LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF
Thursday, April 14, 1994
The House met at 1:30 p.m.
PRAYERS
ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS
PRESENTING PETITIONS
Curran Contract Cancellation and
Pharmacare and Home Care Reinstatement
Mr. John Plohman (Dauphin):
Mr. Speaker, I beg to present the petition of Sam Voisey, Sheila Beyko,
Charles Zimmerman and others requesting the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba to
urge the Premier (Mr. Filmon) to personally step in and order the cancellation
of the Connie Curran contract and consider cancelling the recent cuts to the
Pharmacare and Home Care programs.
Curran Contract Cancellation and
Pharmacare and Home Care Reinstatement
Mr. Speaker:
I have reviewed the petition of the honourable member (Ms.
Cerilli). It complies with the
privileges and the practices of the House and complies with the rules. Is it the will of the House to have the
petition read? [agreed]
Mr. Clerk (William Remnant):
The petition of the undersigned citizens of the
WHEREAS
the Manitoba government has repeatedly broken promises to support the
Pharmacare program and has in fact cut benefits and increased deductibles far
above the inflation rate; and
WHEREAS
the Pharmacare program was brought in by the NDP as a preventative program
which keeps people out of costly hospital beds and institutions; and
WHEREAS
rather than cutting benefits and increasing deductibles the provincial government
should be demanding the federal government cancel recent cuts to generic drugs
that occurred under the Drug Patent Act; and
WHEREAS
at the same time
WHEREAS
the
WHEREFORE
your petitioners humbly pray that the Legislative Assembly urge the Premier to
personally step in and order the cancellation of the Connie Curran contract;
and consider cancelling the recent cuts to the Pharmacare and Home Care
programs.
Mr. Speaker:
I have reviewed the petition of the honourable member (Mr.
Schellenberg). It complies with the
privileges and the practices of the House and complies with the rules. Is it the will of the House to have the
petition read?
Some Honourable Members:
Dispense.
Mr. Speaker: Dispense.
The petition of the undersigned
citizens of the
WHEREAS the Manitoba government has
repeatedly broken promises to support the Pharmacare program and has in fact
cut benefits and increased deductibles far above the inflation rate; and
WHEREAS the Pharmacare program was
brought in by the NDP as a preventative program which keeps people out of
costly hospital beds and institutions; and
WHEREAS rather than cutting benefits
and increasing deductibles the provincial government should be demanding the
federal government cancel recent cuts to generic drugs that occurred under the
Drug Patent Act; and
WHEREAS at the same time
WHEREAS the
WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly
pray that the Legislative Assembly urge the Premier to personally step in and
order the cancellation of the Connie Curran contract; and consider cancelling
the recent cuts to the Pharmacare and Home Care programs.
APM Incorporated Remuneration and
Pharmacare and Home Care Reinstatement
Mr. Speaker:
I have reviewed the petition of the honourable member (Mr. Dewar). It complies with the privileges and the
practices of the House and complies with the rules. Is it the will of the House to have the
petition read?
Some Honourable Members:
Dispense.
Mr. Speaker: Dispense.
The petition of the undersigned
citizens of the
WHEREAS the Manitoba government has
repeatedly broken promises to support the Pharmacare program and has in fact
cut benefits and increased deductibles far above the inflation rate; and
WHEREAS the Pharmacare program was
brought in by the NDP as a preventative program which keeps people out of
costly hospital beds and institutions; and
WHEREAS rather than cutting benefits
and increasing deductibles the provincial government should be demanding the
federal government cancel recent cuts to generic drugs that occurred under the
Drug Patent Act; and
WHEREAS at the same time
WHEREAS the
WHEREFORE your petitioners humbly
pray that the Legislative Assembly urge the Premier to personally step in and
order the repayment of the $4 million paid to Connie Curran and her firm APM
Inc. and consider cancelling the recent cuts to the Pharmacare and Home Care
programs.
TABLING OF REPORTS
Hon. Eric Stefanson (Minister of
Finance): Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table the Annual
Report of the Department of Finance for 1992‑93.
Hon. Jim Ernst (Minister of Consumer
and Corporate Affairs): Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to
table the Residential Tenancies Commission Annual Report, 1992.
