Thank you, Madam Chair. I have a few comments and a couple of questions that I would like to ask the Minister. I have 10 minutes, but I doubt I will be using that, and whatever is left, I will donate to my colleagues.

---Laughter

Next to the concerns we have with housing, the biggest concern we always hear from constituents in our travels is on the health care. It's awfully hard to say anything negative about health care because it is an essential service and it's a difficult service to try to deliver and keep everyone happy. A lot of concerns I seem to get are with the medical travel. I had some concerns from constituents who thought...One lady in particular thought she had to pay to go for a check-up. The Minister is aware of it. This is a long-term northerner, someone who has been here probably over half her life.

Hiring northerners is an excellent idea of seeing more and more girls getting into the nursing field. I think it's an excellent idea. It would be nice to have our hospitals all staffed with northerners. The one concern I do have is a lot of the agency nurses who come in seem to have so much more benefits than the nurses who are hired locally and live in the Territories. Some of the ladies have a concern with that and I don't blame them. It's costing a lot of money to bring these nurses in. I understand we need them and, like I said, I am not going to be negative about it. In Inuvik, we've been fortunate where we have had a couple of long-term doctors that could be working elsewhere, but they have decided to live in Inuvik and they have been there for at least 15 years. More support for long-term doctors in the Northwest Territories would be nice to see.

The rehab teams, I like the program, the initiative that the Minister and his partner are bringing in on the rehab teams. I understand there is one going to be going up in Inuvik. Mr. Murray stated yesterday that I think the program is going to be phased in, so that would be one of my questions. You are phasing in the program, but does that mean one community is getting it, and the next year another community gets the services, and the year after the third team goes in? That would be one of my questions.

Another question and concern I have that I get from constituents of mine is on the ambulance services. I am curious to know if this department has a set standard that all ambulance service has to run on. I understand money flows to the health boards and that they, in turn, decide who they will contract to provide the ambulance services. I have some concerns with that. I get concerns from constituents and it's something I am working on right now on the ambulance services. In no way am I questioning the integrity of the people who operate the ambulance service, but we get concerns from constituents and we have to ask questions on them, whether some people think they are fair or not. We have a job to do and if it means asking questions to that effect, then that's something we have to do. That was a question. Is there a

set of standards? Is there someone in the department who oversees the operation, the ambulance service and makes sure they are all up to code, or is that something that is also done at the regional level? That's the question I have there.

The amalgamation of human resources, a couple of my colleagues have mentioned it before and I would like to speak to it again. I said before that a lot of money flows to the regional health boards and then they, in turn, divvy the money out. But the HR services, I am wondering, Mr. Minister, if that is something that came out of Yellowknife and all of them had to comply with it. You would think that someone working in the HR in the health field would be more qualified to try to recruit or do all the competitions that need to be done. I am just curious to know how much input the regional health boards had into the whole human resource amalgamation.

Those are a few comments I had and I believe there were a couple of questions in there. I would ask the Minister if he would respond to a few of my concerns. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.