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Oral
Questions
May 27, 2008
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| In the House | Question
Period
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the
government opposite continuously states that it is one
of the most open, most transparent and accountable
governments in the Province’s history. However, its
actions say something entirely different.
Yesterday, we received
two pieces of legislation related to the Energy
Corporation. In our initial review, these proposed
amendments will make this corporation one of the most
secretive organizational structures within government,
above the Access to Information Act, outside of the
standard auditing provisions and not subject to the laws
that now govern other departments of government.
I ask the Premier: Why
would you be bringing forward such draconian legislation
in this House of Assembly for debate, especially in the
last days of the session?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we have
talked proudly about our resources in this Province and
how we want to develop them in the best interests of the
people of the Province. We have talked about the
establishment of our Energy Corporation, who will manage
all of our equity and oil and gas and other resource
developments here in the Province. The oil and gas, the
energy company, Mr. Speaker, is a hybrid. It needs to
function in the real world of business but at the same
time it has to be accountable to the people of the
Province. What we are doing in this legislation is
giving the Energy Corporation the tools to be able to do
that effectively.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, if the minister thinks it is in the best
interests of the public to shut them out of their own
Energy Corporation and not allow them to be divulged any
information whatsoever, well I guess her definition of
public interest is much different than mine. Mr.
Speaker, we will have a chance to debate the legislation
and I can guarantee the minister that it will receive
full vetting from the Opposition in the House of
Assembly.
Mr. Speaker, I
ask the Premier today, if he will give his commitment
today that they will not invoke closure before a full
and open debate occurs on Bill 35 and 36, and also that
there is public consultation held with regard to those
pieces of legislation?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
We would not expect any
less from the Opposition. That is their job to question
this legislation and make sure that there is a high
level of accountability. That is why you have an
Opposition, because even though we have a very good
government here it is always important to ask questions.
We are not going to invoke closure, Mr. Speaker. I have
invited members of the Opposition to a technical
briefing tomorrow morning. I have offered, or in the
process of offering to the media a technical briefing
tomorrow morning. We are prepared to discuss the bill.
We have delayed having second reading here today to give
them time to prepare, and we will stay here as long as
it takes, Mr. Speaker. We are proud of what we are
trying to achieve here.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Maybe
the minister can tell me if they are prepared to go for
public consultation regarding this legislation, as
well?.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Natural Resources.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS DUNDERDALE: Mr.
Speaker, we are going to have a full and open debate
here in this House of Assembly. We have been very clear,
right from the beginning, in terms of our Blue Book,
what we were doing in terms of resource development and
how we were going to handle government owned equity and
government owned resources in this Province. This is the
appropriate place for that discussion, Mr. Speaker, and
that is where it is going to happen.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
In the recent Budget,
government added two new drugs to the formula to benefit
those who suffer from kidney cancer. One of the drugs,
Nexavar, is also being prescribed to patients in the
Province who suffer from rare liver cancer. Prescribing
of the drug to these patients - I think there are less
than ten of them in the Province - was a last ditch
effort in terms of treatment. However, the drug costs
approximately $6,000 per month and those particular
patients are not covered.
I ask the minister: Will
you commit today to broaden the coverage so that these
people who suffer with other forms of cancer, outside of
those that you have prescribed it for with kidney
cancer, can also avail of the drugs at an affordable
rate?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, the drug that the member opposite is referring
to: Nexavar - I guess is the pronunciation - was
included in this year’s Budget. It is now being
prescribed for people in the Province who are suffering
from a form of cancer.
One of the things that I
have said in this House before, I described the process
for having prescription drugs covered under our
Prescription Drug Program, all of these drugs as they
enter the market, after they have gone through their
experimental phase and approval by Health Canada, they
are evaluated by a national panel. These are people who
represent all of the jurisdictions across the country,
expect Quebec, and participate in a joint process to
evaluate drugs before they go on any provincial
formulary. That particular joint committee has not yet
reviewed this particular medication for liver cancer.
MR. SPEAKER: I
ask the hon. minister to conclude his answer.
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
It is in the process of
being done now and when that evaluation is concluded,
they make recommendations to all jurisdictions in the
country and we await their recommendation to us, Mr.
Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The minister will know
that Nexavar is already funded for primary liver cancer
on patient-by-patient cases in certain provinces in
Canada already. I say to you, Minister, I understand the
process and how a review works but these patients
desperately need medications and they need them today.