Introduction of Guests
Mr. Speaker:
Prior to Oral Questions, may I direct the attention of honourable
members to the gallery where we have with us this afternoon from
On behalf of
all honourable members, I would like to welcome you here this afternoon.
* (1335)
ORAL QUESTION PERIOD
Grain Exports
Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Opposition):
Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier.
At
a recent agricultural ministers' meeting the provincial governments were
unanimous in their recommendation to the federal government to hold firm
against the unilateral threats of the
Over
the last 36 hours we have heard various reports of a potential agreement by
I
would like to ask the Premier: Is there
a cap that has been agreed to by the federal government, contrary to the advice
from provinces, and what will that cap be in terms of its impact on producers
in western Canada and in Manitoba?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier):
Mr. Speaker, I am subject to the same news reports as the Leader of the
Opposition has received. All of my colleagues,
particularly the Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Enns) and I, are equally
concerned.
We,
through the Minister of Agriculture, have urged very strongly the federal
minister Mr. Goodale not to give in on the kinds of proposals that the
Americans are making, to absolutely hold firm and to be as tough as
possible. In fact, the Minister of
Agriculture, this morning, after hearing those same reports, wrote a very
strongly worded letter to the federal Minister of Agriculture of which I
believe the final statement is: No deal
is better than a bad deal, Mr. Minister.
Mr. Doer:
Mr. Speaker, I would agree with the Premier that no deal is better than
a bad deal. I think‑‑[interjection]
When the member for
Mr. Speaker: Order, please. The honourable Leader of the official
opposition.
Mr. Doer:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The
provincial ministers of all political stripes have recommended that we not
agree to any deal with the United States, and we not agree to the unilateral
threats, and have suggested that if we cannot reach any kind of agreement on
the existing trade agreements, we look at our own strong stand against the
Americans in terms of their imports into our jurisdictions.
Given
that the Minister of Agriculture seems to have not taken the advice of the
provinces, would the Premier undertake to take this issue to the Prime
Minister? If we cannot succeed with the
federal agricultural minister, would the Premier look at going directly to the
Prime Minister and look at working with his other western Canadian colleagues?
As
the Premier has indicated, we agree, a bad deal is not worth it, Mr. Speaker,
and I would urge the Premier to move this up to the Prime Minister's level
before it is too late.
Mr. Filmon:
Mr. Speaker, as I say, the letter was fired off this morning by our
Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Enns). We
will judge by the response or lack of response that we may get from the federal
government whether or not the matter needs to be taken a step higher, but make
no mistake that we will not hesitate to raise this issue to the Prime Minister
directly, as we did even earlier this year when the Deputy Premier wrote
directly to the Prime Minister about the issue of the grain blockage, work
stoppages on the West Coast that were blocking the movement of grain.
Mr. Doer:
Mr. Speaker, I would ask the Premier:
Has he been in touch with the other western Canadian Premiers dealing
with this issue? Can we have, as we had
in 1991, I believe, a co‑ordinated effort from all three
A
cap on an allegedly Free Trade Agreement is absolutely contrary to what
everybody believed would be the rights of Canadians under that agreement, Mr.
Speaker, and I would ask the Premier, have we utilized the offices of the other
Premiers in this regard?
Mr. Filmon:
Mr. Speaker, as the minister‑‑not the minister‑‑
An Honourable Member:
Hey, give me 35 days.
Mr. Filmon: Not on your life.
Mr.
Speaker, as the member for Concordia has pointed out, this is an issue that the
provincial Ministers of Agriculture have taken a very strong stand on, and the
I
will not hesitate to enlist the support and the participation of my colleague
Premiers should this matter not be resolved to our satisfaction among the
Ministers of Agriculture, Mr. Speaker.
* (1340)
Post‑Secondary Education
Funding
Mr. Jerry Storie (Flin Flon):
Mr. Speaker, my question is to the Premier.
Over
the past couple of days the public has learned that the government, and through
the Minister of Education and Training (Mr. Manness), has shared what the
universities will be allocated in the coming budget. Traditionally, that information has been made
public in January or February of the year so that not only the university
presidents but the students, the staff, the public and the Legislature will be
aware of what allocation and what priority the government places on post‑secondary
education.
Can
the First Minister now tell this House what he has been telling the university
presidents? How many millions of dollars
are going to be cut from university budgets?
