Minister defends PTSD legislation

The P.E.I. government’s legislation to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder was meant to expand coverage for workers and wasn’t a costsaving measure, says Workforce Minister Sonny Gallant.

During Tuesday’s question period, the Opposition asked about the government’s decision to table its own legislation to have PTSD covered by the Workers Compensation Board (WCB) despite a private member’s bill passed in December.

Gallant said the Opposition’s bill was a good one and he commended them for it.

“We just felt as a government we needed to take it further,” he said.

The government bill, which was on the floor for debate last week, expanded the scope of coverage for Island workers but limited PTSD diagnosis to only psychiatrists and psychologists.

Although it passed in December, the private member’s bill hasn’t been proclaimed.

On Tuesday, Aylward said if fewer health professionals are allowed to make PTSD diagnoses under the legislation it means fewer cases will be diagnosed for Island workers.

“Of course, that allows the cost to be lowered to government and the WCB,” Aylward said.

He asked if limiting who could diagnose PTSD was a way to reduce costs.

Gallant denied it was a cost-savings measure. “Just to initially answer the question, absolutely not,” he said.