Alberta's Health Minister is demanding proof after an MLA made serious allegations in the legislature on Monday.
Dr. Raj Sherman claimed that hundreds of cancer patients died while waiting for surgery in the early years of the last decade.
It has been brought to my attention that due to fierce competition for finite operating time between surgeons, about 1200 Albertans on a wait list for lung surgery, 250 died waiting on that list, many with lung cancer," said Sherman.
Dr. Sherman stood up in the legislature during question period and talked about the deaths and also made claims of fraud and a cover up.
The independent MLA told house members that the doctors who raised these issues were punished, driven out of the province, or paid out millions, to buy their silence.
Health Minister, Gene Zwozdesky says he's never heard anything about this and says Sherman needs to come forward with proof.
"I'm waiting to receive whatever information, evidence if you will, the honourable member might care to present. These are very serious allegations that he has used and named individuals, he has named professional organizations," said Zwozdesky.
Sherman alleges the payouts happened while Gary Mar was the Minister of Health, which was between 2003 and 2006.
MLAs cannot be sued for what they say inside the legislature and Sherman has not repeated the remarks in public.
