Mr. Speaker, our Health and Social Services authorities have been getting heightened profile and press coverage because of cost overruns, and I, too, am concerned. Firstly though, I want to commend all our hard-working staff — the doctors, the nurses and the many health professionals who serve us in our communities throughout the North. I also wish to extend my appreciation to the Deh Cho Health and Social Services Authority in my riding for their due diligence and hard work.
I do also recognize that differences exist and that each authority may have other unique challenges. I’m not intending to pit one authority against another but to point out that we do have successes and I do not wish to paint all our authorities with the same brush.
Mr. Speaker, I am concerned that government has guidelines and procedures and many checklists that should have alarmed us that an organization of ours was facing financial difficulty, yet we’ve done nothing. I have not heard any good answers about how we’re going to help and assist beyond the $17 million bailout option. What message are we giving to our other organizations that are well run? We have to break our cycle of hand-out mentality, and demand accountability.
So, Government, I lend my voice to the need to fully assess what is happening with our authorities and to provide this side of the House with your plan to follow your guidelines and to get our health authorities back on track.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
