Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. Today, I would like to speak about medical travel services with the Department of Health and Social Services. It seems that medical travel is quickly becoming one of the top issues that my constituents have to deal with. I am constantly, almost on a daily basis, hearing from constituents about various issues they have experienced in regard to medical travel. Among the issues I have seen, there seems to be confusion about the filing of paperwork; it is too complicated. The reimbursement of claims taking excessive amounts of time to be returned to residents; and, of course, there is the issue of medical escorts being denied.

I can understand the reasons for a minor waiting period between date of submission of a reimbursement claim and the date the reimbursement is received by the resident. However, there are several cases I have seen within my riding alone where this waiting period is simply too long for some people. I have many constituents who are on a very tight budget and income, as it is in a lot of our small communities, so even the slightest deviation from their regular spending habits can affect them for months on end. Simply put, the long waiting periods for residents to receive their medical travel reimbursements is too long, and in some cases, it is harmful.

I strongly and respectfully urge the Department of Health and Social Services to review this element of their medical travel program, the waiting period, because some of our vulnerable people are once again falling through the cracks.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, I am told by constituents that some of the forms associated with medical travel and medical escorts can be difficult to understand. In other words, the forms are not user-friendly enough and should be simplified a little more and be more accessible for people. It seems like sometimes you will have to sit with a CGA, a certified general accountant, just to get through some of these forms. It should not be that way.

There is one example here. When I was helping one constituent fill out her medical travel paperwork, there was one form that she needed which was not readily available online, and it took the Department of Health several hours to obtain a copy. I think that these types of barriers can be easy fixed by our government and can potentially save time and resources in the future by not having to walk through all the medical travel paperwork with residents as much as we do today. I will have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services later today. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.