Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to just make a short statement in support of this motion. I would like to first of all reiterate the points that I made about the need for senior housing in Yellowknife, Mr. Speaker, which is very, very dire. Right now really the only independent units for seniors that are available in the city is the Aven independent courts, and that only has 24 units and it runs at full capacity all year round and it has been for the last 10 years that it's been in existence. There are some seniors' units available in Mary Murphy and Northern United Place, and some private markets funded and subsidized by the housing authorities in the city. However, Mr. Speaker, I can tell you that all of them have really long line-ups and that there has to be something done for those seniors in need.

Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate that the Minister and this government have to deal with the needs and pressure from everywhere. When I'm asking for attention in Yellowknife, I don't mean to do that at the exclusion of all others, but I don't appreciate it when the Minister sometimes uses that as an excuse of inaction. I will tell you that the Minister of Health and Social Services has been planning for this for at least three years and if he plans some more, there won't be any seniors left by the time he's done for him to take care of. You know you can only study something for so long. He's been planning and planning for two years that he was a Minister in the last Assembly and he has done it for the last year, and I say that's enough planning and it's time to do something and to act on it. So let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, I look forward to the Minister's plans after November's study and he could be assured that I will be pushing for him to act on the basis of the mountains of studies that he's said that he's done so far.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to speak briefly about the role of the Housing Corporation and its mandate to provide housing for the Northwest Territories. Mr. Speaker, I think that this motion should serve as a guide and direction and mandate for the Minister to work diligently to meet the needs of housing in the Northwest Territories. I understand that he is new to this portfolio and I am sure he's working to get briefed and trying to determine his priorities. Mr. Speaker, I have to state that he can't be, and the department and no Minister should be, trying to provide services economically and in an affordable manner by breaking their own policies. Yesterday, Mr. Speaker, we talked about the heated debate we went through when the government chose to waive the BIP back in March, and part of a major problem with that was the fact that the government didn't do any communication plan. It just landed on our laps at the last minute and we had to deal with that and they learned their lesson. Yesterday I learned that the Minister reinstated the BIP, except we didn't know anything about it.