Mr. Chairman, with the greatest of respect, our analysis is that putting the word “essential” into this clause might in fact limit the scope of section 87.4. The reason, if I can follow through the logic, is that currently the analysis that's done by the board is of whether the service is “necessary to prevent an immediate and serious danger to the safety or health of the public”; introducing the concept of “essential” means that the board would have to find that a particular service was essential to prevent an immediate and serious danger to the safety or health of the public. It turns on your interpretation of whether there is a difference between something that's necessary and something that's essential.
On February 15th, 2007. See this statement in context.