In addition to attending the opening, the Ministers who attended made a point of touring other facilities in Hay River and I want to thank them for showing interest in that as well. It was great to hear from Mr. Nadli and Chief Fabien. They spoke about their regions and their communities' ties to Hay River. It was a great reminder that even though we're spread far and wide in this territory, we're all neighbours. As Chief Fabien said, "We're all relatives sharing this land."
It was also great to hear that there has already been three babies born in the new health centre. We've entered into a new era where a generation will again be able to say that they were born and raised in Hay River.
While it's wonderful to have the new facility, we'll never forget how H.H. Williams Memorial Hospital served our region for the last 50 years. We owe a debt of gratitude to the founders and those who watched over it for many years, like Mr. Al Woods. The new health centre was a long time coming, so I also want to thank Hay River's previous MLAs whose voices in the Legislative Assembly ensured that we received the facility we needed: Ms. Jane Groenewegen, Mr. Robert Bouchard, and former Speaker of the House Paul Delorey.
Finally, and most importantly, I have to say thanks to the hospital staff who somehow kept things running smoothly and kept their composure during this major transition between buildings. If there are complaints about government services in Hay River, they're usually brought to me and I didn't hear a thing, so I know the staff did an amazing job. While I wish everyone in the region good health, and hope no one needs to use the new health centre I know many of us will, and I'm thankful that we have new state-of-the-art facility. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.