Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, this bill, I believe, is very important. The reason why I think it's very important is there's probably not many of you that sat in a room with a child waking up, post-anesthetic, after oral surgery. In my first career coming out of the nursing program, being a frontline nurse on the floor, that was one of my duties, was to -- when we had dental day, was we would try to get as many kids through the operating room as possible to deal with the teeth that are rotting in their head. You know, these are two-year-olds, and sometimes they're back again when they're eight years old for the same procedures on the remaining teeth. There are so many children that are going through oral surgery -- unnecessary oral surgery because of a lack of services in our small communities and our regional centers. And people that are developing these laws and these -- you know, and making sure that this is being done don't live in those communities. So they don't see it. And that is why I feel that they -- we can't wait any longer. We can't wait -- you know, we as a committee, we compromised. We wanted it done now. We want this done now. We wanted it down this Assembly. So we're compromising with, you know, waiting two to three more -- like, another two years. I think that's in the bill, is what we compromised. You know, and I think any one of us on this side of the House if it was said you want to put this in the operating budget to get more money so that we -- so health could get this done, we would say get it done, because it's going to save us money in the long run. It's going to save us from the medical travel that we hear about so much. All these children flying in and then having to go through surgery. Surgery is dangerous. It's not normal. But we've normalized in the territories. This is not okay. This is not acceptable. And we need to do better. And we need to do better for our children. And so that's why I am fully supporting this bill. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Lesa Semmler on Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
In the Legislative Assembly on October 5th, 2023. See this statement in context.
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
October 5th, 2023
Page 6813
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