Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to speak today about the future of health care in our Territory. Mr. Speaker, I spoke many times about the lack of planning and foresight by this government when it comes to future needs of a resident’s health care. First off, Mr. Speaker, is the system itself. We have some of the best health care professionals and providers in this country working for us today. I have had personal experience in the past year with my own health and I have to say that the doctors and nurses and front-line health care staff that we have here in the Northwest Territories are second to none and do a great job for us.
The problem, Mr. Speaker, is our inability to govern, fund and plan for the future. The Minister suggests that the Foundation for Change will address system-wide problems, deal with funding, reallocate money and provide a base for this system to be efficient and effective. I do hope that this is the beginning of the end of talk, because, Mr. Speaker, as the saying goes, talk is cheap. What we need to do, Mr. Speaker, is take action.
I am in favour of the government making health care much more of a priority and billing than it currently gets. We need to fix the issues that can be identified, Mr. Speaker. Many of these issues are nothing new to this government. They have been around for a number of years. Mr. Speaker, we also have to start planning for the future. What will be needed is a complete capital retrofit of Stanton Territorial Hospital, the flagship of our health care system.
Mr. Speaker, this is going to have to take place in a time when government is going to be looking at cutting back the available capital dollars for infrastructure projects around the Territory and, in my mind, Mr. Speaker, this project is probably going to come in with a price tag of upwards of $200 million. We have to start putting money aside, we have to start planning for that capital retrofit of that hospital, and the sooner the better, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
