Mahsi, Mr. Chairman. I have a few comments on the issue of seniors' housing. I know there have been many comments made over the past few weeks, especially during question period, about seniors' housing and then the impact of our new policies on seniors.
In my recent visits to the communities, I have had contact with people who are very concerned about the impact on them, especially those who currently own their own houses. They have spent a lifetime working and were able to invest in property and have their own house. In many cases, they are still stuck with a mortgage and now the higher cost of power, fuel and other costs to maintain a home.
With the new policies that we have approved here, they look at their neighbours who are living in social housing and are now not paying any rent or any of the cost to maintain a home. They are saying something isn't right. On the one hand, we have worked very hard all of our lives to get to this position and it is costing us an arm and a leg to live. People who live in social housing seem to be fortunate now, in that case. Some balance has to be made somewhere. I know that decisions have been made by this Assembly to change policies but we should look at the issues of subsidies for power. I know there are some small fuel subsidies, and maybe we should look at some mortgage schemes for senior citizens.
The other concern I have, and it's one I've been pushing since I came into this Assembly, is the construction or development of more personal care facilities, especially where you require supervised care in level II, III and even, in some cases, level IV units. Cutbacks by CMHC and the federal government have impacted our ability to provide those kinds of facilities. In the Northwest Territories, we have a very young population but there is still a significant portion of people in communities who are elders and require supervised care. In some cases, family members can provide that but in many cases, it's not happening and these people, especially in the smaller communities, tend to get moved out to larger communities and placed in personal care facilities.
I would just like to know whether or not we've made any headway with the federal government or what the Housing Corporation is doing in trying to provide more funding for personal care units in the communities. Thank you.