Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There are a number of things that are being done and I will just highlight some of them. On the issue of housing, we are very aware that this is a shortfall in the small communities in terms of acquiring and maintaining professional people. We are working with the Minister of Housing to come up with ways that we can try to create an environment where housing is built that is not going to be so expensive that nobody can afford to stay in it.
I would also make the case that one of the benefits of the smaller communities being tied into larger health boards is that they get the benefit of some of the staffing capability that may be there because of the critical mass of nurses, social workers and other staff that may be available to backstop small communities if there is for some reason a vacancy. I know we have a way to go and the vacancy rates are still an issue. Recruitment and retention is still an issue, but we are working with all the boards and the department to try to improve that.
We are very aware that the small communities are especially impacted. When a nurse goes, it leaves a big hole, or if a social worker is not there, it leaves a big hole in the service delivery structure. Thank you.