How many hundreds of jobs are going to be lost at the universities, or
can he give us some more information on it?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier):
Mr. Speaker, I have not been telling the university presidents
anything. That is a matter for the
member to discuss with the Minister of Education and he will make the information
known, as it has been in the past, in conjunction with the budget.
Mr. Storie:
Mr. Speaker, this raises a matter of privilege. This is not secret budget information or the
Minister of Finance (Mr. Stefanson) would have been obliged to keep it secret,
as is most budget information. This is
public information and the university staff and the students who are going to
be affected by this and the public and this Legislature have a right to know.
Will
the First Minister, now, instruct the Minister of Education and Training to
tell this House and tell the public what budget is being allocated to
universities? How many millions are
being cut? How many hundreds of jobs are
going to be cut again at our universities?
Mr. Filmon:
Mr. Speaker, the kind of fearmongering that the member puts forth is
really inappropriate, and to talk about hundreds of jobs, layoffs, cutbacks and
all those kinds of things is a typical New Democratic smarmy, sleazy trick.
Mr. Storie:
Well, those smarmists, Mr. Speaker, also include the vice‑president
of administration at the University of Manitoba, who said today in an interview
that the layoffs might number 100 or more in various kinds of positions,
perhaps as many as 300 or 400. That is
at one university.
Mr.
Speaker, if that is being smarmy, asking for public information, information
for which there is no excuse for secrecy, which has been made public on every
other occasion, my question is what is the First Minister hiding? What is he hiding from the public? What is he hiding from the students at the
university? Why will he not come
clean? Will he instruct his minister to
do so?
* (1345)
Mr. Filmon:
Mr. Speaker, universities like all groups in society have to live within
their means. Universities have decisions
to make. They have management and
administration, and they have people working for them. Universities have their goals and objectives
that they want to achieve and they do so knowing exactly the constraints that
are on them, constraints that are on every government in
Those
matters are matters that we take seriously.
We do not take them as just simply an opportunity for political cheap
tricks in Question Period. We take our
responsibilities seriously.
The
Minister of Education and Training (Mr. Manness), in conjunction with his
responsibilities as minister, will continue to work with the universities for
the best opportunity that they have to work towards the betterment of the
universities.
Burns Committee Report
Mr. Paul Edwards (Leader of the
Second Opposition): Mr. Speaker, on December 15 of last year, the
mayor of
That
committee had a mandate to report by the end of March. We are two weeks past the end of that
mandate.
My
question today to the Premier is: Can
the Premier indicate what the problem is, if he knows, and if there is no
problem, or what the current timetable for that report coming down and being
made public in this Legislature is currently?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, I can inform the Leader of the
Liberal Party that I have only been told by a representative of the Burns
committee that they will be somewhat delayed in providing us with the
information that we have requested and that it will be brought to us as soon as
it is possible to do so.
Funding Options
Mr. Paul Edwards (Leader of the
Second Opposition): Mr. Speaker, back on September 15, some
months ago, I and our senior federal minister now in
Mr. Speaker,
to my knowledge to date, the Premier has not made a comment on that idea.
I
wonder if in an effort to perhaps help the Burns committee, they seem to be
having some difficulty given that they have not met their original timetable.
Is
the Premier today prepared to indicate whether or not he would look positively
on a suggestion of a community bond issue, spreading the ownership of the team
and raising money other than through taxation initiatives, to recruit private
investment from as large a number of Manitobans as possible?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier):
Mr. Speaker, we have given the mandate to the Burns committee to examine
any and all alternatives, and I know that the Burns committee will have seen
the comments of the Leader of the Liberal Party and the federal minister Mr.
Axworthy on that particular issue.
I
am sure that they will take that into consideration as they review all of the
possible alternatives to come up with the best proposal that they believe is
available to finance the Jets and an arena facility.
Mr. Edwards:
Mr. Speaker, I must add that I think a positive indication from the
Premier that that would be an issue he would be receptive to would be helpful
to that committee.
National Hockey League
Salary Cap
Mr. Paul Edwards (Leader of the
Second Opposition): I conclude by asking the Premier: Finally, based on the statement in the Mauro
report at page 33, that all of this discussion about an arena may be moot if
there is no salary cap in the NHL, and that is in his report, and given that
the Premier has recently met with the chief commissioner, Mr. Bettman, of the
NHL, can he indicate to this House whether or not there is any hope of a salary
cap and perhaps put to rest this whole issue of whether or not we should be
even looking at ways to finance an arena if in fact there is no salary cap?
