Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, family violence is a serious problem in the Northwest Territories. It has a significant negative impact on our society. As we are all aware, the Members of this Legislative Assembly unanimously supported a declaration on family violence in November in an effort to focus attention on and bring an end to family violence across the North.

Today, I would like to acknowledge some of the organizations that continue to make great efforts every day in the struggle against family violence.

Mr. Speaker, Alison MacAteer House is a 12-bed crisis shelter in my constituency in Yellowknife that offers a safe place for abused women and children to stay, as well as numerous support and counselling programs. In the past fiscal year, Alison MacAteer House provided shelter for 64 women and 93 children.

The shelter also operates a 24 hours a day crisis telephone line, and last year received more than 500 calls.

Mr. Speaker, the YWCA operates Alison MacAteer House and also provides several other family violence prevention programs. One of these is the recently introduced project, Child Recovery. This program provides support for children who are faced with violence in their homes by offering children a safe place to express their feelings and to improve their self-esteem.

Last September, in partnership with the Yellowknife Women's Centre, the YWCA also established the Women and Children's Healing Recovery Program. The program, which supports women during their healing and recovery from traumatic experiences, has already received 91 applications from across the Northwest Territories in the first eight months.

The Northwest Territories Seniors' Society is another organization actively involved in the struggle against family violence. On May 17th, I was very pleased to take part in the Taking Action on Elder Abuse Workshop hosted by the Seniors' Society. Elders, caregivers and other interested parties from Yellowknife and surrounding communities participated in the workshop in an effort to develop an action plan to eliminate elder abuse throughout the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, I salute these organizations for their continuing efforts to bring an end to family violence. They are key players in a large group of NGOs and individuals in the Northwest Territories working in the field of family violence. Mr. Speaker, we must all be prepared to speak out on family violence. We must all be prepared to step in to stop family violence. When that happens, Mr. Speaker, and only then, can we stop family violence. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

-- Applause