The Manitoba Legislature Session - Week Seven

The final week in this Legislature session wrapped up on Thursday, with passage of two major Liberal initiatives (Bill 202: The Apology Act and a resolution on the 1914-1920 internment of Ukranians in Canada) and the exposure of the NDP for their cover-up of health care and environmental issues in Manitoba.

1) Health Care:

The Apology Act: The Manitoba Liberal Party Bill 202 - The Apology Act passed in the legislature this week and received royal assent on Thursday November 8. It will become law in 90 days. The Apology Act applies broadly. But, we hope it will have a particular effect in helping to deal better with medical errors. It will allow a health care provider to say "I am sorry" when a medical error occurs without having legal liability. We hope this will be one step in helping to deal more openly with medical errors and to bring a better resolution to patients, families and health care providers when a medical error does occur.

Problems in Orthopedics Exposed. The Minister of Health was forced to backtrack this week, and to admit that her claims in regard all orthopedic wait times only reflect what is happening in Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery. On Monday in response to a question from me in the Legisature, Theresa Oswald, the NDP Minister of Health said: "Mr. Speaker, I'm happy to answer the question, that we can say that the median wait time for all orthopedic surgery for September in 2007 is 25 weeks. We know that that's a reduction of 40 percent in over two years." By Wednesday, the Minister of Health was in full cover-up mode admitting that only Hip and Knee surgery were included in the reported wait times. "when I've been referencing the materials that are posted on our Web site for all Manitobans to see that it's orthopedic surgery for hips and for knees."

Furthermore, the record, even on these is not that good. For example, this last week the wait time for Knee Replacement Surgery was 30 weeks, much longer than the 15-22 weeks from 2000 to 2002.

One of the major issues with orthopedic surgery is that the listed wait times do not include the time it takes after seeing a family physician to see a specialist. As well, elbow, shoulder, spine and ankle surgery wait times are not reported, and yet I understand that the waits for these surgeries are much longer than those for Hips and Knees. Clearly, the NDP were trying to use spin to cover up major shortcomings in orthopedic surgery in Manitoba.

2) The Environment - Lake Winnipeg:

The cover-up and spin on Lake Winnipeg has been just as bad as on orthopedic surgery, if not worse. Several times recently, and most recently on this Tuesday, the NDP Minister of Water Stewardship spoke of her goal to reduce the phosphorous load in Lake Winnipeg by 10%, as an example "We did, in 2003 as part of the Manitoba Water Strategy, say that we would be reducing phosphorus content by 10 percent."

The problem is, as I pointed out to the Minister on Tuesday, that in order to reduce the phosphorous load to pre-1970s numbers, the numbers reported by the Lake Winnipeg Stewardship Board show clearly that "she will need to reduce the phosphorus input from 7,900 tonnes per year down to 3,315 tonnes per year, a reduction of 58 percent." The Minister's numbers are out by a whopping 48%!! After Question Period, the Minister of Water Stewardship was in full retreat, admitting that her own targets were inadequate and that deeper cuts in the phosphorous going into Lake Winnipeg will be needed.

Sadly, in spite of a lot of rhetoric, the Gary Doer NDP have not been able to give us a plan and a timeline with specific targets in order to reduce the phosphorous load in Lake Winnipeg to pre 1970s numbers. We are still waiting. And while the NDP delay, Liberals have been putting forward measure after measure in the Legislature to reduce phosphorous loads, and the NDP have not yet supported any of them - in spite of the fact that Gary Doer at one point did accept that we were right in calling for a switch to phosphorous free automatic dishwasher detergents.

3) Calling for attention and action with respect to the internment of Ukranians in Canada between 1914 to 1920. On Tuesday, together with Kevin Lamoureux, and with help from Yarko Petryshyn in my office, I introduced the following resolution.
"WHEREAS many Manitobans are unaware of the plight of the Ukrainian Canadians who were interned during World War I; and
WHEREAS between 1914 and 1920 Canada witnessed its first internment operation under the War Measures Act, where nearly 9,000 Canadians of Ukrainian origin were systematically arrested and interned in 24 camps throughout the country simply because of their ethnic background; and
WHEREAS some 80,000 Canadian citizens, of which the vast majority were Ukrainian, were forced to register as enemy aliens; and
WHEREAS the internees also suffered significant economic losses which included the confiscation of any wealth they had and the lost earnings as a result of their internment; and
WHEREAS these Canadian citizens suffered from state-sanctioned restrictions on their freedom of speech, movement and association resulting in them being disenfranchised or facing deportation; and
WHEREAS in 2005 under the Liberal government of the Right Honourable Paul Martin, the federal government passed a bill recognizing and promising to rectify the injustice committed against Ukrainian Canadians who were interned from 1914 to 1920.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba acknowledge that the internment, disenfranchisement and related repressive measures taken against Canadians of Ukrainian origin between 1914 and 1920 were unwarranted and unjust and contrary to the principles now adopted and reflected in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba aim to inform Manitobans about this tragic episode in our history and to consider undertaking various commemorative projects that will be complemented with research, cultural, and educational projects and programs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the government of Manitoba consider supporting the Ukrainian Canadian community in developing forward-looking proposals that will help commemorate their historical experience and educate Canadians about their history in order to highlight and commemorate the contributions that the Ukrainian Canadian community has made to Canada; and to promote a cross-cultural understanding and shared sense of Canadian identity; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the provincial government consider similar initiatives in relation to other groups including Italian and German Canadians who were also interned during the First World War."
The NDP did not support it on Tuesday, but decided on Thursday to support it, and so it passed successfully with the support of both other parties. Hopefully, this resolution will be a step forward in healing a long-lingering issue with many Ukranian Canadians.