"If The Minister believes what she has released this morning, she obviously has no idea of the current problems that exist at regional offices of her department," said Butler. "By cutting 20 offices around the province in the 2004-2005 budget, the Minister has created huge problems that still exist despite her rosy outlook in today’s release.

"Many of the problems that exist in St. John’s are as a result of consolidation of these other offices and a change in procedures. The Minister has to realize by now that the cuts have impacted negatively on services. Staff at the Janeway have complained that health of children has been put at risk, people in the department have complained that workloads are unbearable, one of the new hires has quit and the shift to a new system of technology has caused further problems.

"The St. John’s office still has a severe backlog, management of the problem has not been effective, new staff have not created efficiencies and reports indicate this will continue until the Minister realizes there are real problems to be addressed. I find it incomprehensible that the Minister can issue a press release as if she’s dealt with the problems her government caused and continues to ignore."

The Liberal MHA wants the Minister to acknowledge there are also severe problems in other areas of the province that she has failed to address. "In Conception Bay North, clients are not receiving an adequate level of service and the Carbonear office faces a workload that is not manageable. This is just one of many examples of where the Minister needs to acknowledge there is a problem, increase staff and address regional closures that were huge mistakes."