Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Today I want to say, for the record, that we do have a great health care system. It is very difficult to deliver quality health care from Fort Liard all the way to Sachs Harbour, but on the whole, people working in the health system are to be commended.

Saying that, there is always room for improvement, and I would like to suggest some changes that would both help out the people of Fort Liard and probably lower the cost of health care and medical travel in my region.

It is one of the goals of our health system to deliver as much care as close to home as possible and I very much agree with this. For people in Fort Liard, that means getting some of their health services in Fort Nelson, British Columbia. Right now residents of Fort Liard often use their own resources and just drive south for certain services. It is only 210 from Liard to Fort Nelson, and I might add that the road is better, too, compared to the 284 kilometres on Highway No. 7 to Fort Simpson. It is not uncommon for Liard patients to be flown to Yellowknife, which is 780 kilometres away. If it is not absolutely necessary, this is both inconvenient to patients and expensive to our health system.

For example, a constituent can say his knee hurts, he is sent to Yellowknife and sees a doctor who confirms that his knee hurts, and then sent home to await a more rigorous appointment. This, as I say, can be done closer to home in Fort Nelson.

I would like to see an agreement between the Health and Social Services and the BC Health ministry that allows seamless care that is invoiced to our health system. As it is now, it is not fair to those people in Fort Liard who are covering the costs of their own trips to Fort Nelson.

I see the current budget includes expanding the use of electronic medical records. This should make it easier to manage the arrangement I propose. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.