Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The midwifery programs in Fort Smith and Hay River have been providing excellent care since their inception. Data from the University of British Columbia demonstrates that health outcomes for patients using midwifery services are equal to or better than the rest of the territory and even the country. NWT communities with midwifery services have lower pre-term birth rates than those without, and even clients who choose to leave their home communities for birth have lower C-section rates and long breastfeeding duration rates. These excellent health outcomes are directly tied to the culturally safe and relationship-based care of midwifery. Imagine the improvements our people and communities could see if we invested more in midwifery. We could bring down our high infant mortality rate. Half of the NWT's population is Indigenous, and as our own programs have demonstrated, midwifery clearly helps in addressing the large maternal and infant health disparities of Indigenous people.
Demand for midwifery services is high. Folks pay for their own travel to communities, especially throughout the Deh Cho. Even people from Yellowknife are seeking care from midwives in Hay River and Fort Smith. Midwifery investments will make access to these services, along with the better health outcomes they provide, more equitable for all people across the NWT. Our government has taken note of these facts and has committed to expand midwifery services. We spent a lot of time and money studying how to successfully expand midwifery services, both in 2012 and 2017. Based on these studies, along with strong public support, a plan was made and, in 2019, funds were provided for phase one of three for midwifery service expansion. After just one year of capacity-building, the funds to move to phase 2 were not delivered as planned. Our government is now stalling, saying we need to revisit the plan and business case.
Our midwifery program has demonstrated excellent outcomes despite being under-resourced, since they lack both adequate support from management and appropriate funding levels for staff. The midwifery services in Rankin Inlet recently closed because of these similar problems. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted