P.E.I. NDP leader says focus should be on issues and ideas, not 'personalities'

With her party holding no seats, Prince Edward Island's NDP leader spent the year in a unique position, looking in at the legislative assembly from outside.

What Michelle Neill saw was "a little bit like kindergarten," she told Steve Bruce on CBC News: Compass on Dec. 17. 

"There's a little bit of attacking of… personalities," she said. "I would really like to see that get back to addressing the issues, not the person." 

When it comes to the issues, Neill said it can be frustrating to have ideas and not be able to share them in the legislature. But she does what she can to share information with MLAs from other parties who can bring it forward, she said. 

"If I have to go through someone else to get that change or that positive improvement, that doesn't matter to me that I [don't] get credit," she said. "What I care about is ensuring that people get the services that they deserve."

While she's found a way to lead the Island's fourth party from outside the legislature, Neill said she would "definitely have a lot more to say about health care" if she had a seat.  

"I don't think our government is listening to the workers enough because the workers have lots of ideas — and ideas that I believe will work," she said. 

"They see and they know how to make changes that are going to make the health-care system more efficient."

Neill pointed to the example of the province's MRI backlog. She said the plan to send Islanders out of province to get MRI scans in Moncton is "such a waste of money."

Options on P.E.I., like taking advantage of an offer to use the Atlantic Veterinary College's MRI machine, would be a fraction of the cost, she said. 

"We want to ensure that our taxpayer money is used efficiently and effectively and at the lowest cost possible to be able to ensure that we reinvest in Islanders," she said.  

Health P.E.I. CEO Melanie Fraser told CBC on Dec. 20 (after Neill's year-end interview was aired) that the health agency has been having conversations with the veterinary college about using its MRI machine. Fraser has also outlined how the agency plans to triage patients for scan appointments at a private clinic in Moncton. 

To deal with health-care issues, Neill said it's important to listen to the people who are part of that industry. She had the same advice when it came to managing the tariff threat that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump has aimed at Canada.  

"It's really important that the government of the day, whomever that is… talk to the people who are on those front lines," she said.