Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If a child waits too long, damage to their teeth can reach a point of no return, resulting in permanent gum, bone and tooth damage — something that will last their lifetime. Is this pain and suffering that the federal government and this government is inflicting on these children really worth the couple of dollars that the Minister is demanding out of oral surgeons and the feds are refusing to pay? I don’t think so.
Currently these suffering children are sent to southern institutions to have their oral surgery completed. This is increasing the waiting list, costing the GNWT additional money — probably a lot less than performing the surgery in the NWT — and does not contribute to the economy of the NWT. I believe that if the Minister were to complete a full cost accounting analysis on this issue, she would find that the best solution, financially and practically, would be to reopen the operating rooms in both Yellowknife and Hay River to local oral surgeons. We can’t afford to wait for the feds to do the right thing. It’s up to us. Let’s do the right thing. Let’s get this waiting list down now and save these children months and years of pain and suffering.
Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will be asking the Minister responsible for Health and Social Services some questions on this.