Health care: crowds gather for huge demonstration

The people of Labrador West came out in droves last Tuesday evening to express their frustration with health care and the long delays in constructing a new hospital.

Spokesperson for the organizing committee, Nick McGrath, spoke on behalf of the 700 people who gathered on the proposed site of the new health care facility. The site has been on hold since last fall after over a $1 million in preparatory work has been done.

"It's a million dollar hole in the ground," said McGrath of the cleared land. 'We were promised during an election last fall that in the first part of the construction season, we would see a facility started and we haven't seen it. As a matter of fact, the grass is starting to grow over it."

McGrath said he had confirmation that the hold up on the development is not coming from the Iron Ore Company of Canada, the mining company, he said, simply put information they gathered (through consultants) to government.

McGrath explained what his understanding of what IOC's message to government was.

"What they are sending to government is a clear message that, 'you are in a blasting area and the possibility is there that vibrations will be felt.' Also that they have a mining site behind Smokey Mountain and in five or 10 years that may be developed. If that happened, then the erection of a medical facility will not stop that. That's a message; all the mining company is saying is 'be aware of that'.

McGrath was concise and dignified in his address as he reminded the people government needs to hear a couple of messages out of Lab. West; construction of a new hospital needs to begin immediately and government needs to act on the crisis with the shortage of doctors with the same urgency.

"As everyone knows, a medical facility is useless without doctors to put in it," McGrath told the agreeing crowd. "We will have 25 per cent of our people without a family doctor as early as a month's time and that effects everybody. Family doctors will have to be running the emergency and outpatients client and taking away from their own clinics because those 25 per cent need medical treatment too. We need doctors now. We need a proper health facility now."

The crowd left the proposed site and marched to the Lab. City Arena parking lot - below the Captain William Jackman Memorial Hospital.

Speaking to the crowd

As the crowd waves their signs that read clear demands, a number of people were invited to speak.

The following are excerpts from what the speakers had to say.

Dr. Tom Costello

"I am a long-term resident of Labrador West and I was always proud but tonight I am even more proud to be a member of Labrador West. We have been the type of community that hasn't sat on our behinds, we've never really been complacent, and we've always been giving and supportive. Unfortunately good deed and good behaviours doesn't always work in the real world. Right now at the present time we are behind by two years in the construction of our new health care facility, which undoubtedly we need. That place should be condemned; it's not functional. As a health care member and all the members I work with, we do the best we can. We do a good job but we'd do a better job with the right equipment and facility and more manpower.

Unfortunately there's a little bit too much political bickering. I think it's really important that everybody in this community get involved, ask questions to our government and community members and particularly to our major employer and see what the issues are and hold them responsible as to why this health care facility is not going ahead. We need to keep the focus and we need to keep the pressure on."

MHA Jim Baker

"I see a few signs there, but I'll ignore them. Hopefully we can deal with the facts here and what the situation is particularly with the hospital. First I want to congratulate you for coming out this evening, it's good to see this town is not complacent, we are all in this together. We do have a serious situation in our health care, with our hospital and our lack of physicians and really want to make it quite clear to you that this government is committed to putting a hospital here in this town and as well I believe [chants and jeers from the crowd]. ...Alright let me explain. Okay, this government committed to a hospital before I was elected and Randy Collins was still the NDP member for Labrador West...[more chants and jeers] let me explain. I was a member of the Town Council when we were asked to submit sites to government to build a hospital. We selected five or six sites here in Labrador City and the town of Wabush selected one site. All those sites were presented to government in the fall of 2006. In January or February of 2007, engineers came in and done some geotechnical testing on all those sites, that happened to be as well the time Randy Collins resigned and I ran in the by-election.

At that time we were accused of rushing in because there was a by-election [noise from crowd] 2007 after the election, no before the election in October the contractor moved in there I think it was the last of September, but again everybody thought it was a conspiracy theory and said, 'no, you are only going in there trying to win an election [much noise from the crowd]...then you have the media, the print media in particular, compounding on that and adding to that, that we only went up there in a hurry to win an election , it's totally ridiculous [crowd becomes louder]."

"In November of last year the mining company said to us, 'look, we are going to be moving into Wabush Number 3 on back of Smokey mountain and when we do this, hospital site is only 3 km away and you will be severely impacted when we start blasting there'. So we said, 'well then what the hell do we do'. Do we say, 'the hell with you IOC we are going in there anyway? You [IOC] go find another mine?' We have to come to some accommodations."

"We are trying to find a way to mitigate any problems for this and all the other sites. This past week in particular, I had the deputy minister of Transportation and Works and the project manager in here and they actually looked at all the other alternate sites and they came to the conclusion that if we are going to have a hospital in Labrador City, that's the only place to put it. You look to the east, you look to the north up this way and there's nothing but mines. We are meeting again tomorrow with the ministers and it's going to be my strong recommendation that they go ahead and put the hospital and college where we had planned. This delay has cost the government about another $20 million, we had committed $60 million to the hospital and $20 million to the college and I am sure that cost has now probably gone to over $100 million.

"Look at the money that's going into our highway, look at the money that's going in to.... [Noise from crowd makes him inaudible]. Don't take your frustration out on me, I am as frustrated as anyone...".

Ron Barron,

Town of Wabush

I was told to speak my mind and I think pretty well everybody knows my feelings on Labrador and how we are getting screwed all the time.

We have a health board that's out there and they don't even know we exist. A couple of weeks ago they made an announcement about the doctors coming out of university, Goose Bay got two of those doctors, folks, and not one for here. It's time to make some changes on that health board especially at the top, as far as I am concerned, with Mr. Rowe. [cheers from crowd]

It's time for government to get serious about the facility here. We heard the cost will rise, $20 million you [MHA Jim Baker] say in two years time...well you know what? What does a life cost? It's priceless.

I spoke in our council meeting about this rally and that it's complacency is what kills Labrador. Well, complacency is dead today folks, not just for this cause but every other cause. Get out and tell your neighbours, tell your friends, email the premier; it's time to tell them we've had enough. If you are going to keep screwing us we are going to fix the problem, don't you worry.

Mayor Graham Letto

"I made a few predictions and I've been proven wrong. I've been proven wrong a number of times but that don't stop my determination to keep fighting for what we believe in. And what we believe in is a new hospital. It's time for government to stop the rhetoric and make a decision and get back up on the site and start putting in concrete and steel before something happens over there [Captain William Jackman] that we have no control over.

You have my support; you have council's support. We are 100 per cent behind you because we believe in this project and we have believed in it from the beginning. I came away from a meeting July 11 at the Confederation Building, Mayor Farrell, and myself and I was convinced that government was ready to go ahead and all of a sudden it stopped again. They have to stop that and, if they are going to make a commitment to build a hospital, which I think they have, then we have to start seeing some results.

And the only result is going to please us and the only way we should stop what we are doing tonight and stop protesting is when the hospital is built and fully staffed with doctors and medical people we need and the medical equipment we need. If we don't stick together, fight together and keep this going, we've lost the cause."

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