I have to ask you again,
sir: What are you prepared to
do, immediately, to ensure that these individuals - some
of them will run out of medications within the next
three weeks. What will you do to ensure that they will
not have to go without this drug that is a lifesaving
drug for them?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
As I understand,
individuals in the Province today who may be taking this
particular medication were taking it as a part of the
experimental process. As I understand it as well, the
review itself, the review that I just mentioned earlier
is underway as we speak and we await the recommendations
of that review. I think it is irresponsible of us to
start adding drugs to our formulary without a
recommendation that has come from an already
well-structured group of experts in the field to do this
kind of evaluation. As I said earlier, they do it for
every single province in the entire country, with the
exception of Quebec.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
These people need the
drugs immediately, minister. I cannot stress that
enough. At a cost of $6,000 per month it is not
affordable to them and I ask that you look at a rapid
review process. Look at what has been done in British
Columbia, look at what has been done in Quebec, where
patients who suffer from those same diseases in those
provinces today have access to the drug.
Will
you not do that and ensure that they have the
medications, immediately?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
As I said a moment ago,
Mr. Speaker, the mechanism that we have as a Province to
evaluate any drug for its
appropriateness and appropriate treatment for any
disorder is through a national review process, I say,
Mr. Speaker.
In this Province,
ourselves, we do not have such a stand-alone committee.
We have participated in this process now since - I think
it was March, 2007, this program was established to look
at all drugs, all prescription drugs that will treat any
form of cancer, I say, Mr. Speaker.
This particular committee
will make the recommendations to this Province, as they
will with other jurisdictions, and when we get that
recommendation we will make a decision at that point.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The minister knows that
provinces do add drugs and expand drug programs without
the full review process that is done on a national
level. With this drug, it has been already added in
British Columbia and in Quebec on a patient-by-patient
basis.
Again, minister: Will
you not act immediately to ensure that these individuals
out there today, who I do not want to name here in the
House of Assembly but will tell you are running out of
medications and they need to have it immediately, will
you not act today to ensure that the program is
broadened to accommodate those less than ten patients?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, it would be completely irresponsible for me, as
a minister, to act independently without having the
evidence, without having the recommendations from a
group of experts who are commissioned to actually do
this evaluation. When they have provided their expert
opinion, I will be in a position to make an informed
decision. I do not have the capacity as a minister to
make that kind of clinical judgement, that clinical
decision, and we do not have the capacity in our own
Province to take those kinds of evaluations, and that is
why we participate in the process. So, when the
committee -
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh,
oh!
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
MR. WISEMAN: When
the committee in question makes a recommendation that
they provide to others, I will be in a position to make
a decision, Mr. Speaker. If that happens in the next few
days, I will be in a position to make that. If it does
not happen for a couple of weeks, I will not be in a
position until that happens.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
There are currently
nearly 300 people on a waitlist in this Province to see
a urologist. It takes several months before many of
these patients will be seen and the wait-lists
themselves are exceeding government’s own benchmark
standards that they have put in place.
I ask you, minister: What
is government doing to ensure that patients in
Newfoundland and Labrador are going to be seen by a
urologist and seen in a timely manner?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the issue of
urology service in the Province; unfortunately, Eastern
Health had a urologist lined up to join the practice
here in St. John’s in September of this year and the
urology practice here would have been happy with that
additional individual coming to join their practice. In
fact, Eastern Health had made arrangements to provide
the additional clinic space, to provide the additional
OR time so that individual could practice. Just very
recently, in the matter of the last recent days, that
individual has advised Eastern Health that he will not
be coming in September. In fact, he is going to continue
his education for another year.
The original plan, Mr.
Speaker, was to have this individual join in September
of this year. I think it was next year, another
individual was joining. They had two people lined up,
one this year, one next year, coming out of the
fellowship program. So they had not been aggressively
recruiting, I say, Mr. Speaker, because of that. Now
with this recent announcement, they have now much more
aggressively approached the recruitment and will
continue to try to find additional urologists.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
As the wait-list
continues to grow for patients in this Province who need
the treatment of a urologist, I ask the minister: What
is government looking at as an interim or immediate
solution? Are you looking at referring patients out of
the Province? If so, where will they be referred and at
what cost will that be to the taxpayer?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, just so I can conclude my earlier comments.
Western Health has just recently been able to recruit
another urologist as well. So that individual will be
arriving in Corner Brook soon, as I understand it.
In the interim, though,
Mr. Speaker, Eastern Health is trying to make
arrangements with other jurisdictions to be able to take
patients on an urgent basis who need that kind of
intervention by an urologist.
With respect to the cost,
Mr. Speaker, one of the things that – we have always
approached this in a very simple fashion. If the people
of Newfoundland and Labrador need access to health
services - like last year, for example, when we needed
to have people go out for radiation treatment - we
identified the need, we identified the location for
those individuals to travel, and we have covered the
cost of that. The same thing will happen here, Mr.
