ST JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams’ office is tight-lipped about a local news report that he’s undergoing heart surgery Thursday.
In a news conference on Tuesday, deputy premier Kathy Dunderdale would only say Williams, 60, will undergo surgery this week in the U.S. and is expected to be off the job for between three and 12 weeks.
NTV reported the surgery would take place Thursday, but would not reveal their source.
"We’re not confirming anything," Andrea Nolan, the premier’s press secretary, said Thursday morning.
Instead, Dunderdale will give a statement once the surgery is done, Nolan said.
It’s unclear which U.S. hospital will perform the surgery or what procedure Williams is undergoing. Dunderdale would only say this week that the procedure is not available in his home province.
Meanwhile, Williams has been inundated with support from well-wishers, with several Facebook group pages started to wish him a speedy recovery.
"When we first heard the story break on the news, our sympathies went out to him," said Erin Skinner, one of two administrators on the group site "Get Well Premier Williams" – which has about 3,600 members.
"I pray you will make a speedy recovery Premier Williams. God Bless You & keep You safe. Come Home Soon Healthy," Gloria George Wells wrote.
Chantalle Hull created the group, who along with Skinner and a fellow site administrator, Alexander Troake, are members of the Young Progressive Conservatives.
Yet the trio did not create the page for any political reasons, Hull said.
"The premier has always been very supportive of us and youth in general in the province, and we wanted to show our support for him at this time," she wrote in a note to The St. John’s Telegram.
Troake said he feels the group site and others being dedicated to Williams are the result of a traditional community action of gathering around the sick and those in need of a little extra support.
"I think this is what we’re seeing here (with the Facebook pages), just on a larger scale," he said.
But not everyone has been supportive. Williams decision to go to the U.S. for surgery has fuelled the debate over Canada’s health-care system.
Conservative pundits in the U.S. pounced on the news, suggesting it proved that President Barack Obama’s proposed health insurance reforms wouldn’t work.
Medicare advocates said that cases such as Williams represent only a tiny fraction of all Canadian patients who receive medical care.
With files from St. John’s Telegram
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Danny Williams surgery in the U.S. has been fodder for the right-wing political commentators – many who don’t seem to understand that Williams is a Premier of a province, not the premier of the country.
Here are videos from Fox news and also from right-wing commentator Glenn Beck.
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