Does
he agree with Mr. Mauro that in fact that is the first step, and can he give us
any assurance that is at all likely to occur?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier):
Mr. Speaker, I have agreed publicly with Mr. Mauro's assessment and
analysis of the need for a salary cap and/or preferably as well a revenue‑sharing
agreement among the various franchises of the NHL.
Both
of those matters I think are fundamental to the long‑term viability, not
only of a franchise in Winnipeg, but probably at least eight of the smaller
market franchises in the NHL. That is
information, I might say, that is supported by Mr. Bettman and others who are
vitally involved with the league.
In
saying that, Mr. Bettman indicated some hope, but obviously he was not in a
position to give any assurance at the present time.
* (1350)
Grain Exports
U.S. Cap
Mr. Jack Penner (Emerson):
Mr. Speaker, in light of the fact that it is apparent, according to the
article in the Toronto Globe and Mail this morning, that the federal Minister
of Agriculture is willing to sell out the interest of the western Canadian
grain farmers and, it appears, in support of eastern farmers' positions, and it
is apparent that the Americans are continuing, even though we have had
discussions on GATT, NAFTA and other trade agreements, to subsidize exports of
their wheat to the point of lowering their stocks internally and driving up
prices to allow Canadians to ship into the United States at a better price‑‑in
light of all this and in ensuring that the cap that is being discussed now is
going to be higher or lower than what is currently being exported, what is the
Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Enns) doing beyond writing a letter to the
Minister of Agriculture demanding that the agreements that are in place stay in
place in support of the western Canadian farmers?
Hon. Harry Enns (Minister of Agriculture):
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments of the First Minister (Mr.
Filmon) in this regard and really that says it all.
I
do want to just confirm the seriousness of what we are talking about. It is my understanding from grain officials that
we have probably exported more than is currently being considered as the cap in
this year already, which means that if this should proceed, the border would
effectively be sealed off to the Manitoba farmers immediately.
I
might just further add, by circumstance I had in my office at eleven o'clock
the American consul general, regrettably now resident in Calgary. Some of you will recall he used to be
resident in our fair city of Winnipeg and I was able to transmit directly
through the consul general the concerns that the Province of Manitoba has,
indeed the western provinces have on this matter.
Might
I, while on my feet, Mr. Speaker, table the letter that the first minister
referred to that was sent to Mr. Goodale this morning.
Seven Oaks General Hospital
Funding
Mr. Dave Chomiak (Kildonan):
Mr. Speaker, we were told that health care reform was on hold, but the
Connie Curran gravy train continued. We
were told there was a pause, and home care cuts continued. We were told that hospital cuts were on hold,
but there are cuts at St. Boniface and Health Sciences Centre.
Will
the minister confirm that Seven Oaks Hospital has been told to cut $6,298,200
from its budget, which in fact amounts to more than 10 percent?
Hon. James McCrae (Minister of
Health): Mr. Speaker, the honourable member raises a
topic similar to the one raised yesterday by the honourable member for Brandon
East (Mr. Leonard Evans) when he raised questions about Brandon General
Hospital. The executive director of Brandon
General Hospital has very clearly repudiated what the honourable member for
Brandon East has had to say, as I suspect those involved in the delivery of
health services in our hospitals would do to the honourable member for Kildonan
as well.
Mr.
Speaker, the honourable member for Kildonan, his health policy is the status
quo, or perhaps go back to those halcyon days of the '70s and '80s when
government revenues were rising very quickly and very substantially and
government spending on the part of his colleagues of that day was falling well
behind. The honourable member for
Brandon East acknowledged yesterday and made a confession with respect to the
first permanent bed cuts in 1987 being the responsibility of himself and his
colleagues.
Mr.
Speaker, as we look forward to the future and providing quality health care for
Manitobans, hospital administrators will indeed have a role to play as will the
Department of Health.
Mr. Chomiak: Mr. Speaker, I think
that is called ducking the issue.
