The meetings that I missed were due to medical reasons. I was elected to do a job, and to be on the job. I take that responsibility very seriously. As Chairperson of Government Operations, I was able to highlight and work toward solutions, many of the problems that faced Public Works, Vitran, Police, Fire Service, Bureau of Corrections, and other departments. The underlining problems facing all was, and still is, financing.
Expenditures are by far outweighing revenues.
Structural changes that the 23 rd Legislature have instituted, such as the Fiscal Accountability Act, Semi-Autonomy for Hospitals, Short Term Enhancement Act, and Standardize Training for Law Enforcement, must continue to streamline our governmental process and bring our expenditures under control. Let's not fool ourselves. Our fiscal recovery has no easy solutions, nor will it occur overnight. It took us some 30 to 40 years to get to this point, and it will take years to recover. We obviously cannot wait as long as it took, however the achievable end can occur with in 5 to 7 years.