Government insensitive to relocated Air Ambulance staff says MHA Dean    

Marshall Dean, MHA for The District of the Straits-White Bay North, says the sudden uprooting by government of air ambulance staff and relocating them to Happy Valley-Goose Bay requires a more substantive and compassionate support system than government is currently offering.

Today in the House of Assembly, MHA Dean raised the need for government to be more considerate of these employees and their families who are forced to leave their community after the controversial relocation of the air ambulance program out of St. Anthony.

“While government is providing the basic support of temporary housing assistance for a three month period, this is hardly a sufficient timeframe to undertake such a major relocation,” says Dean.  “This is a significant life change for these employees and government is being less than reasonable and fair, just as they have been in the overall decision to pull the air ambulance service out of St. Anthony without proper consultation, evaluation and justification.”

Dean points out that these people are being forced to move and sell their houses during weakened market conditions in St. Anthony and they fear taking a significant loss of investment or not being able to sell at all. “In Goose Bay they are facing yet another challenging situation; that of buying into a strong housing market where prices are at premium. Government has purchased houses in the past for health care professionals and they should do the same for these employees so they are not negatively impacted.

“In response to my request for extra support and transitional funding, the minister’s comments were less than admirable which is typical of this government who seem to have integrated the principle of retaliation into their public policy handbook. The minister basically stated that because the employees had the audacity to protest the decision, government did not come forward with any greater level of assistance.   In other words, there is a cost to protesting decisions instead of just doing what you're told.

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