Petition on Air Ambulance Inaccurately Presented by Opposition in House of Assembly

The Honourable John Hickey, Minister of Labrador Affairs, today corrected information regarding a petition that was inaccurately presented by the Leader of the Opposition Yvonne Jones in the House of Assembly on December 15 regarding air ambulance services. The issue was raised on a point of order by Minister Hickey in the House of Assembly today.

�Earlier today I received a letter from an individual, Tracey Best, who had forwarded a petition to Ms. Jones, seeking to establish a medevac response team and aircraft in Labrador, and asked that it be presented in the House of Assembly,� said Minister Hickey. �The letter outlines Ms. Best�s disappointment about the petition that was presented in the House by Ms. Jones since the petition that was presented was not the petition that was forwarded to Ms. Jones and signed by 3,000 people in Labrador. Ms. Best asked that I clarify this matter for the record, which I agreed to do on behalf of her and the residents of Labrador.�

Ms. Jones presented a petition to the House of Assembly on December 15, 2009. The petition presented by Ms. Jones called on the House of Assembly to �support and strengthen the provincial air ambulance program based in St. John�s and St. Anthony to provide reliable air ambulance services and timely access for residents of Labrador.�

However, the petition forwarded to Ms. Jones by Ms. Best for presentation to the House of Assembly, and signed by 3,000 residents of Labrador, called on the provincial government to �establish a medevac response team and aircraft in Labrador.� The original petition did not seek to have the current air ambulance program in St. John�s and St. Anthony �upgraded� or �more efficient� as presented by Ms. Jones.

�It is irresponsible for the Leader of the Opposition to inaccurately present a petition presented to her by a resident of this province concerning the province�s health care system,� said the Honourable Jerome Kennedy, Minister of Health and Community Services. �I have met with town councils and residents of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador City and Wabush, and two families with concerns about the air ambulance system, including Ms. Best. I have committed to reviewing the current system. Residents of Labrador have requested, through this petition, to the Opposition and to our government, that an air ambulance be stationed in Labrador. It is unfortunate that their petition, which outlines a very serious situation, was falsely presented by the Opposition.�

The Opposition issued a news release on December 15 which stated: �the Opposition leader also presented a petition on behalf of 3,000 concerned citizens who are requesting a strengthened air ambulance program to deal more effectively with emergencies in Labrador.� The news release goes on to state that Ms. Jones �recommended that one solution would be to add a trauma team in St. Anthony to help boost the air ambulance response time.�

An additional news release issued by the Opposition on December 16 stated: �The air ambulance service in St. Anthony must be enhanced to ensure a strong and reliable service for the people of the province.� The release further states that Marshall Dean, MHA for the Straits-White Bay North, �met with the CEO of Labrador-Grenfell Health to formally request a trauma team for the St. Anthony air ambulance operation.�

�It appears that Ms. Jones and Mr. Dean are more concerned about enhancing the current air ambulance system in St. Anthony rather than providing air ambulance services in Labrador,� said Minister Hickey. �Not only did Ms. Jones inaccurately present a petition in the House of Assembly on behalf of the residents of Labrador, but she reiterated her comments in the House of Assembly and in news releases issued to the media.�

�Our government is committed to providing quality health care services for all regions of the province,� Minister Kennedy added. �I committed to the residents of Labrador to review the current air ambulance system, including the number of transfers by region and response times, to ensure that the service was best responding to needs. I want to reassure the residents of Labrador that we are aware of the concerns and that the review of the current air ambulance program will be completed as soon as possible.�

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2009 12 17                                4:50 p.m.