Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I think this issue is key to the debate on health and social services, not only in the Northwest Territories but in Canada. I would like to acknowledge as well that it is one that Mr. Dent has raised repeatedly. The whole intent of the action plan is to try to deal with that issue in one capacity of how we are doing business right now, the structures, the processes, the efficiencies that are there and looking at how do we restructure ourselves to make better use of a lot of services so that we are not tied up because we are not doing things efficiently. There is a lot of friction within the system and the way processes and procedures are set up is not effective. That clearly is one focus of the action plan.

We also recognize that, and things like a comprehensive human resource strategy and coming out with a service model that we can use and accountability frameworks that are clear so that we can see and monitor how effective the programs are that we are putting into place, and if they are not effective, how do we fix them?

We recognize that there are significant pressures and ongoing pressures in terms of things like salaries for allied health professionals, for doctors and for nurses. There is a constant growth of not the sophistication of disease detection, but there is also the cost of technology and medical services. We have to look through our core services as to what are the critical things we are going to do. The fundamental sustainability issue to my mind was referenced as well in the committee report. Until we deal with the front end of the process, until we get people to make the right decisions in terms of, for example, pregnant mothers not drinking when they are pregnant, smoking issues, the diet issues, all of the problems that result from alcohol abuse, the majority of which are initially personal decisions -- if we do not deal with that issue at the front end then we will never have enough money.

That is, in my opinion, a very sad but true reality. We can have the best technologies. We can have the best group homes. We can have the best support systems for children with FAS and FAE and adults with FAS and FAE, for example, but the goal has to be to have children born healthy. That has to be our fundamental goal as a government. As a department, that is an issue for us because we are constantly faced with the unending tide of demand far exceeding the revenue and resources we have available.

We have a number of areas where we are trying to deal with this issue. It is an issue that is going to require debate, as Mr. Dent has pointed out repeatedly. It is a debate that requires possibly hard decisions, but it is one that we have to engage in. We have an action plan that is going to start putting some pieces in place, but the action plan is not an end in itself. It is not an event. It is part of a process and we should be doing this on an ongoing basis. It is going to require the involvement of not only the department and the authorities, but very clearly the wise advice of Members of this Legislature and the help of the committee to put the best possible order and sense to this very complex issue. Thank you.