Skip to main content

The Lifeflight Air Ambulance program should be given an assurance of stability in a government announcement that they will maintain it as a publicly owned and operated service.


Earlier today, I asked in Question Period about the Lifeflight Air Ambulance.   The approach taken by the Pallister Conservatives has created a lot of uncertainty in this critical program.  This has affected the pilots, the doctors and the nurses, and most recently the aircraft maintenance engineers.  I raised my concerns today.   My questions and the government's responses are below.  

Lifeflight Air Ambulance - Public Operation of Service

Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): The government has had many, many months to make up its mind with respect to the RFP to have a non-government operator of the Lifeflight Air Ambulance service.   
      The result has been a lot of uncertainty and disruption. This has already caused uncertainty and problems with respect to pilots, doctors and nurses, resulting in extra costs.
      When will the government restore stability to the Lifeflight Air Ambulance service by indicating that its status will remain as it has been for many years: a first-rate, excellent publicly operated Lifeflight Air Ambulance service?

Hon. Scott Fielding (Minister of Finance): There's a process that's set up, and we want to ensure good value for taxpayers' dollars are accomplished with this. We also want to make sure that good servicing is a part of it. That's all part–this process to make Manitoba a better place.

Madam Speaker: The honourable member for River Heights, on a supplementary question.

Mr. Gerrard: Madam Speaker, the government has added to the instability of the Lifeflight Air Ambulance service. I understand that there is now an urgent need to address not only pilots, doctors and nurses providing service but also the aircraft maintenance engineers as well.
      The government could quickly resolve these issues by announcing that it will keep the Lifeflight Air Ambulance services as a high-quality, public service of which all Manitobans can be proud and that will ensure individuals in need in northern Manitoba can get the service they need.
      Will the government say so today?

Mr. Fielding: There is a process in place. We think it's important to get evidence. We–it's important to understand what costs are and, more importantly, the most important thing, for Manitobans, we want a comprehensive service, a service that's going to support Manitobans. That's what this process is about, and we're going to find out through that process, through the RFP.
      It's laid out; it's comprehensive; and it's open and transparent, something that the NDP government knew nothing about when they were in government.

Madam Speaker: The honourable member for River Heights, on a final supplementary.
Keewatin Air Proposal
Mr. Gerrard: Madam Speaker, numerous compounding factors have contributed to the uncertainty. I understand that Keewatin Air, which may be one of the private sector applicants to take over the Lifeflight Air Ambulance service, had a recent plane crash on April 24th in Gillam.
      Apparently the aircraft left Winnipeg with an insufficient quantity of fuel on-board the medevac flight, as the document I table indicates. This accident is a further reason for uncertainty for people to be part of the medevac team.
      I ask the minister: Is Keewatin Air, or one of its associated companies within the Exchange Income Corporation, involved in any way with a proposal in response to the government's RFP?

Hon. Brian Pallister (Premier): Oh, on the medevac issue, the member is attacking the human beings who were involved in the preparation exercises. These are civil servants he's attacking in his preamble. That investigation's under way, and there shouldn't be an advance finding by the member or anyone else of any wrongdoing or incompetence by civil servants who may or may not have been doing their job effectively or well. So I would urge the member not to presume wrongdoing while investigation of the incident is still under way, Madam Speaker.


The report of the investigation to date says the following:  "Initial data gathered by the TSB indicates that the aircraft departed CYWG with an insufficient quantity of fuel on board for the intended flight." This report is to be found at this link: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20190424-1
It also needs to be clarified that there is no indication at this point that civil servants are in any way involved in any aspect related to the Keewatin Air crash, and it is not clear why the Premier is suggesting I am attacking civil servants. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dougald Lamont speaks at Meth Forum last night to present positive ideas to address the epidemic, while exposing the lack of action by the Pallister Conservatives

Last night at the Notre Dame Recreation Centre in St. Boniface, at an Election Forum on the Meth Crisis in Manitoba, Dougald Lamont spoke eloquently about the severity of the meth epidemic and described the Liberal plan to address it.  The Liberal Plan will make sure that there is a single province-wide phone number for people, or friends of people, who need help dealing with meth to call (as there is in Alberta) and that there will be rapid access to a seamless series of steps - stabilization, detoxification, treatment, extended supportive housing etc so that people with meth addiction can be helped well and effectively and so that they can rebuild their lives.  The Liberal meth plan will be helped by our approach to mental health (putting psychological therapies under medicare), and to poverty (providing better support).  It will also be helped by our vigorous efforts to help young people understand the problems with meth in our education system and to provide alternative positive

Manitoba Liberal accomplishments

  Examples of Manitoba Liberal accomplishments in the last three years Ensured that 2,000 Manitoba fishers were able to earn a living in 2020   (To see the full story click on this link ). Introduced a bill that includes retired teachers on the Pension Investment Board which governs their pension investments. Introduced amendments to ensure school aged children are included in childcare and early childhood education plans moving forward. Called for improvements in the management of the COVID pandemic: ·          We called for attention to personal care homes even before there was a single case in a personal care home. ·            We called for a rapid response team to address outbreaks in personal care homes months before the PCs acted.  ·          We called for a science-based approach to preparing schools to   improve ventilation and humidity long before the PCs acted. Helped hundreds of individuals with issues during the pandemic including those on social assistance

The Indigenous Science Conference in Winnipeg June 14-16

  June 14 to 16, I spent three days at the Turtle Island Indigenous Science Conference.  It was very worthwhile.   Speaker after speaker talked of the benefits of using both western or mainstream science and Indigenous science.  There is much we can learn from both approaches.   With me above is Myrle Ballard, one of the principal organizers of the conference.  Myrle Ballard, from Lake St. Martin in Manitoba, worked closely with Roger Dube a professor emeritus at Rochester Institute of Technology, and many others to make this conference, the first of its kind, a success.  As Roger Dube, Mohawk and Abenaki, a physicist, commented "My feeling is that the fusion of traditional ecological knowledge and Western science methodology should rapidly lead the researchers to much more holistic solutions to problems."   Dr. Myrle Ballard was the first person from her community to get a PhD.  She is currently a professor at the University of Manitoba and the Director of Indigenous Science