Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, I hear what the Member says, to keep putting more money in here but, you know, Members keep asking for more stuff we keep needing more money. But no, you know, and I think one of the things that I will say is that, you know, within the department, it is -- there are many things that haven't been budgeted, you know, and they -- I guess for health, knowing in the health authorities, this is all the frontline workers. So when we think about health centres, when we think about, you know, staffing the units, making sure that there's always -- like, it's not a place where you can just close -- the nurse just doesn't show up that day because they're sick or they have a sick kid. There's always areas where we have to make sure that that is filled and overtime over years and years and years has never been budgeted. So that's always been -- you know, and I mean, I had my own system when I was a manager to make sure that we kind of limited how much overtime was happening and making sure that, you know, people weren't working into third weekends and things like that because those things drive up the costs that are not budgeted and that's what's driving up the deficit. The thing when we talk about -- you know, there's more programs, there's new ways of doing things, there's -- everything costs more. Salaries are going up every year and yet trying to expand programming into 33 communities. And it is expensive. So when we talk about how do we -- you know, I work with the leadership council. The budgeting process, you know, things that we are budgeting, making sure that those things are being spent on those things that are budgeted for and that's why when we have things that aren't -- you know, for years and years, if we have O and Ms that aren't being spent, or if we have positions that are vacant that are not -- you know, we have to really, really look at all of those things and say, you know, where do we repurpose this money and so that it's not just being spent into the department and we don't know where it's going. So I think those are the things that we've been working on. I know Minister of Finance has been -- is making sure that I'm making sure that I'm following that. So there is a lot of work, though, that still needs to be done and I have -- I kind of -- my department and finance have been working more together to kind of take more control and see where -- not necessarily control but where the money is being spent and how is it being spent. And the big part is is that there's so many things that we are -- as an insured service that we are to provide and then there's the other things. So those are the things that have been built into our health care system that we provide that have been political, that have been -- over the years that have been, you know, there's no -- you know, we keep saying there's gaps here, there's gaps there. So where do they fit in? They usually end up fitting in in health. And then it's not something that it's in our core job to provide but we end up providing it because if we don't, then there's a gap in service. But those all cost dollars. So thank you, Mr. Chair.
Lesa Semmler on Committee Motion 8-20(1): Tabled Document 93-20(1): Main Estimates 2024-2025, Deferral of Administrative and Support Services - Health and Social Services, Carried
In the Legislative Assembly on May 30th, 2024. See this statement in context.
Committee Motion 8-20(1): Tabled Document 93-20(1): Main Estimates 2024-2025, Deferral of Administrative and Support Services - Health and Social Services, Carried
Consideration In Committee Of The Whole Of Bills And Other Matters
May 31st, 2024
Page 634
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