Mr. Speaker, since the Minister of health has declined to hear from my constituents about the struggles they face under broken medical travel policies and her continued refusal to grant meaningful exceptions, I will share their experiences with this House.
Last year, a constituent's health crisis left her critically ill with a serious kidney condition. She was quickly medevaced to Edmonton and intubated, yet denied an escort, forcing her husband to cover flights and a week's of accommodation out-of-pocket while she fought to stabilize. After extensive communication with the Minister of medical travel, the family received coverage only for the final days of the emergency as she returned to Yellowknife.
Another constituent had just tragically lost her husband and suddenly found herself a single mother of two children. While grieving and adjusting to this new reality, she had to travel to Edmonton for essential medical care. She asked for her children to accompany her to help ease the situation during this difficult time, but again and again she was denied. No accommodation, no compassion and, worse, she was accused of trying to get medical travel to cover her child care.
Now my office is assisting a family of a young girl who survived a rare eye cancer. Her treatment was in Toronto where she formed a close bond with her doctors. She now needs regular fittings for her prosthetic eye which, as any parent can imagine, is a traumatizing experience. Yet medical travel refuses to send her east anymore, cutting her off from the doctors she trusts. As she grows, she may soon need a new prosthetic but with EHB now income-tested, the family could face thousands of dollars on top of the trauma of struggling with unfamiliar professionals against doctors' advice.
There is a common theme here that all MLAs are too familiar with - trauma, incapacitation, and situations where young children and seniors must endure circumstances they cannot manage alone. This Minister has the power that no other Northerner has, and MLAs, along with their constituents, are calling on her to exercise this power. Stop standing in the way of doctors and families and make health care work for the people who need it most. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Members' statements. Member from Yellowknife North.
