Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today, too, to talk about the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority. We’re proud to announce that they’ve hired two midwives to come on stream in September and October of the fall.
The authority has been working to get the spaces available for the midwives, to make the medical clinic available and set up for them, as well as a delivery area for the potential birthing. They’ve purchased equipment from last year’s funding.
They set up a Midwives Committee to basically work to see how it’s going to be implemented, how it affects all the different parts of the authority, such as labs, acute care, practitioners, medical clinic, et cetera, and to help develop processes and policies for the midwives.
Hay River Health and Social Services continues to work with the midwives consultants from the Department of Health and Social Services. They are also linking and working with the Fort Smith Midwifery Program, to make sure that there’s a consistency and similar policies that are being implemented.
I’d like to take this time to thank those people who have made this happen. We have some tremendous staff at the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority that basically did all the hiring, that went out and found these people. They’re going to be a vital part of our community.
I’d like to thank the former Minister and current Minister for their help in making this happen as well as the many advocates that helped us – my colleague, Mrs. Groenewegen; Social Programs committee – to move this up and make this happen sooner than later. There are also many advocates out there in the public who sent letters of support saying that this should happen sooner than later, and we’re pleased that it is. But we are also pleased that Hay River will now be on birth certificates, finally, in the Northwest Territories. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.