Debates of October 30, 2006 (day 18)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to talk about the health care workers at Stanton regarding fairness, a stress-free, and safe working environment. As of late, this weekend I had spoken to a constituent in regards to this important issue; their concern that a staff survey is being done, but want to know if the staff survey is independent. Who’s writing the questions? Are they yes’s and no’s? Are there any interviews being done? Are they really drilling down to what the problems are and are they part of the solution? There are concerns out there, Mr. Speaker, and that needs to be answered. Is the hospital administration running this survey, or is it a complete and fair, open process?

Money may be spent by moving it out of the hospital administration, but I can guarantee the Minister in charge that there will be buy-in. Is there whistle-blower legislation coming forward so workers feel comfortable bringing forward their concerns without pressures that they’re not putting their heads on the chopping block when they bring forward issues? Are there pressures or fairness being done to ensure that worker safety and comfort are there?

We have fairness, Mr. Speaker, in some areas. We have some places you can have 150 hours of overtime where others you’re only allowed to have 100, and that’s being reduced next year down to 75 because of operational requirements. But the fact is, people need to be happy and feel good in their environment. Have we created a two-tier overtime system? We have workers working side by side, shoulder by shoulder.

Mr. Speaker, sometimes you need to do things to make sure everyone is happy. Although reasons will tell us we shouldn’t, we still need to find ways to make them happy. Let’s make it refillable, Mr. Speaker, for at least the shift workers. Have we done things to start off by creating anti-harassment training and legislation to work within our hospitals by both union and non-union, Mr. Speaker? What strides have we made there? Are we pitting friend against friend? Sometimes we forget about that because, at the end of the day, we have to work as a family to build morale and strength within our working environment.

I have to tell you, I hear about people working to exhaustion on their holidays, expected to work overtime. Our health care workers can’t be worked to the bone, Mr. Speaker, because if they’re sick, stressed and burned out, how are they going to care for our loved ones when they have to? We have no one else to turn to. Do we have better solutions out there, such as using agency nurses? They come with a different pay level, Mr. Speaker, but they create different types of pressures.

Mr. Speaker, may I seek unanimous consent at this time to conclude my statement? Thank you.

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Hiring agency nursing, Mr. Speaker, may help with the short-term pressures, but the question is, do we have the right staff levels there in the first place? Fixing the Public Service Act constantly gets raised about finding solutions. I say it’s time we be innovative and lead Canada rather than someone else coming up with a solution. Let’s find a made-in-the-north solution that recognizes seniorities. Sometimes we need to put the rules aside and look for solutions.

Mr. Speaker, I have to tell you a flag has been raised at that hospital. It’s not a crisis flag, but it’s the white flag of stressed workers, Mr. Speaker. Areas such as OB, X-ray, lab, just to name a few, and I don’t have the time to list them all today, but people are being overworked.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, our senior staff are there to help us, but if they’re leaving, where is our mentorship and our experience? If patient safety is priority number one, then we need to make sure that our health care workers are provided the best and most supportive work environment we can. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause