Thank you, Mr. Delorey. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Fetal alcohol effect and fetal alcohol syndrome are, I believe, the most daunting and challenging situations that this government faces not only today, but I think it will be something that will become of even greater consequence for us in the future.

As I have started to learn more and more about this situation as a newer MLA, it struck me as something where I did not even know where to start to begin to look at this, to find out where we might be able to make a difference.

Today, Mr. Speaker, in Fort Simpson, there are a number of people who are getting together and showing just the kind of leadership that I need as an MLA to try to make a difference. Parents and community and school leaders are getting together to start to learn more, to talk about fetal alcohol effect and fetal alcohol syndrome, to get over some of the conditions of denial, of guilt that might be associated with this. They are learning how to cope, how to make their communities, institutions and homes better places to deal with this kind of thing.

I hope Members of this Assembly will join me in wishing them luck. We will be looking to them for leadership and I wish them all well. Thank you.

-- Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Antoine.

Thank you. The honourable Member is seeking unanimous consent to continue with his Member's statement. Are there any nays? There being no nays, Mr. Antoine, you may continue.

Mahsi, Mr. Antoine. The condolences of the Assembly go to the family of Mr. Cazon. Item 3, Members' statements. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Madam Groenewegen. It sounds like a very relaxing weekend for you. Item 3, Members' statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. The honourable Member for Range Lake, Ms. Lee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, further to my statement on Friday, I am pleased to recognize two visitors from South Korea in the gallery. They represent a company that specializes in sky and star watching. They are here to document and photograph our aurora for public consumption. I am happy to report that they have been here since Thursday and they have been able to see the beautiful Aurora every single night. They are here until Tuesday. They are Mr. Sangku Kim and Mr. ByungHo Jeong from South Korea. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause

Welcome to the Legislative Assembly and to the North. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Item 6, oral questions. The honourable Member for Hay River North, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in my Member's statement, our seniors population in Hay River is expected to grow by almost 200 percent by the year 2018. One issue that our seniors are currently faced with and will most certainly be faced with in the coming years is the issue of affordable housing. I will put this open to the Minister responsible for Seniors or Housing, whichever they feel is the most applicable. Would the Minister please elaborate as to what the department is doing to provide housing in the near future for our aging population? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I apologize for being a little delayed in my response here. We do have in our action plan to provide a seniors-plex in Hay River. I believe it is in the fiscal year 2003-04. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister Allen. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the department inform us what long-term plans they have in place to address the projected demand for seniors housing over the next several years? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, I can inform the Member that we have been in consultation with the senior's society of Hay River. They have been working very hard to define their needs in accordance with our housing needs survey, particularly the seniors' needs. We have been working with them on a continual basis and we will continue to do so to meet those ever-growing needs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister Allen. Supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the senior's society has recently submitted a proposal to build a 28-unit complex for independent living in Hay River, pending municipal approval. Would the Minister please indicate to this House if the Government of the Northwest Territories would be willing to partner with the Hay River Seniors Society in the building of an independent living complex? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Delorey. The honourable Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the tentative arrangement has been to help the senior's society work in achieving those goals. However, we do have some limited funds and we have earmarked a certain number of dollars towards that project by way of a combination of arrangements that we are trying to help them solidify and that should be probably realized in the next year or so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister Allen. Final supplementary, Mr. Delorey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is a constant lack of funding for programs and services for seniors. Does the government have any long-term plans to maybe look at increasing financial help they give to seniors in the Northwest Territories in the long-term? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.