Mr. Chairman, the main reason we were not able to reduce the costs of medical travel was because the agreement between the Government of the

Northwest Territories and the Royal Alex didn't come into play until August of this year, mainly because of longer-than-expected negotiations to conclude the agreement. Any savings we had would have to be prorated rather than starting at the beginning of the year. Savings did not begin until August. That was one of the problems we had.

The department did expect to save about $400,000 through orthodontic contracts which will result in orthodontists travelling to each region to provide services rather than having patients travel to Edmonton, Montreal and Winnipeg. This is an area where we expect to make that amount of savings.

This time around, for the second part of his question, the fact that we will be in a full working arrangement with the Royal Alex, means we expect to get more benefit out of it. It will be in full force rather than the situation last year, when it didn't start until late in the season. Those are two areas where we feel that controls will be made. As well, it's expected that, with the enhanced services at Stanton Hospital, there will also be added savings because individuals would not have to travel outside the Northwest Territories to access treatments that they are presently receiving. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.