Southern Health has been told by the Health Minister to find ways to cut about 3% from its $400 million annual budget. Board chair Abe Bergen says they received the order in a letter from the Health Minister in December. He adds it's a tall task.

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Abe Bergen"Our mandate letter requested that we find $11 million of savings. It's been our history to be fairly prudent so we've been trying to identify those savings, trying to identify those options of how we find that $11 million. What are the implications for services? What are the implications for people and contracts and the implications for communities at large?"

Bergen says the recommendations must be into Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen by the end of the month and it will then be up him to make the final decisions on what is cut.

"I don't think anyone is looking forward to this, to the announcements that'll be coming, but in order for us to have long-term sustainability in our health care system, we'll have to do one of two things; either limit our expenditures, limit our expectations or increase our willingness to pay more taxes, and most of us are not too keen on that."

Bergen says the administration is scrutinizing the whole budget very carefully and every part of it is under consideration for cuts.

"Ultimately we have to identify what the efficiencies can be, what the options are, and the elected officials need to make the final call as to what they want to live with."