Enhanced Labrador air ambulance service not in government’s flight plan    

Opposition Leader Yvonne Jones, MHA for Cartwright-L’Anse au Clair, says the Minister of Health’s statements today in the House of Assembly makes it clear that improving air ambulance service for the residents of Labrador is not on government’s radar in the near future.         

Ms. Jones questioned the Minister in the Legislature on his commitment to conduct a review of air ambulance services for the region after meeting with several families impacted by unreliable medevac service out of Labrador.  Following Question Period, the Opposition Leader also presented a petition on behalf of 3,000 concerned citizens who are requesting a strengthened air ambulance program to deal more effectively with emergencies in Labrador.  

“I raised a very serious life-safety issue on behalf of the people of Labrador and I brought forward the names of over 3,000 people on a petition expressing concern about this matter; yet the Minister’s response shows he is more interested in playing politics than in empowering a solution,” says Jones. “We have had too many incidents where residents have had excessive wait times for air ambulance, one up to 24 hours. This is simply not an acceptable level of service.    

“Clearly, there are deficiencies and people’s lives are at risk. While the minister is aware of the concerns and made a commitment to undertake a review, his response today gave no indication that he was serious about carrying out this formal review with the intent of finding solutions.”