Speaker. We will identify locations for those
individuals to get the service, and when they do that we
will cover the cost.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Mr.
Speaker, we know that there is almost a 60 per cent
vacancy rate for urologists in the Province of
Newfoundland and Labrador. The minister talked about one
physician being recruited in the Western Health
Authority, Mr. Speaker, or possibly being recruited, but
I have to say, Minister, you have been aware of these
problems going back to October 2006. You have had ample
opportunity to deal with it.
I ask you again today: What
are you going to do to increase the recruitment drive to
ensure that we can attain more urologists in this
Province, at least a better percentage than 40 per cent
of our workload?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Let
me repeat what I just said a moment ago, Mr. Speaker.
Eastern Health had been successful, as they thought, in
recruiting two new urologists: one to arrive this year,
one to arrive next year.
The one that was planning
to arrive in September would have made a major
difference to the current wait list and would have been
a major asset to those who are currently in that
practice, I say, Mr. Speaker.
That fell off the rails
the last couple of days, so they have now turned their
heads to very aggressively trying to recruit another
individual. They have engaged some recruiting agencies
to give them a hand with that process, I say, Mr.
Speaker, but in the interim they are making arrangements
with some other jurisdictions to be able to take some
patients for us so they will not have to endure that
unwieldy wait list that they are referring to, and we
will be able to provide timely access to the people of
Newfoundland and Labrador who need that service.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we know that
in other provinces in Atlantic Canada the wait list is
less than six weeks to see an urologist. In Newfoundland
and Labrador that wait list is extending by a number of
months. Now, Mr. Speaker, the minister has set
benchmarks in this Province for wait lists in terms of
how long a person should have to wait before they can
get treatment.
I ask you, Minister: What
is the point in having benchmarks set within our health
care system if you are not going to provide the
resources to be able to meet those needs?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: The
benchmarks that the member opposite refers to is a
series of services that each province in the country has
agreed to start monitoring the wait times, establish
benchmarks for receiving those services.
I say, Mr. Speaker,
within those defined services we are well within the
national average with respect to our wait time. There
may be services like urology which are not a part of
that benchmark process, Mr. Speaker, but they may, in
fact, on occasion, like today – there may be some long
wait lists for that.
We recognize that, Mr.
Speaker, and we are doing two things, as I said a moment
ago: firstly, making sure that individuals of this
Province have timely access to the service, and we are
working with other jurisdictions to be able to help us
with that. Secondly is the issue of the recruitment, Mr.
Speaker, and we have now engaged some recruiting
agencies to give Eastern Health a hand with that
recruitment process. Hopefully, they will enjoy some
success in the very near future, Mr. Speaker.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
On February 5, a letter
was written on behalf of all the CEOs of the health
boards to the Department of Health and Community
Services expressing strong and unanimous support to
implement legislation to licence midwifery as a
self-regulated profession in the Province of
Newfoundland and Labrador.
I ask the minister today:
Have you responded to that
request, and what were your recommendations?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: In
order for any profession to practice in Newfoundland and
Labrador they need to be regulated. One of the things
that we do not have in this Province is the necessary
legislation to govern midwifery practice.
One of the things that I
have said in response to the discussion we had in this
House recently with respect to laboratory technologists,
another profession who do not have any regulations
governing them, I have indicated publicly, as well as in
this House, that it is our intention to look at umbrella
legislation to cover off a variety of health disciplines
and I hope to be in a position to move that agenda
forward some time this fall; but, until we have the
legislative regime in place, we will not be having
midwifery practice here until such a legislative and
regulatory framework gets established.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The minister will know
that we are one of only two provinces in the country
that do not have this legislation in place. He would
also know that there is a push for it right across the
Province by those who work in the profession and also
outside the country. We have proven that it works,
because it is provided in the Labrador Region at this
present time.
I ask the minister: In
bringing forward legislation on this in the fall, will
they also be looking at providing for the funding and
the addition of the positions within the health care
sector?
MR. SPEAKER:
The hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: With
respect to resourcing, whether it is midwives or whether
it is laboratory technologists or physicians and nurses,
Mr. Speaker, we will continue to do, as we have in the
last four and a half, five years, we will continue to
resource our four regional health authorities to ensure
they have the fiscal capacity to be able to recruit the
necessary human resources they need to deliver the
programs and services that they have been mandated to do
on behalf of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Leader of the Opposition.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MS JONES: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The financial benefits of
midwifes is evident in the lower number of C-Sections
required when a woman is cared for by a midwife. This
would also fill the service gaps that have been left by
the shortage of obstetricians in the Province.
