Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I’d like to commemorate the grand opening of the Hay River Regional Health Centre which happened this past June 11th. I have to thank the well over 100 people who showed up on a beautiful Saturday afternoon to attend the event and christen the new $59 million facility. It’s a beautiful, spacious, bright building and it bodes well for our communities’ future wellness. It’s one of the very first things you see as you drive into town and it makes a great first impression. The public administrator Mike Maher and CEO Erin Griffiths were excellent hosts and put on a great event. I also have to thank the special guest speakers: Minister Abernethy, Minister Cochrane, Mayor Brad Mapes, KFN Chief Roy Fabien, and the MLA for Deh Cho, Mr. Michael Nadli. Of course, MLA Schumann and myself were also in attendance. He was there in his capacity as an MLA and was billed below me on the program, which was a bit of a coup I thought.
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In addition to attending the opening, the Ministers who attended made a point of touring other facilities in Hay River and I want to thank them for showing interest in that as well. It was great to hear from Mr. Nadli and Chief Fabien. They spoke about their regions and their communities’ ties to Hay River. It was a great reminder that even though we’re spread far and wide in this territory, we’re all neighbours. As Chief Fabien said, “We’re all relatives sharing this land. “It was also great to hear that there has already been three babies born in the new health centre. We’ve entered into a new era where a generation will again be able to say that they were born and raised in Hay River. While it’s wonderful to have the new facility, we’ll never forget how H.H. Williams Memorial Hospital served our region for the last 50 years. We owe a debt of gratitude to the founders and those who watched over it for many years, like Mr. Al Woods. The new health centre was a long time coming, so I also want to thank Hay River’s previous MLAs whose voices in the Legislative Assembly ensured that we received the facility we needed: Ms. Jane Groenewegen, Mr. Robert Bouchard, and former Speaker of the House Paul Delorey. Finally, and most importantly, I have to say thanks to the hospital staff who somehow kept things running smoothly and kept their composure during this major transition between buildings. If there are complaints about government services in Hay River, they’re usually brought to me and I didn’t hear a thing, so I know the staff did an amazing job. While I wish everyone in the region good health, and hope no one needs to use the new health centre I know many of us will, and I’m thankful that we have new state-of-the-art facility. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Members’ statements. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
