Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the 2015-16 fiscal year, $1.97 million in core funding was allocated for midwifery services in the Northwest Territories. Of that $1.97 million, it funds two midwifery positions in Fort Smith – both of which are now full – and the program costs. It also funds two midwifery positions in Hay River and also the program costs. Those positions are also full.
It also funds an NP position which is providing midwifery-type services for pre-birth throughout the region through community health nurses who is part of the MORE OB program up in the Beaufort-Delta. It was a desire of the region and of the people to move in that particular direction, recognizing the award winning MORE OB program in the Beaufort-Delta. That left some money available to move forward with the territorial Midwifery Program of the $1.97 million. This fiscal year, we got permission from committee to use $453,000 of that to move forward with the development of a human tissue and organ donation registry with the Government of Alberta. We are continuing to move on that.
The rest of the money for this fiscal year, 2015-16, was intended to be used to hire some midwifery consultants in the department to actually begin a design. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, it took longer than had been hoped to find the midwifery staff who can actually do that work. But I am happy to say we have now filled both of those consultant positions. Now that we have those positions filled, meetings with the NWT Advisory Committee on Midwifery are going to be resuming this month and the design is going to continue to move forward with a territorial program that will be based here in Yellowknife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.