The following statement was issued today by Gerald Smith, Minister of Health and Community Services. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

Voisey�s Bay Nickel Company�s contribution to Labrador Health Centre

I rise today to acknowledge Voisey�s Bay Nickel Company�s generous contribution to the construction of a new health facility in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Over the last five years, this company invested $15 million to help construct the Labrador Health Centre for the people of this province, and we have now received the final installment.

This cost-shared project was first announced in 1996. At that time, government recognized the need to replace the Melville Hospital, a wooden structure built in the 1950s which was becoming increasingly costly to maintain and operate. As a long-term corporate citizen of Labrador, Voisey�s Bay Nickel Company also recognized that the area hospital needed to be replaced. A subsidiary of Inco Limited, Voisey�s Bay Nickel Company believes it has a social responsibility to improving the quality of life in communities where it is located whether it is Thompson, Manitoba; Sudbury, Ontario; or Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador.

As a government, we value the organizations and individuals who partner with us to provide quality health care services to improve the health and well-being of the people of this province. The Labrador Health Centre opened in the fall of 2000. It has 24 beds and provides 24-hour care in the areas of acute, primary and secondary health services to approximately 14,000 residents of Happy Valley-Goose Bay and northern Labrador communities.

I thank the Voisey�s Bay Nickel Company for its continued investment in the health needs of the people of Labrador. I am sure that honourable members who have had the opportunity to see the Labrador Health Centre will agree with me that this is a beautiful facility, which has significantly improved the health care needs and community services system of this province.

2003 05 05                                      1:45 p.m.