Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, earlier today, along with the other three Yellowknife MLAs, I had the opportunity to attend a ribbon-clamping ceremony, which was the official opening of the Stanton Regional Health Board haemodialysis clinic.

Mr. Speaker, this clinic is designed to facilitate the repatriation of Northwest Territories patients who, because of kidney disease, had been required to reside close to southern treatment facilities. Effective the 1st of May, the service began here and already two Northwest Territories residents, one from Yellowknife and one from Hay River, are receiving their treatment in the North.

Mr. Speaker, three more Northwest Territories residents will return from the South in the next few weeks. Their home communities are Yellowknife, Fort Providence and Dettah.

Mr. Speaker, this haemodialysis clinic was established with close links to the University of Alberta Hospital dialysis program. The U of A program provides considerable support to our service, including a consulting kidney specialist who visits every six months.

The Stanton clinic operates under the supervision of Doctor Sylvain Chouinard, an internist who has received special training from the University of Alberta Hospital. Clinic nursing staff have also received special training and, as I said earlier, close links will be maintained with the U of A Hospital's haemodialysis program.

Mr. Speaker, this is an example of us spending our money in the North. It costs no more, it provides a boost to the economy and it improves the lives of northerners because they are closer to their friends and family. Mr. Speaker, we need to continue the process of looking for more opportunities like this. I would like to congratulate the Stanton Regional Hospital Board on their initiative in this program and encourage them to continue looking for more opportunities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.