Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the summer a very interesting and serious concern came forward to my office. It was the issue of emergency medical pick-up of a person who was at a well-known northern lodge. We all have heard about the government preaching for years about how important it is to get active and be active, to ensure that we live healthy lifestyles and stay healthy as long as possible. This occasion was clearly no different than matching one of those wonderful campaigns about being active. However, during this outing a serious respiratory problem became the highlight of the occasion and overtook this fun event, becoming a serious priority of this family.
These types of priorities... I don’t have to lecture this House, as everyone knows when it’s a respiratory issue it can be life or death. So unable to completely gauge the seriousness of this medical emergency, they did what every other normal person would do: they called for help. The call for help went out. To their surprise their call, though heard in the sense of the communication sense, was denied any type of support. The reason being that they are not at a health centre. So they were told to find their own way in for services.
It only seems to reason that not everyone can be sick at a health centre. It only seems to reason that not everyone can be sick or seriously ill in a community that has an ambulance service. So to be clear, the seriousness of the call was heard, but the issue came down to the fact that you were not in a community that had a health centre so you have to figure it out on your own.
After hearing this serious concern, I brought it to our Health Minister, who was actually well versed on this particular situation. Unusual as it is, the policy says you’re on your own.
Today during question period I will have some questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services to ask how you are going to directly change and update the policy. Because, as Northerners, we take great pride in our traditions and lifestyles of being out on the land. This alone says, wait a minute, you may want to rethink that policy. I will have questions later today.
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
