very, very good package. It was a
very generous package, and it was intended to address
the recruitment and retention issues that they brought
forward before us.
If, in fact, we legislate
back there will be no steps for first-year nurses, there
will no steps for mature nurses, there will be no shift
differential increases, there will be no standby
increases, and there will be no educational leave
increases. We will offer nurses exactly what we offered
the other 30,000 public employees.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
In making that offer, the
Premier also knows that we will not be fixing any of the
problems that we have existing in the nursing profession
in the Province today. The only reason they went outside
of the template that they had with other unions was
recognition of the problems that are there.
Mr. Speaker, nurses have
already given their seven-day notice. If
they want to launch a full-scale picket line strike in
the Province, do they have to give a further seven days
notice in order to do that?
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Premier.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr.
Speaker, they are on strike. They have indicated that
they are prepared to go on strike. They have called it a
strike, so there is no doubt in our mind that it is a
strike. Whether they have to give another notice, that
is a legal matter and their counsel can advise them on
that. It would be my understanding that they would have
to give a second notice, but they can take legal advice
on that.
What the government will
do is, we will honour their wishes with respect to the
fact that if they want to go out and they want to have
an overtime strike then we will deal with the overtime
strike as it goes on. As that gets more and more
advanced and that places pressure on the system, then
because it is a strike we can and we will invoke the
essential services contract and then we will move into
an essential services situation. That will go on for a
period of time until there is a point where we feel that
patients are in some jeopardy, or their safety and
health is being jeopardized, and at that point we will
have no other alternative, as a government, than to
legislate the nurses back to work, and that is exactly
what we will do. That is not a threat; that is a
guarantee.
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The government has known
for quite some time the story of a little boy named
Lucas, from Grand Falls-Windsor, who has health issues,
some of which the family indicates were caused by
Eastern Health’s negligence. Lucas is currently in
need of consistent occupational and physiotherapy
services which his parents have been fighting for, for
some time. He has missed over fifty hours of
physiotherapy due to cancellations from the providers,
and there are continuing problems with inconsistency.
I ask the minister today:
Why are the rehabilitative
services in the Central Region not providing for the
services that children like Lucas require?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, I said in the House many times in the past, it
is impossible for me to speak to the individual
circumstance of individual patients without breaching
some confidence, but I can tell the members of the
House, and the member opposite, that in Central
Newfoundland there are two streams of programming,
really. Central Health itself has a stream of programs
and they provide rehabilitation services to the people
who live in that part of Newfoundland and Labrador. In
addition to that, as part of a provincial program
offered by the Janeway, there is a specialized team of
people, with physios and OTs involved, providing some
specialized intervention for children with very specific
and complex needs in their rehabilitation program.
That is the program area
that there have been some challenges with staffing in
the last little while because of some resignations and
maternity leave. I understand that there has been a
discussion between Central Health and the Janeway with
respect to the kind of continuity that can be provided
to services for the individual that the member opposite
is questioning, and I am hoping that can be resolved in
the very near future.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, Lucas also has a serious heart condition and he
is scheduled to undergo his third life-saving heart
surgery in just nine short weeks. His cardiologist says
that he needs intensive full-time therapy to get him on
his feet before this surgery, and the life planner that
was hired by Eastern Health has recommended that an
advance of funds be issued to support the intensive
physiotherapy that he needs.
I ask the minister today:
Is the health care system in
this Province going to respond to the needs of this
child based on the recommendations of these authorities
within our medical field?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, the individual in question, and other residents
of the Province, can take full advantage of the programs
and service that we offer with respect to clinical
services but also with respect to programs through our
department or through HRLE that may be available to
provide financial assistance to individuals as they need
to access medical services. That service will be
available to this individual that you are raising the
question around today, together with other people of
Newfoundland and Labrador.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
For the past ten months
these physio and occupational therapy services have not
been available in the Grand Falls-Windsor area, and this
family has required them.
