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Laurie in Question Period

Alberta Hansard November 5, 2007

Questions asked in the 26th Legislature of Alberta, 3rd Session by Ms. Laurie Blakeman, Alberta Liberal MLA for Edmonton-Centre, Shadow Cabinet Minister for Health and Wellness

Ms Blakeman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Calgarians continue to suffer the consequences of this government’s failure to meet their needs, which is particularly galling given this government’s refusal to collect an additional $ 1 billion to $ 2 billion each year since 2000. Seven urgent surgeries were postponed last week in Calgary because there were no intensive care beds available. My question is to the minister of health. What is the minister doing to address the short-term lack of capacity across the province, especially in Calgary, where surgeries are being cancelled because beds and staff are not available? The south Calgary hospital is not going to help today.

The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Health and Wellness.

Mr. Hancock: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are a number of assumptions in that question which ought to be addressed; first of all, the suggestion of lost billions that keeps coming up over and over from these people. They fail to understand that an increase in the cost to business over that period of time when the prices of oil and gas were low might have had an entirely different effect. So they shouldn’t be just assuming that there are billions of dollars. To the more important question, the question about dealing with the needs of Albertans when it comes to surgeries and the beds being available. There is an issue in this province. There’s an issue of a shortage of people, and we’ve been working very hard in Health with Employment, Immigration and Industry and with Advanced Education to make sure that we have the nursing personnel both being trained here in this province and coming from abroad to work in those places. There’s not a shortage of infrastructure right now; it’s a shortage of people.

Ms Blakeman: Thank you. That’s not short term you’re talking about. To the same minister. A shortage of long-term care beds contributes to backups in hospitals, including longer wait times in the emergency room. With only 2 per cent of the lost billions at least 11 new continuing care facilities could have been built in Edmonton, Smoky Lake, Crowsnest Pass, Taber, Pincher Creek, Coaldale, Lacombe, Wetaskiwin, Bow Island, Bassano, and Hythe. What excuse does the minister have for the province’s shortage of long-term care beds?

The Speaker: The hon. minister.

Mr. Hancock: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The real issue today, as I said in the answer to the last question, is about people. The success of this province is such that the economy has been so strong that it has been difficult to get enough people to fill the jobs to keep those beds open. There are long-term care capacity needs, but the primary concern is not the beds. It’s the health care aides, the personal care aides, to be able to provide the services needed in those areas.

The Speaker: The hon. member.

Ms Blakeman: Thank you. Again to the Minister of Health and Wellness. Mr. Speaker, the $ 6 billion this government failed to collect over the past seven years, minimum, could have paid the salary of over 5,000 doctors a year or 17,000 nurses a year or built new cancer centres in Calgary, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, and Red Deer. Why didn’t the minister lobby his colleagues to collect a fair share of royalties so it could fund these essential health services?

Mr. Hancock: Mr. Speaker, the question of what’s a fair share of royalties is a question of a point in time. When the royalty design that is currently in place was brought in, the price of oil was around $ 11 and the cost of extraction in the oil sands was around $ 17 a barrel. Times change, and our Premier moved immediately upon being elected Premier to call for a royalty review because in the last three to four years the price of oil has now reached the level that it is at. To suggest that there’s a large amount of money out there that could have built a lot of things or paid for a lot of things is absolutely invalid.