Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I believe we said we would proceed with the next bill on the list being Bill 24.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to have an opportunity today to speak with the Members of the committee about Bill 24, Midwifery Profession Act.

This bill and the related midwifery practice framework will assist departmental officials, Health and Social Services authority officials and health care providers to enhance choices in birthing services for residents of the Northwest Territories. The act will regulate the practice or registered midwives throughout the Northwest Territories. This act also addresses many issues that have been identified by stakeholders as obstacles to the implementation of safe and effective midwifery practice in the Northwest Territories.

Some of the key provisions of the bill are concerned with describing the requirements for registration as a registered midwife, describing the practice of registered midwives, authorizing the Minister to establish or adopt a midwifery practice framework, setting out the powers of the registrar to register persons as registered midwives and issue certificates authorizing the establishment or adoption of a code of conduct for registered midwives, setting out a procedure to be followed on the review of conduct of registered midwives, authorize and establishment or adoption of a continued competency program for registered midwives and setting our rules respecting various aspects of the practice of registered midwives, including the use of the title "registered midwife."

The bill responds to the need outlined in NWT Health and Social Services System Action Plan 2002-2005. To update the legislative framework to protect the safety of the public and define roles and responsibilities in the system. This legislation is necessary to support and to promote midwifery profession in the NWT and ensure the health and safety of the public.

The department expects that this legislation will provide women with greater choice for safe birthing services closer to their home communities and ensure greater integration of midwifery services with other health resources throughout the Northwest Territories.

I would like to thank the Members of the Standing Committee on Social Programs for consideration of this bill and look forward to discussing Bill 24 with Members of committee of the whole. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I won't reread the report that we've already read into the record, but I would like to say that I think, as committee took this bill on the road and did our consultation, we saw an outpouring of support for the legislation. I have to say unlike most other bills that we've taken on the road, there was so much interest in this and I think for good reason. Most of the people who spoke to committee talked about the need for women to be able to give birth in their home communities, not to have to be uprooted and moved to Yellowknife or another regional centre some weeks before the due date. Furthermore, the stress that this causes families who are possibly left behind or at times husbands and children who do make the trek to the regional centre have to leave their wives, pull kids out of school and husbands out of work. It really is something that if there is anything we can do to change the system and have people deliver babies in the smaller communities, I think it was important for us to find a way to do that.

There was concern raised on a number of fronts about the inclusion of a designated sites clause. To his credit, the Minister heard the concern and agreed that he would stand down that section of the bill. That was well received by all, including committee. There still will be standards obviously that have to be met and there will be criteria that will have to be met, but much of that is taken care of by the midwifery itself, Mr. Chairman. There will be a self-regulation and that was very reassuring to committee.

The other point I would like to make is there was a lot of discussion and speculation about whether or not doctors, in general supported this legislation, supported the concept of midwifery and I say mostly speculation because we've heard from very few doctors on the issue. We did get a letter of support from the medical association, but I would say we did have one doctor who came out and made a presentation, Dr. McFadden, came to hearings in Yellowknife and was very positive about the working relationship at Stanton Hospital between the midwives, nurses and doctors, in general, and was very optimistic about the possibility that this collaborative model would work well and would be well received She wasn't purporting to speak for all her colleagues, but it was certainly nice to have that support from a doctor in this community. I know I appreciated that and it was good for everyone to hear. I would like to thank her for her presentation to committee.

Again, I thank the Minister for his work and the department for their work in bringing this legislation forward. Thank you.