I ask the minister: Is
there a process in place in this Province where families
like this, who are being referred by specialists in the
field, is there a program whereby they can access that
service at some other location and have the financial
costs incurred by government or some other authority?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: As
I have said a moment ago, Mr. Speaker, there are two
programs: one that is administered by the Department of
Health and Community Services through the Medical
Assistance Transportation Program. There are also
programs through the Department of HRLE to assist
individuals who are experiencing some significant
financial challenges as they access health services, and
those programs will be available to the family in
question here as well.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
This family has been
dealing with medical issues around their child for a
number of years. They have actually written the
minister, they have written other members of government
with regard to this issue, and they have simply caused
themselves tremendous financial hardship in trying to
seek medical services for their child in Newfoundland
and Labrador.
I ask the minister: Is
it possible that you could consider some kind of a
relief for this family so that at least they can
relocate temporarily and access the services they need
for their child in the next few months, so that this
child can get the surgery that they so desperately
require?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: I
feel somewhat awkward on the floor of the House of
Assembly and in a very public way, discussing the
circumstance of any individual family in Newfoundland
and Labrador, or the patients who receive health
services, but I can - and I want to assure members of
the House and the members of the public that there are
programs, as I have said a moment ago, through our
Department of Health and Community Services, together
with HRL&E, and I encourage this family and others
who need financial support, need some assistance in
accessing health services, through one of our four
regional health authorities or through one of the
offices of the Department of HRL&E, to make the
necessary contact and provide the necessary information
so that the individuals involved can assess their
circumstance and offer the kinds of services that we
have available.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Yesterday, I questioned
the Minister of Justice relating to house arrest as a
sentencing option. We understand that house arrest and
the bracelet program are monitored by probation
officers. I further understand that we have, according
to the Department of Justice, statistics this year,
thirty-two probation officers in the Province, one of
whom covers off the Central region.
I ask the minister: Can
you confirm that that one probation officer, who is
responsible for the Central region, has more than 120
cases on his workload, which is two to three times
higher than the acceptable caseload?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. T. MARSHALL: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
We have about thirty-five
correctional officers in the Province of Newfoundland
and Labrador. In addition to that, there is the
assistant probation officer program, in which
individuals in various communities are contracted to
assist our probation officers in providing probation
services. I understand, at the present time, there are
six to eight of those individuals. I understand that the
caseload for these thirty-five probation officers is in
the range of 1,800-2,000.
As for the particular
probation officer in the Central region, I am not aware
of that situation but I will be happy to look into it.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
We understand that in the
past several years there have been numerous
representations made to the Department of Justice to
have the number of probation officers increased, but
this request has been denied.
I ask the minister: With
the obvious shortage that exists to monitor such
programs as house arrest, why is your department
refusing to fund those positions?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear.
MR. T. MARSHALL: Mr.
Speaker, I have had the honour and the privilege to
serve this Province as Minister of Justice for three
years, and recently another six months. I cannot recall,
quite frankly, of all the requests for the need for new
resources within government, within the Department of
Justice, when we spend another $20 million in justice
this year, of the priorities, I cannot recall a request
from probation.
One of the things I did
do today, we had a discussion. I spoke to some of my
officials. My officials indicated to me that we are
satisfied that the conditional sentences are being well
supervised, but we will do a check. Our officials will
take a review to see if additional resources are needed,
and if they are, then that will go forward as part of
the Budget process in the normal manner.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. KELVIN PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The government prides
itself on having made improvements in the justice
system. We acknowledge as well the money has been put
into the justice system in the past number of years by
this government, particularly when it comes to police
officers, for example, and the number of RNC officers
that we have. However, on the backend, which involves
the monitoring of convicted criminals, the resources, I
would suggest, are far from acceptable.
Minister, we have had, in
recent incidents in this Province, where people have
actually died as a result of individuals who have not
been properly monitored while they are on house arrest.
I ask you again,
minister: Are you prepared to
address the situation immediately?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. T. MARSHALL: Mr.