Bed Closures
Mr. Dave Chomiak (Kildonan):
Will the minister confirm that Seven Oaks Hospital has been given
permission from his department to permanently close 30 surgical beds?
Hon. James McCrae (Minister of
Health): Mr. Speaker, at this point, what we have been
doing with the hospitals is examining multiyear projections and how we can live
within budgets in the future. We are
asking hospitals in Manitoba to provide us with their plans and proposals as to
how they can address the issue of shorter lengths of stay, shorter average
lengths of stay, and how to deal with the increased capacity in our hospitals
and to make those hospitals proper centres of health care so that, combined
with the services we are providing and will be providing in the community, we
can deliver the best product possible to the people of Manitoba.
* (1355)
Funding
Mr. Dave Chomiak (Kildonan):
Mr. Speaker, can the minister confirm that these discussions about
multiyear budgets is really the 10 percent cut to all hospital budgets across
the province, that the minister said in the fall was on hold, and we see at St.
Boniface and Health Sciences Centre, at Brandon and at Seven Oaks now is not on
hold? Can the minister confirm that in
fact those budget cuts are in effect? Is
that not ironic considering the Manitoba Lotteries Corporation is advertising
about all the good money going into our health care system on TV?
Hon. James McCrae (Minister of
Health): What we need to put on hold, Mr. Speaker, is
the useless rhetoric brought into this Chamber and elsewhere by people who are
still living in a time and an era‑‑
Mr. Speaker: Order, please.
Point of Order
Mr. Steve Ashton (Opposition House
Leader): Mr. Speaker, Beauchesne's Citation 417 is very
clear: "Answers to questions should
be as brief as possible, deal with the matter raised and should not provoke
debate."
I
understand that our rules also say that ministers do not have to answer
questions and certainly the minister is putting that rule into practice, but if
he wants to debate and not answer questions we have the throne speech, we have
the budget. I would prefer an answer
instead.
Mr. Speaker:
Order, please. The honourable
member did not have a point of order. I
believe the honourable minister was attempting to answer the question.
* * *
Mr. McCrae:
Mr. Speaker, I did not mean to break any rules or to provoke any
debate. This is a very serious matter
the honourable member raises, but the honourable members are putting forward
the proposition that the only way to proceed is to leave things as they
are. Leaving things as they are will
choke our health care system till we do not have one anymore.
What
I am here to try to build and rebuild is a health care system that we can have
for this generation and so that my kids and yours and the children of the
honourable member for Kildonan (Mr. Chomiak) can have a health care system,
too. It is not good enough to spend it
all now and have nothing for the future.
Forestry Industry
Independent Loggers
Ms. Rosann Wowchuk (Swan River):
Mr. Speaker, people from the Swan River area are hopeful that after six
years of bungling by this government, we are finally seeing jobs in the logging
and the forestry industry increase.
However, people, such as the little loggers, are being shafted as they
were in the Repap deal.
I
want to ask the minister responsible why this government is not responding to
the concerns of little loggers who have established markets and are having
difficulty in getting a wood supply, due to the policies of this government who
first killed the Pennco deal and then gave away the cutting rights under Repap.
Hon. Albert Driedger (Minister of
Natural Resources): Mr. Speaker, I must express a little regret
at the tone of the question here because over the last number of months I have
had the occasion to personally speak with the member who is representing Swan
River as well as the operators from that area, and I have to say that there has
been an increase in the quota holders' allocations for the next two years. We have given the assurance and commitment to
the permit holders that we will be looking after their requirements while we
deal with the bigger picture.
So
I have given that assurance to the member as well as to the operators out
there. Just because the member went out
yesterday together with her Leader and did a bit of an upcharge, I feel a
little disappointed that the context of the question is coming forward this
way.
Ms. Wowchuk:
Mr. Speaker, I recognize that the minister has responded, but he has not
spoken to the loggers. They are wanting
answers. Since, to the existing
independent loggers who run about 18 sawmills and create about 80 jobs, this is
very important, we want assurances that they will continue to operate, that
they will have a wood supply and they will not be shafted like they will in the
Repap deal.
When
will we know that these people will be guaranteed a wood supply and will be
continued to operate alongside the other operation?
* (1400)
Mr. Driedger:
Well, Mr. Speaker, I gave that personal assurance to the member as well
as to the operators when I met with them.
