Mr. Jack Penner (Emerson): Madam Speaker, throughout history, Manitoba's health auxiliaries have played an important role in our communities. They raise funds to help purchase valuable medical supplies such as stretchers and oxygen equipment and to support handivan services. They visit with patients in hospitals and nursing homes, offer their support and brighten their days. Health auxiliaries also raise funds to provide bursaries and scholarships for students studying in the medical field.
I want to congratulate today Marge Friesen of Altona and the countless other volunteers responsible for writing a history of the Manitoba Health Auxiliaries Association 1946--
Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh.
Madam Speaker: Order, please. I am experiencing great difficulty hearing the honourable member for Emerson, and members' statements are a very important part of routine proceedings. Could I please ask those members having meetings to do so quietly in the loge or outside the Chamber.
Mr. Penner: --to 1996, which recently rolled off the presses at Friesens Yearbook Division in Altona. The provincial health auxiliary association was first organized in 1946 as the Manitoba Association of Women's Hospital Aides.
With the group's 50th anniversary approaching in 1996, it was decided a history book would be a fitting tribute to the organization's years of community service. The organization's history was compiled under the direction of Marge Friesen, herself an auxiliary volunteer and past president of the provincial hospitals auxiliary executive. Marj Heinrichs of Rosenort wrote the history. It was typeset by Ruth Kroeker of Altona and edited by Anne Kroeker of Altona.
Currently, Manitoba has 64 health auxiliaries, made up of some 5,000 volunteers who donate thousands of hours of their time annually to this valuable organization. Volunteers are an integral part of Manitoba society. These people undertake the projects, large and small, that make an important difference in people's lives. I commend all those who have worked tirelessly for Manitoba's hospital auxiliaries and those dedicated to the efforts to promote health and wellness within our communities.
Mr. Gerard Jennissen (Flin Flon): The shortsighted cuts to health care by this provincial government have been documented in a recent report released by Manitoba nurses. In every category except one the worst problems existed in northern Manitoba. Eighty-five percent of northern nurses reported that their time on patient care had decreased while their time on paperwork had increased. Ninety percent of northern nurses reported that their workload had increased since 1995, while continuity of care had decreased as had the number of nurses providing direct patient care.
The shortages of nurses, doctors and other medical staff in northern Manitoba are well documented. I am pleased that we were able to work out a solution to the doctor situation at Snow Lake, but for many other communities, such as Leaf Rapids, Lynn Lake, Flin Flon and Pukatawagan, the situation remains serious.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the Minister of Health (Mr. Praznik) chose to duck two recent public forums. The constant attempts by the Filmon government to pretend that their cuts and their broken promises have nothing to do with problems in health care fool no one, certainly no one in northern Manitoba. The cuts to northern health care have ignored the greater acuity of cases in the North. Serious diseases such as diabetes are at epidemic levels in many communities. It is deeply disturbing that diseases that Canadians thought they had eradicated decades ago, such as tuberculosis, are making a big comeback at the Black Sturgeon and Pukatawagan Bands.
Some Honourable Members: Oh, oh.
Madam Speaker: Order, please. I am experiencing difficulty hearing the honourable member for Flin Flon.
Mr. Jennissen: Urgent action is required to deal with this situation. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Mr. David Faurschou (Portage la Prairie): I rise today to make note to all members of this Assembly, as well as to all Manitobans, of an important issue, that being organ donation. Organ tissue donation is a very important issue, not only to myself but all those Canadians in Canada who are awaiting organ transplant. Currently, more than 2,800 Canadians are in a life-threatening position and may indeed not survive to the time that they have for receipt of their organ transplant.
Yesterday many members of this Assembly wore green ribbons in recognition of National Organ Donation Discussion Day. The meaning behind discussion day is one that is very simple, that being to encourage all Manitobans, indeed all Canadians, to take a moment to discuss with their family members the important issue of organ and tissue donation. Family members need to talk about what they would like in their passing. It is important that their death may be the life for others. Having this brief discussion could save families the anxiety of making an on-the-spot decision. Furthermore, comfort comes from the knowledge that something positive may come of their death, and through their family's wishes this could take place. While many of us have taken the time to sign the backs of our drivers' licences, many more opportunities must take place for those who do not have a driver's licence to discuss this most important issue. Time is critically important to those on the waiting list for these surgical procedures. I encourage all Manitobans to take that time to discuss the issue of organ and tissue donation.
Thank you, Madam Speaker, for this opportunity.
Mr. Dave Chomiak (Kildonan): Madam Speaker, this is Holocaust Awareness Week around the world. The holocaust was the planned destruction of an entire people, and for this reason it is important to remember and mourn the six million Jews who were killed as a result of this. In common with Jews and all people around the world, our Jewish community will be mourning and honouring the memory of these more than six million Jewish men, women and children who perished in ghettos, concentration camps, and gas chambers in those days of the Nazi nightmare. A total of 11 million innocent noncombatant civilians were killed by the Nazis, but the largest group by far was comprised of the six million Jewish victims who were directly targeted because they were Jewish and represented fully a third of the Jewish population of the world.
Madam Speaker, as has been quoted before in this House by many members, including the Premier (Mr. Filmon), the renowned author and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel points out not all victims of the holocaust were Jews but all Jews were victims. Many of us will attend the ceremonies tomorrow at the holocaust memorial at the Legislature and many of us participate in the activities. Some of us had the opportunity to participate in the ceremony last week with the renaming of the street, which is an annual event, and we had the opportunity to again hear of another terrible facet of the holocaust which was the kinder transports that took place. We had the opportunity this week to view a film and to hear a speaker talk about that previously unrecognized chapter of the holocaust history.
We need never forget; we should remember every day, particularly this year, the 50th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel, and I urge all members who, I am sure, do acknowledge and recognize and never forget that it is fitting that we all recognize the history of the holocaust and never forget. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Inkster): Madam Speaker, I just wanted to take this opportunity to comment very briefly on the interim report that was released today from the Manitoba Water Commission. It is almost a year ago today where the flood--and I am quoting right from the commission's report--where it in essence turned the Red River Valley into a lake covering 1,000 square miles of water or 640,000 square acres. Winnipeg was indeed somewhat fortunate. It is estimated that the floodway saved the city residents and taxpayers and so forth somewhere between $3.5 billion to $4 billion.
But there were a couple of points which I just very briefly wished to make comment on. One of them is the recommendation in terms of this report where it talks about the need to have a dedicated or additional dedicated staff for the forecasting, should we be put into a situation of a similar nature. It also makes the recommendation that we should work more co-operatively and consider even having a staffperson. Again, given a particular situation, a staffperson would then go down stateside to participate in their forecasting in hopes that we would then be better prepared.
I make reference to the monies that were saved as a result of the floodway. One of the things that I would like to see, and the report makes reference to it, is that there needs to be more of a sense of fairness in the sense of other municipalities, individuals that live just down river to the floodway in having some sort of input as to when the gates should be raised, the levels and so forth.
With those few words, I appreciate the opportunity, Madam Speaker.
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