Speaker, the hon. member raised this yesterday in
Question Period. I have taken a look at what he said and
I do not agree with the premise of his question. He
talked about individuals convicted or facing judicial
charges and he referred to a particular case which, it
would be inappropriate for me as Attorney General to
discuss that particular case, and I would suggest the
hon. member may wish to check his facts in this
particular situation.
Mr. Speaker, we found
when we took office in 2003 the Department of Justice
has, as they put it, many challenges. We have dealt with
police. We have put additional officers, not only in
police but also into Crown Attorneys. We have put major
investments into legal aid. We are now putting $6
million this year into corrections.
Mr. Speaker, the budget
has been increased - since 2003 the budget for Justice
has increased by over $140 million. I take my
responsibilities very carefully, very seriously, and I
will continue to do so.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Mr.
Speaker, I guess from the ministerial statement now the
pendulum is going to swing from one end to the other.
On April 29, the
Department of Environment and Conservation issued a news
release stating that the launch of the Newfoundland and
Labrador Provincial Parks Camp Site Reservation System
would be delayed in certain parts due to technical
difficulties. Our office received several calls from
citizens who discovered that a number of sites had been
booked on reservation sites in La Manche Park before the
scheduled opening.
I ask the minister: Why
were some citizens able to jump the gun on the
reservation dates and why is your department honouring
these reservations?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. JACKMAN: Mr.
Speaker, I am not aware of the situation that the member
speaks about and I will certainly check into it.
I can tell you one thing,
Mr. Speaker, as a result of an investment two years ago,
we have a much more efficient system that is up and
operating. People are availing of it and it has been
very successful. Mr. Speaker, we have invested in our
park strategy to the tune of $4 million. It is paying
off well and the residents of the Province are very much
appreciative of it, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Port de Grave.
MR. BUTLER: Mr.
Speaker, every year our office receives a great deal of
negative feedback from the online reservation system.
That is, at best, confusing to the average person and
places people with computers and credit cards at an
unfair advantage. Speaking to telephone agents all the
way from Quebec, by the way, we learn that all sites are
typically booked up within the first fifteen minutes
after the online reservation system opens.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
MR. BUTLER: I
ask the minister: Are there any
sites in our provincial parks that can be booked without
using computers? And if not, what measures are to be
taken by your department to ensure that seniors in our
Province can have an opportunity to camp in our own
local parks?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. JACKMAN: Maybe,
Mr. Speaker, negativity breeds negativity.
I will tell you one
thing, Mr. Speaker, every resident of this Province has
equal opportunity to access this site. This is an online
system and it is a fair and equitable system, Mr.
Speaker. We are receiving comments from it, very
positive, Mr. Speaker, and I expect we will continue to
do so.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask members for their
co-operation.
The hon. the Leader of
the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Lobster harvesters are
going to tie up their boats for four days starting
tomorrow. The current price is just making it too
difficult to make ends meet and now it is just about
getting enough to receive EI for most of these
fishermen.
I ask the minister: What
is your immediate plan to assist lobster fishermen at
this time, or is there a plan right now?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. HEDDERSON: Mr.
Speaker, obviously of late there has been a dramatic
decrease in the price for lobster, and lobster
fishermen, like other fisher people, are certainly
having some great difficulties in plying their trade and
selling their lobsters this particular year.
We have been monitoring
it closely, and have been involved in discussions. As a
matter of fact, my information tells me - and I am not
exactly sure yet, and it has not been confirmed, but
there is an emergency meeting tomorrow of the ministers
in Moncton, I believe. I am just awaiting confirmation
of that and, of course, I will be sitting on that,
bringing forward the concerns of the lobster people in
this Province, and trying to ensure that everything has
been done to address their particular problem.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I am pleased to hear
that. I have heard, actually, Peter MacKay, the federal
representative, talk about the federal government may
have some form of relief program for lobster harvesters.