I ask the minister: has
your department reviewed the cost benefit analysis of
legislating midwifes as health care professionals, and
adding them as a mandatory service to our health
corporations?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: The
last time there was a review done on that particular
issue, it was done by a former colleague of yours when
you were in government, Joan Marie Aylward. I think she
deferred making that decision until such time as your
government was ready to turn your heads to it. We have
done just that and recognized that we need to create the
legislative framework to have it put in place.
As I said earlier, it is
our intention to try to move forward with that kind of
umbrella legislation to deal not just with midwifes but
a variety of disciplines that are not yet regulated in
our Province. It is our intent to provide umbrella
legislation to be able to do that. When we have that in
place, Mr. Speaker, we will be much faster than the
previous administration in providing the necessary
resources to be able to hire the necessary human
resources that we actually need.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
My question is for the
Minister of Business.
Yesterday, the Minister
of Business stated that he would not release any details
relating to Prudential Consulting and the government’s
decision to reject the proposal that would have created
150 jobs in Central Newfoundland. The government of New
Brunswick meanwhile recently approved a similar project,
and in our conversation with officials there they say
Prudential is a well established, credible company in
that province and the project is a good investment.
I ask the Minister of
Business: why is the deal good
for New Brunswick? There is also one in Nova Scotia. Why
are they credible enough to deal with Keyin College in
this Province, for example, and yet their deal wasn’t
good enough for the Department of Business to deal with
here?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Government Services.
MR. O'BRIEN: Mr.
Speaker, as clearly outlined by the Minister of Business
yesterday in regard to releasing sensitive information
with regard to business deals in this Province and going
forward with the due diligence part of that process, it
is incumbent on us to always respect the wishes of the
particular investor. Certainly, because of disclosure
agreements and confidentiality agreements we have to
respect that. We are not in a position at this
particular time, and neither is the Minister of
Business, with releasing any information in regard to
anything pertaining to that business deal with
Prudential.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
It is quite evident that
the minister is unwilling to provide any pertinent
details whatsoever on the file, which potentially saw
150 jobs lost in this Province.
Now, Prudential
Consulting Inc. is well known and established worldwide,
and it provides a range of services.
I ask the minister: Can
you at least tell us what type of service was going to
be provided in this Province by Prudential?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Government Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. O'BRIEN: Certainly,
as was asked, I am not able to provide that information
at this particular time.
The Minister of Business
is out of the Province on business. Certainly, he will
have to review that file in regard to those disclosure
agreements and confidentiality agreements, and
pertaining to those, and what was written in those, and
agreed by the two parties in question, the Government of
Newfoundland and Labrador and the particular business,
Prudential, that we are talking about, that has to be
reviewed before we can release any information, because
we would not want to violate any confidentiality
agreements that may be in place with the Department of
Business.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister of
Government Services is, no doubt, standing in as the
alternate for the Minister of Business, I take it.
Therefore, he is aware of his briefing book and what is
happening in the department; otherwise, he would not be
doing that.
I state for the record
that the Minister of Business, in Estimates meetings
recently, indicated that he had travelled to India
regarding several business files concerning this
Province.
I ask the minister: Was
one of the files that he dealt with, while he was in
India, Prudential Consulting?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Government Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. O'BRIEN: Again,
Mr. Speaker, I would have to take that under advisement
in regard to the confidentiality agreements that are in
place, and have to be reviewed, and see if that
particular information can be released.
Certainly, the minister
did go to India in regard to the pursuit of inward
investment in this Province. It was a worthwhile trip,
connected to a federal delegation as well, as I
understand it, and certainly we will see what happens
with that particular trip by the minister.
Certainly, we envision
inward investment in this Province from various parts of
the world as we grow our economy, and the Department of
Business and the minister is certainly aware of that and
certainly going to pursue it.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Opposition House Leader.
MR. PARSONS: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
We know the Minister of
Business is responsible for attracting new business to
the Province, and the Minister of Innovation, Trade and
Rural Development is responsible for keeping businesses
here in the Province, and encouraging those. Both
ministers have witnessed, in the past couple of days, a
loss of 150 jobs on their watch. As the Minister of
Innovation, Trade and Rural Development knows, Island
Aggregates of Deer Lake just announced 150 layoffs as a
result of the company closing.
I ask the minister: Are
there any current financial arrangements - loans,
investments, whatever - by this company at the present
time with the government?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural
Development.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. TAYLOR:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, it is
unfortunate that Island Aggregates have found themselves
in some financial difficulty, the details of which I am
somewhat familiar with; but, of course, it is a private
enterprise and it is up to them to deal with it.
