Sandy Lee

Mr. Chairman, the RFP went out in July, and I believe the lease was negotiated at the end of last month, so it hasn’t been signed for three months. The location is in between Wycliffe Centre and the mall, that area.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have answered one part of that question: 1,843 square metres of space is what we are looking for. I believe we have acquired that with 25 parking spots. It is in the downtown location.

I would also concur with Minister Miltenberger that we will get back to the Member on the details of the lease agreement signed. I would think that there is a provision in there that it’s subject to approval of this House.

Mr. Chairman, this capital funding includes everything to do with the clinic. That would include tenant improvements as well as all of the medical equipment and everything else that would have to go into this clinic.

Secondly, I do want to inform the Members that there have been extensive studies done. Initially when this project was approved, I think about three years ago, the thought was to build a new building. The review has come to the conclusion that it’s more economical to use the existing site and do tenant improvements.

I’d be happy to get back to the Member on the exact breakdown of...

I believe so.

The doctor here decided that she needed services we didn’t have here. Capital Health doctors decided that she had to go to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton. We had inquired about other capacities, and I understand that the emergency units in Calgary, as well as in Grande Prairie, were also at full capacity.

I’m not aware of this two week ago communication the Member is talking about. I did talk to the husband of the patient yesterday. I let him know that I was taking this issue very seriously and that I was using all of my powers and authority available to me to help this NWT resident who is being cared for in emergency without being able to find her own room.

We use Capital Health services because for services like neurology and cardiology, we don’t have those services here. The doctors here felt it was better for her to be sent there than to stay here. She was being taken care of and monitored...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Among Canadian women breast cancer is the form of cancer most often diagnosed. It ranks second after lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths. More than 21,200 Canadian women will be diagnosed with this disease each year, and more than 5,200 deaths will occur as a result. In the NWT about 20 new breast cancer cases are diagnosed each year, comprising 40 per cent of all cancers diagnosed in women. The incidence of breast cancer among NWT women is higher than the Canadian rate.

The evidence is strongly established that routine mammography screening reduces the...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The master plan has been redeveloped with a focus on the seven critical areas. The department feels that we do have a workable plan worked out now. We will go through the new capital planning process, which has a committee made up of officials who will review this and put it back into the capital planning process. It will progress along with all the other projects that will be put into it that are ready with a concrete plan. This project is at that stage.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would undertake to make that…. I mean, this is a situation where we don’t want to be making announcements without having gone through the debate here. So it is sort of a catch-22 situation.

I just want to say on the equipment that the most expensive part is the new services the new primary clinic will deliver, such as scan machines and X-ray machines and lab tech machines that are not available in the existing clinic.

The second thing, for those who know about these three existing clinics — with the possible exception of Great Slave — Gibson Clinic and Family clinic...

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. An RFP was issued in July, and the lease has been awarded with downtown access space as well as the necessary parking. I expect to do a public statement on that. It’s just that the employees of the centre have not been advised yet, but it will be in a downtown location.