Calls continue for midwife regulation on P.E.I.

The push to regulate midwifery in P.E.I. continues as Liberal MLA Kathleen Casey plans to present a petition in the legislature on Monday calling for a framework — with plans as well to hold a rally outside.

"People on Prince Edward Island definitely do want midwifery and we would like to see midwifery come in under the same type of models that have been used across the rest of Canada so that it's accessible to all Islanders and that it's regulated by the government and that it's publicly funded," said Susana Rutherford, one of the rally organizers.

P.E.I. currently has no regulatory framework for midwifery. According to the Canadian Midwifery Regulators Council's website, all other provinces and territories with the exception of the Yukon either have acts regulating midwives, or pending legislation to regulate the profession.

Looking for 'something concrete'

"The government has been saying, 'We are planning to move forward on the issue of midwifery soon, we're going to make an announcement next spring, we're going to make announcement next fall,'" said Rutherford.

"We're hoping that perhaps they could make that a priority for their work this year and that we could see something concrete happen for Islanders."

Rutherford said the petition Casey will present has more than 600 signatures on it.

"We're certainly hoping that by her support and reintroducing it into the legislature at this time that the file might move into the top 10 files that are on the minister's desk, so that we might see a clear action to work on this," she said.

CBC reached out to the Department of Health and Wellness, but didn't receive a response.

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