Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to talk about the fundraising campaign organized by the Stanton
Regional Hospital Foundation. Many of Stanton's patients come from smaller northern communities, people who in another area would have been sent south to Edmonton for treatment. The hospital was built ten years ago, and much of the equipment is old, rendered obsolete by technical advances. Although the GNWT continues to support some of the equipment needs, the needs far exceed available government funding. So the Stanton Regional Hospital Foundation is trying to raise $2 million to buy state of the art gear. This involves everything from a CAT scanner to a mammography unit.
Although buying this equipment is initially expensive, it will eventually reduce costs charged to our overall health care system. For example, many women are currently screened for breast cancer down south due to the frequent breakdowns of the obsolete mammography machine currently in use at Stanton. In 1996, over $600,000 was spent sending northerners to Edmonton for CAT scans. Investing in new equipment for Stanton will save hundreds of thousands of dollars for this government annually. The Foundation's fundraising campaign is now in full swing. Many people are dedicating their time to the foundation. In particular, I would like to single out Allan Hathaway, as chair of the foundation, and Cappy Elkin, chair of the campaign committee. There are many other northerners dedicated to this effort: Dr. Hassan Adam, Ric Bolivar, Darrell Donylynny, John Ferguson, Margaret Hawkins, Bill Graham, Joe Auge, Dennis Cleaver, Doug Witty, Gary Walsh, Gord Van Tighem and Greg Merrithew, just to name a few.
So I salute them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker
--Applause