I do not know if they have
indicated anything to you so far, Minister, as to what
that program could look like, or if there will be any
kind of financial reward in it for the fishermen
themselves.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. HEDDERSON: Mr.
Speaker, I think the key word is that Minister MacKay
said they may, and I do not go on mays, even though it
is the month of May, because we have made requests to
the federal government, and the fisher people off our
coast who are blocked in with ice for the last number of
months have been asking for assistance, so I go into
this meeting with some reservations and some
expectations that they may do something. That is as much
as I will say right now, but I do hope that there will
be some relief.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Actually, it brings me to
my next question, one we posed a couple of weeks ago,
and that is that there are a number of areas along the
Northeast Coast of Newfoundland that are blocked with
ice and have been since the first of April. In fact, on
the Baie Verte Peninsula, I understand, from talking to
communities down there, there is a tremendous amount of
ice and these people are unable to fish, and they have
no income. Most Canadians have gotten an EI extension in
this country, for up to five weeks this spring, except
fisher people.
I ask
the minister if there have been any further discussions
with the federal government around extending EI to
fishermen in this part of the country this year as a
result of the ice conditions.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. HEDDERSON: I
say to the hon. member that I join with her in making
sure that we continue to put pressure on our federal
government to address that particular situation. As I
have already alluded to, there has been tremendous
pressure through, I guess, our government, through the
various individuals, from the union, to bring about some
resolve to that. That has been ongoing, it is obvious;
it has not been done.
As I said to you, we will
continue to pressure the federal government to move in
the direction that they should, to address that
particular situation.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi
Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, this morning
the Minister of the new Department of Child, Youth and
Family Services released the important Clinical Services
Review final report. Mr. Speaker, the report says that
are significant improvements needed in case planning and
documentation, social worker contact, policies and
standards, and risk management.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
MS MICHAEL:
I know that the minister believes this is an extremely
important report - she said so this morning – but the
report is dated December 2008. I am wondering if the
minister could tell the House why it took the government
five months to release this very important work.
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The hon. the Minister of
Child, Youth and Family Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS BURKE: Mr.
Speaker, what we released this morning was the Clinical
Services Review completed by Susan Abell, a consultant
from Toronto, and someone very well respected in the
area of child protection and social work.
Mr. Speaker, this report
was requested, I think, in the spring of 2008, and
completed during the spring and summer months of 2008,
and the final report was received by the Department of
Health and Community Services in December 2008.
The department had that
report. It was certainly used as a planning document for
government in order to look at what resources, what may
be needed to address the needs of the children in
Newfoundland and Labrador.
Once I became minister of
this department I had the opportunity to review the
report, which obviously was just in recent weeks. It was
my intention, as soon as we reviewed it, to put it out
public so that people could see what review we had, why
we had decided to set up a new department, and what work
is before us, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi
Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the report
specifically points out that social worker contacts with
clients are significantly below what is necessary for
maintaining a clinical relationship to support client
change.
Mr. Speaker, can the
minister tell the House if the $2.8 million in the 2009
Budget for twenty-three new positions will be adequate
for new hires needed to relieve the present heavy
caseloads that will most likely come out of this
process?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS BURKE: Mr.
Speaker, since 2007 there have been 223 new positions
put into the area of Child, Youth and Family Services.
Approximately 200 of those positions have gone into the
regional authorities.
What is important to note
here is, despite the fact that there are problems with
almost every area that was looked at in the clinical
review, it is not necessarily because of workload. One
of the issues that is also noted in this report is that
there is no appropriate way to do a workload analysis.
So, despite throwing more and more resources into the
system, and more workers, it is also an issue that we
have not been able, up to this point, to determine how
many social workers we need or what skill mix we need,
and how many people should be on a particular caseload.
When we looked at this
report, and we have accepted the report, one thing that
we are committed to doing is completing an appropriate
workload analysis which will guide us and be able to
inform us as to how many resources we actually need to
deliver this service in the Province.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
The time allotted for
questions and answers has expired. |