As I said before, we have had an increase in the quota holders, and we
have to make sure we know what we are talking about because we have the quota
allocations which have been there all the time and have been honoured and we
have the permit holders which basically from time to time get a permit.
I
also want to indicate that two years ago there was very little interest in the
poplar and the ash, which basically were considered useless wood till two years
ago. This is basically what the whole
L.P., the Louisiana Pacific deal is about, dealing with the hardwoods which
basically is your poplar wood. I have
given the assurance to the operators that we will deal with them on our permit
basis until the whole issue with Louisiana Pacific is resolved.
I
want to assure the member here, as well as all members, that by the time this
deal is completed, and if it is completed, the operators in Swan River will not
know where to go they will be so busy trying to provide the sources of wood for
the . . . .
Forestry Industry
Treaty Land Entitlements
Ms. Rosann Wowchuk (Swan River):
As long as they have the assurance that they can continue to operate
their sawmills, that is what they are looking for.
Mr.
Speaker, I want to ask the Minister responsible for Native Affairs what steps
he has taken to ensure that the bands in the Swan River area are treated more
fairly than they were in the Repap deal.
Why has this government not met with the bands in the area to deal with
the treaty land entitlements and traditional lands that will be impacted by
this deal?
Hon. Darren Praznik (Minister
responsible for Native Affairs): Mr. Speaker, first
of all, I say to the member we all appreciate the forest fires that she has had
to put out in her own constituency in the last while, and she comes into this
Chamber all of a sudden with a tremendous interest.
I
have to tell her that she makes accusations about the deal regarding Repap that
are not correct, and in terms of treaty land entitlements, those issues are all
in the process of negotiation. I have to
challenge her. Does the member opposite
want to see jobs in her community or not?
Churchill Airport
Emergency Response Services
Mr. Eric Robinson (Rupertsland):
My question is for the honourable First Minister (Mr. Filmon), who is
responsible for federal‑provincial relations.
The
Churchill airport is well known internationally as being a vital airport for
planes that sometimes run into difficulty.
Over the past few years several large planes have been forced to land at
the airport in Churchill. Given the
increase in business due to the reactivation of the rocket range and the
pending initiatives in Churchill, and the recent federal government's plans to
eliminate emergency response services at that airport, will he contact the
federal government and ask them not to cut this very important program?
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier):
Mr. Speaker, I will take that question as notice.
Northern Airports
Funding
Mr. Eric Robinson (Rupertsland):
I want to thank the honourable First Minister for the response.
As
well, I would like to ask the honourable First Minister about a similar
situation with northern airstrips and ask him to ask the minister to put holds
on cuts to northern airports in this province.
Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier):
Mr. Speaker, I will take that question as notice as well.
Northern Airports
Funding
Mr. Eric Robinson (Rupertsland):
Mr. Speaker, I would like to direct my question, and perhaps I will get
an answer from the minister responsible for airports in northern Manitoba.
My
question is: Could the minister table in
the House the complete list of cuts of northern airports such as Berens River,
Gods Lake, St. Theresa Point, the Island Lake area, and the reason for the
cuts?
Hon. Glen Findlay (Minister of
Highways and Transportation): Mr. Speaker, in
terms of maintaining the airports, our initiative is to ensure that the airports
are handled and operated in a safe fashion, and that is the bottom line in
terms of addressing the staff issues with association with those airports.
We
have a bigger issue in the North through the Hudson Bay line, and we work hard
to keep that open to serve the residents of the North. We have represented the residents of the
North in terms of VIA Rail in terms of what the federal government might do.
Mr.
Speaker, I might tell the members opposite that I went to the Hudson Bay Route
Association the other day and the M.P. for the area, one Mr. Elijah Harper, did
not show up.
Some Honourable Members:
Oh, oh.
Mr. Speaker: Order, please.
Education System
Medical Services Report
Ms. Avis Gray (Crescentwood):
Mr. Speaker, with the restraints of resources we have felt in Education
and the reining‑in of some of the home care services, the needs of the
medically fragile children in schools is of a concern to us, to teachers and,
of course, to their parents.
We
were told a year ago that a report with recommendations as to how to deal with
these medically fragile children in the school system would be forthcoming from
this government‑‑a committee of Health, Family Services and
Education.
I would ask the