All Ontarians are looking to Health Minister Eric Hoskins for a better understanding of the case of Amy Savill. Ms. Savill is the Alberta woman who gave birth two months early in Timmins a few days ago and was then flown to Sudbury with her newborn baby where the hospital was better able to care for the infant. As most people know, the government has delivered a bill of several thousand dollars to Ms. Savill for that air ambulance ride between the two hospitals. It appears both Alberta and Ontario have turned their backs on the woman, saying, in so many words, it’s not our problem. But it is their problem and sooner or later both governments will have to face up to it For citizens who would like to know the rules and reasoning in this case the Minister’s silence over the best part of a week is disturbing. What are the specifics by which an emergency ambulance flight goes from being a part of Canada’s health care canopy to a cash-on-the-barrel-head business transaction? There have been suggestions that if the flight had originated by the side of a highway it would have been covered. Mr. Hoskins, the member for St. Pauls, is not an insensitive man. We cannot believe that he is not properly concerned about this case. Did the medical staff at Timmins hospital urgently recommend that Ms Savill and her infant be transferred? These questions must be answered.