As to the question of
whether there is any money in Island Aggregates by the
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador: as I am aware,
Mr. Speaker, and I cannot give you the exact figure - I
can get it for the member immediately after Question
Period, and the term, and what it was for; I am certain
that is something I can provide - but I am aware that we
did have a small investment in Island Aggregates going
back some years, the details of which I would be more
than happy to provide to the member after Question
Period.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
My questions today are
for the Minister of Health and Community Services.
Mr. Speaker, at the
Commission of Inquiry over the past couple of months we
have heard testimony from the former CEO, the present
acting CEO, the former vice-president and the current
vice-president, that a major issue they have all faced
is trying to deal with the daily running of the
authority while dealing at the same time with the job of
restructuring.
Mr. Speaker, I ask the
minister: Is this government going to put necessary
financial monies into the health care authorities so
they can put real effort into the ongoing reorganizing
that is clearly an issue?
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I do not know how many
times I can answer that question in a different way.
We are putting $2.3
billion into health care in this Province. Since we have
formed government in 2003 the health budget has
increased by some $700 million a year. Now, Mr. Speaker,
with that kind of financial investment, each and every
year since we have been in government there have been
significant increases in our health investment; in the
last three in particular close to 10 per cent annually.
Major financial
contributions to the four authorities - and those four
authorities are the primary benefactors of that money. I
think in Estimates you will recall that of the $2.3
billion that is being spent, $1.6 billion or $1.7
billion, I think it is, goes directly to the health
authorities to respond to their mandate to provide
services to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
I say, Mr. Speaker, with
that kind of continual annual increase in the investment
we are making in health care, I am not -
MR. SPEAKER: Order,
please!
I ask the hon. minister
to conclude his answer.
MR. WISEMAN: Thank
you, Mr. Speaker.
I will conclude by simply
saying that the transition process that the health
authorities are going through is a very natural process;
they have been able to manage it quite appropriately in
the last two or three years. There are still some
outstanding issues, but they will deal with those in due
course, 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.
I will put it very
clearly, what was said by some of the people I have
referred to already, that they needed staff who were
dedicated to nothing else but reorganizing - not the
daily running, but the reorganizing.
The money that the
minister is speaking about, there is nothing in that
money that is dedicated to allowing teams to be put in
place to have dedicated staff working on reorganizing.
That is what I am asking the minister is he willing to
do.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: Mr.
Speaker, I think if the member opposite were to listen
to the transcript of the inquiry more closely she would
have gotten the full response, which was - I heard
several of them say - in retrospect, in hindsight, had
we known today, or knew then what we know today, we may
have asked for some additional resources; we may have
approached it differently.
Here we are in 2008,
three years after we announced the consolidation of the
authorities in this Province, and some of them have all
but completed the major piece of the transition process
that will occur in bringing organizations together. So
they are sitting in 2008 reflecting on the last two or
three years.
Mr. Speaker, the other
thing that they said, too, which the member opposite did
not say, is that with respect to the ER-PR issue they,
too, would have recognized that had they wanted to
manage that issue they may have now (inaudible).
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Member for the District of Signal Hill-Quidi
Vidi.
MS MICHAEL: Thank
you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I am speaking in the
present. I am not speaking in retrospect. I am speaking
out of conversations that I have had with people in
administration in the health authorities. I am speaking
out of conversations that I have had with those who are
offering the services. They say that still things are
not organized; still, they need to have things put in
place for a clear communication, for a good running of
the agencies, so that all the authorities are running
under the same policies. There is massive work still to
be done.
Will this government
recognize the reorganizing work that needs to be done?
That is all I am asking.
MR. SPEAKER: The
hon. the Minister of Health and Community Services.
SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear,
hear!
MR. WISEMAN: All
I am telling you is that we have invested heavily in
health care in the last three to four years, and we will
continue to do that.
These great conversations
that the member opposite is having with people in the
health authorities – at 10:00 o’clock this morning I
spent an hour with the board chair and the CEO of
Eastern Health. We spoke for an hour on a variety of
things, but not once, not one single word, not one
single question around their need for more money to deal
with transition issues. They talked about a variety of
programming challenges, they talked about their budget
for next year, they talked about some of the things they
want to do in the long term, and they talked about their
vision for the future. All of that, Mr. Speaker, but not
once did either one of them say to me, we need more
money today to deal with the outstanding issues as a
result of transition. Not one comment, Mr. Speaker. |
