There are dental surgeons, I’m sure, who are willing to provide the surgery in our health care clinics and hospitals, but the expectation is that the Government of the Northwest Territories will cover the entire cost of the OR nurses, OR staff and the anaesthesiologist, who is one of the most expensive specialists. We feel there is room for us to negotiate, because the dentists are getting most of the coverage for providing that service or are compensated for that. We also feel that the federal government should step into covering the dental surgery costs, because it is a question of long-term oral health of our residents.
I am investigating this, and I’m looking at the possibility of making this service available in either Hay River Hospital, where there is room for that, but probably not in Stanton, because they are fully occupied. But I am looking into that. We need the surgeons and the federal government and everybody to work together on this.