Health committee  There's no question about that. We've already seen the positive impacts in the retention of the nurses in Nain. It's created a whole different working environment for them. They now feel that they have a physician beside them. It's technological, but they do feel that presence. It really has made a big difference in how they work.

Health committee  Probably the most important thing for us is health equity. If you look at a map of Canada and you look at an Inuit travel map, most of the care that's beyond primary for Inuit of Canada is done somewhere else. It's in another province of Canada. It costs a lot of money in terms of dollars spent, but on the human side, one always has to travel for medical care.

Health committee  That's a difficult question to answer because Nain is part of the new land claim. The funding for health care delivery comes through a five-year fiscal finance agreement between the province and the federal government, which would include the non-insured health benefit system as part of that.

Health committee  It is an honour to be here representing the Inuit land claim of Nunatsiavut, as an Inuk and as a former director of health for that region. On the map you will see the Nunatsiavut land claim, the last of the four Inuit regions of Canada to be proclaimed, in relation to the rest of Labrador, and of course it is part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.