Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Member is right that we have one funded position for a midwife in Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority. She is responsible for those services. The Member is also right that since 2005, when the policy was implemented, there has not been the kind of funding that would allow for any more midwifery positions in the system. In fact, the positions that we are funding in Yellowknife were originally allocated for Hay River but was not...(inaudible)...at this time. If we are to spend the midwifery services in Yellowknife or in any other community, which we hope to do, it will require additional funding. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Does the Minister think that the situation in Yellowknife is acceptable for one midwife to be handling the number of clients that she does to have to turn away 25 clients in any one year? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is important for us to know that for the expecting mothers in Yellowknife, they have services of

doctors who could help her with that process, which is not the case for many expecting mothers in many of our communities. We have communities without nurses even, so there is no question that there is a lot of need for human resources in our health system. For Yellowknife, I understand that midwifery service may be or is the preferred option for many expecting mothers, but those mothers who don’t have access to a midwife because there is one midwife that has a full workload, those expecting mothers have the option and services of a physician. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I guess I agree to disagree, because I think that while we have options whether midwife services or doctoral services for pregnant women here in Yellowknife, I think the Minister probably should recognize that there are some efficiencies in the midwife program. It keeps many patients out of the hospital, which we know is a very expensive proposition. I think that were it looked at, we would probably find that there are some efficiencies and some cost savings.

I asked a question in my statement whether or not the government is prepared to take steps to keep us at the forefront of midwife services in Canada, which is where I think we are. Knowing the number of clients that have been denied, knowing that there is a need, I would like to ask the Minister if there are any concrete plans, if there are any steps to meet the commitment that was made in 2005 and add another staff person to this program. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I have to correct the Member that midwifery services does not eliminate the need for physicians. They have to work together. Midwives have to practice their profession along with physicians in a supervisory role. That is what happens in Fort Smith as well. Mr. Speaker, it is my desire and hope that we can expand the services especially, and this is more suitable in regional centres like Fort Smith, Hay River, Fort Simpson and the Sahtu where the reliable physician services are not as readily in place. The plan is for me to go forward during the business plan process to see if we could expand those services, but I think, in making decisions on our physical priorities, it is important to note that for those mothers in Yellowknife who prefer to have midwifery service, they still have a lot more services than many mothers in our communities who do not have those services. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. Final supplementary, Ms. Bisaro.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn’t mean to suggest that women who use the services of a midwife do not also use a doctor. I just think that there are more and more women who are able through a midwife to have their babies at home and that saves an awful lot of cost in the hospital.

The Minister is suggesting that there might be an addition of a midwife not in Yellowknife and I have to find some fault with that. I would like to know whether or not there is some possibility of at least a half a PY administration support for the only midwife that we have here. It is my understanding that administration support would greatly ease the load of this person’s workload. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I am well aware of the environment in which the sole midwife is operating in the Yellowknife Health and Social Services. The authority makes sure that she doesn’t have a workload that is too much for one person to handle. She gets breaks. The doctors take over her duties. I believe that she gets the support she needs from the authority. When I say that I would like to see the expansion of this program, I am just trying to tell the Members of this House that we need to look at this as an NWT-wide program and that the need for midwifery services is even more acute in our communities and regional centres where we really are having a hard time even finding a permanent doctor, not to mention having an option of midwifery as a nicer and more alternative choice that mothers would like. We need to make sure that we look at our system across the board and make decisions accordingly when we are looking at priority. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.