Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to all the seniors in our communities throughout the Northwest Territories for the crucial role that they play in giving us guidance, providing us wisdom and also showing us the road to respecting others.
Mr. Speaker, the seniors are a key aspect to how our communities function. Yet, Mr. Speaker, still today we see a lot of barriers put in the way of our seniors to partake in just the day-to-day work of our councils, or in providing language programs, or even in pursuing sewing as a hobby. Mr. Speaker, I think as a government we have to bring down these barriers so that seniors can play a meaningful role in all our communities.
We talk about seniors' fuel subsidy programs, where there's an inequity in the way that it was calculated based on seniors income. I raised that issue in this House and there has been some direction to change that.
We have a system that basically deals with property tax rebates, where you have to go in every year and reapply. We suggested that they consider that once you register as a senior, automatically that system will continue.
Mr. Speaker, there are other initiatives in our communities that we feel are crucial to keeping our seniors in our communities and making sure that they don't have to be sent away to long-term care wards either in regional centres or elsewhere. We need more seniors' independent housing in our communities. We need to ensure that there are elders' homes available to our seniors so we can offer them an alternative to being sent away; to keep them in our communities so that they can be close to their loved ones and families, especially their grandchildren.
Mr. Speaker, I think it's important as a government that we take that extra step and make that extra effort to make the lives of our seniors more comfortable. We need to simplify the policies, procedures and red tape so that the seniors don't have to deal with the extra pressures and stress of worrying about why their pension was deducted, or why was a fuel subsidy taken away, or why did we not allow them some improvements to their independent houses through housing programs.
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.