Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on the same issue that Mrs. Groenewegen recently spoke on and my colleague from Yellowknife South just today. Several times over the years I've risen to address the issue of medical co-payments, which has created a terrible inequity for my constituents. This $250 charge for each way of travel impacts people particularly who are in lower income jobs.

I know that the Minister of Health and Social Services has said over and over in this House that his department is looking at the issue as part of an overall review of supplementary benefits. I know, when I made statements on this issue in February and March of this year and asked questions at the time, that the Minister at that time promised he would soon have an answer and would be telling us what that was. So it has been dragging on for a long time and it hasn't been dealt with.

My constituents can't afford to wait any longer. As things now stand, they not only have to pay for a good portion of the travel when they are referred to a doctor outside, but if they're not hospitalized they may wind up being on the hook for food and accommodation as well. So this has become an issue that is broader than just travel, particularly if things don't go well at the negotiation table with the doctors here.

Mr. Speaker, even the most conservative of provinces -- Ontario -- treats its northern residents better than we do in terms of the cost of medical co-payments. Manitoba used to charge $50 as a co-payment to its residents. They've eliminated that. So I'm pleased to hear, as the Minister told Mrs. Groenewegen, that he will soon be going to Cabinet and that he would see these co-payments dealt with. I can only hope that that plan will eliminate the need for my constituents to come up with those payments.

I call on the Minister to take a look at the example set in Manitoba, and eliminate the co-payment plan completely. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause