Government failed
again to give birth to midwifery legislation: Opposition
Yvonne Jones,
Opposition Leader and MHA for the District of Cartwright-L’Anse au Clair,
says government has once again failed to deliver on its promise to bring
forward legislation for health professionals including acupuncturists and
midwives.
Jones questioned the
health minister in the House of Assembly today on why government has missed
another opportunity to act on this outstanding matter.
“As an Opposition we
have raised the issue in the House of Assembly for the past several years on
behalf of the association and friends of midwifery who have been advocating
for legislation for many years. In August, we did receive a letter from the
Health and Community Services Minister committing that this legislation
would be introduced in this session,” says Jones. “With the closure of the
Legislature today until Spring, we are all disappointed and frustrated this
Act did not get presented.”
Jones points out
that midwifery is a vital part of our history and culture and it is
currently unregulated in the province. “Most other provinces and
territories already have this legislation. At least five universities
provide an undergraduate midwifery degree and without a regulatory scheme,
there is little incentive for these graduates to practice in our province.
“Many residents of our
province feel there are significant concerns about our health care system,
including a shortage of doctors and lack of smart spending. These
regulations would have helped address some of these concerns and therefore,
this should have been more of a priority of this government. This
administration was keen on having a light legislative agenda which they
certainly achieved. Unfortunately, important issues such as progress in the
field of midwives and acupuncturists have once again been neglected.”
