Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when a person learns they have cancer, their world turns upside down. In just one moment, they find themselves in the fight of their lives. Thankfully in Canada, we have a universal public health care system that is always there to connect cancer patients with the medical professionals they need. Unfortunately, in the North, that connection of doctor to patient is a bit more complicated. We can't offer every specialized treatment that southern Canadians take for granted and when that's not ideal, the added travel for medical care is a fact of life for Northerners.
However, there's a growing trend of health and social services becoming too reliant on southernbased medical services instead of working to keep as many of those services available here as possible. This burdens more patients with medical travel, increases service delivery costs, and adds pressure on the cooperation between northern and southern medical systems. This is a recipe for disaster, Mr. Speaker, diminishing the quality of care and increasing stress on patients.
It should be no surprise, then, we have ended up in a dire situation that we are faced with regarding hematology oncology services. With apparently little notice, the services were suddenly relocated to Alberta effective May 1st forcing blood cancer patients to travel constantly in and out of the Northwest Territories for blood work and chemotherapy. I have been in contact with Range Lake constituents, including one suffering from multiple myeloma, who expressed the anxiety and strain that this has caused on her and her family. Apparently, this is because medical service providers in Alberta have grown concerned and frustrated with challenges to obtaining timely and accurate blood work from Yellowknife, coupled with an inability to access these results through the patient network. There are at least seven other Northerners suffering from multiple myeloma, and they have received no timeline as to when these services will be repatriated.
What are these patients left to do, Mr. Speaker, besides move out of their homes to be closer to the lifesaving treatment they need? Situations like these are urgent and require not only an immediate fix but also a serious review of the circumstances that have brought us to this place. I hope the Minister has a plan to support the wellbeing of cancer patients across the North. I'll be asking her that later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Range Lake. Members' statements. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
