Glen Abernethy

Thank you, Mr. Bromley. Minister Lee.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. For clarity, Mr. Hawkins.

Ms. Meade.

With that, we’ll take a short break and come back with the Tabled Document 133-16(5).

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Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to just follow up on my colleague’s questions just after the Minister of Health and Social Services. I would like to thank the Minister for her previous responses as well. To be sustainable, any Midwifery Program needs to have at least two midwives, otherwise the workload would be just too over-consuming. In order to determine the capacity in a business case, whether or not a Midwifery Program is feasible in a community, we need to understand the number of births or the number of pregnancies in a community. Has the department begun the process or have we in the...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of Committee of the Whole be concurred with. Mahsi.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions are for the Minister of Health and Social Services.

Could the Minister in cooperation with the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, please provide the complete statistics on admission and graduation rates for the Aurora College Nursing Program from 1999 to present?

Please identify the affirmative action status of these students and graduates by year.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think ultimately we both want the same things. I agree with what the Minister is saying. We need to have services available for people in communities because midwifery does not only provide birthing services, they also provide pre- and postnatal care. What I am concerned about is maximizing dollars. If we have a community that only has three or four pregnancies a year, it does not justify midwifery services. I want the Minister to provide me with some of the data on what justifies, what level of pregnancies justifies a business case which does involve money and it...

Mr. Speaker, that information is incredibly important in building a business case. I look forward to seeing the information.

I am curious if the Minister can confirm for us whether or not that data is being utilized to help determine what is a reasonable number of births to justify a midwifery service in a community. If she does, can she tell me how many pregnancies in a community justify the business case scenario for midwives in a community? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.