Discussion · Adjournment Proceedings
Helena Konanz Conservative
“My riding has Canada's oldest population, but our emergency rooms are closing and our local hospital is losing all its neurologists. Meanwhile, thousands of trained doctors in Canada cannot practice because of federal red tape. I want the government to create a program that quickly licenses these doctors so my community can get the care it needs.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to bring a voice to a deep and painful crisis unfolding in the beautiful riding of Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay. The people of my riding are being left worse off by the failure of the Liberal government’s health care policies. According to the latest census figures, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay holds the distinction of having the population with the oldest median age of all 343 ridings in Canada. Our seniors who built this country and paid taxes their entire lives make up the very heart of this riding. However, when they need specialized care the most, they are met with empty hallways, locked doors and a complete system collapse. Just last week, the local medical community in our riding issued a heartbreaking open letter. Because of unworkable and bureaucratic mandates, all three neurologists providing bedside on-call care at the Penticton Regional Hospital tendered their resignation. Let that sink in. Canada’s oldest population, facing higher statistical risks for degenerative neurological disorders, strokes and age-related conditions, will soon have zero local neurologists left to cover bedside care. If a senior in Penticton, Oliver, Osoyoos, Princeton or Keremeos wants a basic checkup because they are deeply concerned about their neurological health, they will now lack a local option. They will be forced to travel hundreds of kilometres while struggling with concerns of degrading neurological health. This is not an isolated case. Across our region, we have watched a concerning wave of ER clinic closures rip through local communities, forcing families to worry about whether they will be able to receive the urgent care they would need in an emergency. This side of the House continues to demand that the government step up for our aging population. We believe that treating seniors with dignity means ensuring that they have direct local access to specialized medical care. How does this relate to federal policy? The Liberals love to shrug their shoulders and say that health care is provincial, but it is federal red tape and a lack of leadership that are choking the pipeline of new doctors. Right now, estimates say there may be as many as 13,000 trained medical doctors throughout Canada who are not practising. They cannot get into a two-year residency position. These are fully qualified, brilliant medical professionals. Many of them are Canadians who studied abroad and want nothing more than to work and to alleviate the pressures on frontline staff. However, they are trapped in the web of red tape, unable to practice, while our rural ERs close and our specialists vanish. Our seniors deserve better than an empty neurology department and closed ER doors. When will the Liberal government commit to a blue seal program to fast-track our 13,000 unaccredited doctors and give the people in my communities the care they desperately need?”
Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to bring a voice to a deep and painful crisis unfolding in the beautiful riding of Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay. The people of my riding are being left worse off by the failure of the Liberal government’s health care policies. According to the latest census figures, Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay holds the distinction of having the population with the oldest median age of all 343 ridings in Canada. Our seniors who built this country and paid taxes their entire lives make up the very heart of this riding. However, when they need specialized care the most, they are met with empty hallways, locked doors and a complete system collapse. Just last week, the local medical community in our riding issued a heartbreaking open letter. Because of unworkable and bureaucratic mandates, all three neurologists providing bedside on-call care at the Penticton Regional Hospital tendered their resignation. Let that sink in. Canada’s oldest population, facing higher statistical risks for degenerative neurological disorders, strokes and age-related conditions, will soon have zero local neurologists left to cover bedside care. If a senior in Penticton, Oliver, Osoyoos, Princeton or Keremeos wants a basic checkup because they are deeply concerned about their neurological health, they will now lack a local option. They will be forced to travel hundreds of kilometres while struggling with concerns of degrading neurological health. This is not an isolated case. Across our region, we have watched a concerning wave of ER clinic closures rip through local communities, forcing families to worry about whether they will be able to receive the urgent care they would need in an emergency. This side of the House continues to demand that the government step up for our aging population. We believe that treating seniors with dignity means ensuring that they have direct local access to specialized medical care. How does this relate to federal policy? The Liberals love to shrug their shoulders and say that health care is provincial, but it is federal red tape and a lack of leadership that are choking the pipeline of new doctors. Right now, estimates say there may be as many as 13,000 trained medical doctors throughout Canada who are not practising. They cannot get into a two-year residency position. These are fully qualified, brilliant medical professionals. Many of them are Canadians who studied abroad and want nothing more than to work and to alleviate the pressures on frontline staff. However, they are trapped in the web of red tape, unable to practice, while our rural ERs close and our specialists vanish. Our seniors deserve better than an empty neurology department and closed ER doors. When will the Liberal government commit to a blue seal program to fast-track our 13,000 unaccredited doctors and give the people in my communities the care they desperately need?