Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. At this time I’m going to recognize the clock. We had not planned to sit beyond two o’clock. I let Mr. Dolynny conclude his general comments. We’ll resume with general comments on this document when we come back on Monday. I’d like to thank Minister Miltenberger and his staff for their attendance here today and wish them a happy weekend. Colleagues, I’m going to now rise and report progress.

Thank you, Minister Miltenberger. Does committee agree?

Thank you. Now we’ll turn to page 37, total infrastructure investments, Health and Social Services, $60.477 million.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Dolynny.

Thank you. Opening remarks, Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you. We will commence with that after a brief break.

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I’d like to call Committee of a Whole to order today. What is the wish of the committee, Ms. Bisaro?

I would further just like to ask the Minister, then, if he would ensure that there is consistency across the health authorities going forward and some mechanism that would remind patients or families of the need that if they want the information to be made available that they have to grant that authority or that approval in some form, maybe attached to the admission form, or some way, so that we don’t end up in the situation where someone is wanting to find out about something, which they rightfully probably should know and their parent or their loved one may want them to know.

Can we make sure...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The question I have today is for the Minister of Health and Social Services, and it may seem like a small issue, but it’s a very important issue when a family is in crisis and a loved one is in the care of a health care facility.

So, I’d like to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services if he is aware of a policy that would guide a health care professional or a person in administration when answering an inquiry about the condition of a patient. Let me give you an example. I recently had a constituent who was in the hospital who was nearing end of life, and her son...

Implementing too much discretionary latitude can also be a slippery slope, as we know. But surely we, as a government, committed to our goals and stated priorities, could find a way to expeditiously deal with these situations that arise. I know it sounds like the job of an ombudsman, but for now it remains the domain of MLAs advocating for constituents and Ministers and their staff using their time to consider these things on a case-by-case basis sometimes with positive outcomes, but often with unnecessary stress to everyone concerned. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.