Graduation season for 2022 has come to a close. I was able to attend and present the Tom Lindsey MLA Bursary to several graduating students, including each of the following:
Holly Cook of Brochet and Dreden Bonner of South Indian Lake at the Frontier Collegiate graduation in Cranberry Portage, Heidi Halcrow at Cross Lake’s Mikisew High School, Alexander Muswagon at Helen Betty Osbourne Ininiw Education Resource Centre in Norway House and to Maddy Jones of Hapnot Collegiate in Flin Flon.
Bursaries were forwarded to Hannah Cook at West Lynn Heights High School in Lynn Lake, Aiden Dumas-Bighetty of Sakastew School in Pukatawagan, to Lucas Lussier and Samantha Glenday of Leaf Rapids Education Center in Leaf Rapids and to Paige Bada of Many Faces Education Center in Flin Flon. I regret not being able to attend all of the ceremonies, but with the vastness of the Flin Flon constituency and overlapping dates, I was unable to get to them all.
To all the graduates in the Flin Flon constituency, you had to overcome many obstacles to reach this milestone in your lives. I offer my congratulations on a job well done.
Regarding healthcare, we continue to suffer thanks in part to the incompetence of the PC government. There are fewer services left in Flin Flon thanks to this government’s cuts and failure to increase staffing, which has caused the number of transfers to The Pas to increase.
This has worsened the strain on ambulance services, which means that ambulances are not always available to get patients to the care they need when they need it. In recent months, individuals have had diagnostic treatments cancelled due to the unavailability of transport services between communities in the north. It was unacceptable to cut services that Flin Flon residents rely upon and it’s clear that the PC government didn’t think things through. They cut services, which increased transportation needs, without increasing the number of ambulances or paramedics.
This is extremely short-sighted and negatively impacts patient care – communities should not be left without ambulance services for any length of time. As well, the lack of surgeons throughout the north may now mean that patients will have to be medevaced to The Pas and then on to Thompson for emergency surgery.
These issues must be addressed by this government ASAP. We in the north deserve better.
I hope everyone has a safe, happy and healthy summer. You can reach me by email at [email protected] or by phone at 204-687-3246.
