Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. On May 26th of this year at the invitation of the NWT Seniors' Society and Weledeh MLA Joe Handley, I had an opportunity to attend a workshop in Ndilo. It was a workshop about elder abuse, Mr. Speaker. It's a sad and, until now, silent reality for many seniors in the NWT. A similar workshop was held in Hay River a few weeks ago, and more will happen in other communities. The theme, Mr. Speaker, is "Respect Our Elders - They Deserve It." Perhaps the issue is most clearly and plainly stated in a resolution from that Hay River workshop, Mr. Speaker, and that resolution said make it against the law to abuse our elders.

There are no available statistics in the NWT on elder abuse but, Mr. Speaker, it's an issue that's being raised more and more when seniors are getting together. Elder abuse is any action or lack of action that is harmful to health or wellbeing of an elder. It may take the form of physical, emotional, financial or even sexual abuse. In the past when elders have been victimized, they've been hesitant to speak out for fear of the consequences, and especially, Mr. Speaker, it's a difficult thing to talk about when they're suffering abuse at the hands too often of their own families.

The NWT Seniors' Society, supported by this government's seniors' action plan, as the Minister referred to in his statement earlier today, is working to promote zero tolerance for elder abuse in the NWT. They are to be commended for their efforts. Mr. Speaker, we're shining some light on what's been a very dark corner for some of our people, and it's encouraging to see elders speaking out and identifying their own issues and concerns. As the moderator at that workshop said, this is something new and it's about time it happened.

I urge this government to look at the root causes of elder abuse such as over-crowded housing and substance abuse, and later in this session to address that resolution from Hay River which called on us to make elder abuse illegal, when we look at passing the family violence legislation that will enable law enforcement and community officials to act more quickly in family violence and elder abuse situations. Mr. Speaker, the elders of the NWT do deserve this action. Thank you.

---Applause