The father of a critically ill newborn who had to wait 31 hours for a medevac to St. John’s from Goose Bay earlier this year is calling for the removal of John Haggie as the Minister of Health.

Robert Way shared the story of how in April, his daughter, Reya, had to wait 31 hours for medevac transportation to the NICU in St. John’s from Goose Bay due to life –threatening health complications on OpenLine last month. Reya later died at the age of five months.

Now, Way is calling for Haggie to apologize for his comments on the issue during Wednesday’s Question Period.

He says Haggie misrepresented the situation in a way that was “inaccurate, misleading, and inappropriate” by making factual errors, including that the call for medical transport was a night call, despite the call going out around 3:00 p.m.

Way says that Haggie has politicized their daughter’s case and that his actions during the question period are serious and warrant a formal apology.

He is calling on Premier Andrew Furey to hold Haggie accountable by removing him from his position as Minister of Health.

Minister Haggie has spoken with the family and will not be providing any further comment.