Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, like every jurisdiction in the country and probably in the world, we are facing an increasing and consistent rise in our health expenditures. Member Bromley said it should be at the top of our list when it comes to our priorities, but when it comes to our expenditures it definitely is and it continues to be.

We have, on the supplementary health side, a growing demand for the service. Plus we know, as the Minister has pointed out, we’re trying to capture those folks that aren’t currently captured, about 2,300 people.

As we have every budget, we are going to be pressed to make decisions. We have far more needs than we have resources and we are constantly looking at how do we control and manage our expenditures. At the same time, are there ways to boost or increase our revenues? We are talking now about trying to consolidate what we’ve done. We’re talking now -- having lived through the last two years of the most turbulent

economic times since the Great Depression -- of that pressure that is still there for us to be very vigilant and frugal.

So are things sustainable? We are going to continue to have to make choices. We’ve been asked and told to look at ways of being creative, look at how we do business. The program review unit was put together to help us find those efficiencies. This has been identified back in the 14th Assembly as an issue that needs to be

addressed, and we are constantly going to be, until the end of this term, working to manage our finances. Thank you.