The system has been broken for far too long. It's going to take effort and dedication from the government to close the gap. In my region, we amalgamated two systems of health care in 2007. From day one that organization has been running a deficit to this day. It's over $20 million in the hole.
That paints a very clear picture to how under-resourced the health care system is in the North. It's trying to fit everything as it is in Ottawa or Toronto, but it doesn't work. That is why I agree with the regional chief. There's got to be a mechanism where there's a delivery system in the region because of the logistics or the remoteness factor. Is that going to change if we continue with the status quo? I don't think so. You're going to continue having declarations until we roll up our sleeves and say, “Let's do it”.