Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’ll be voting for this excellent motion here today. I want to thank Mr. Menicoche for bringing it forward. Mr. Menicoche, I think, truly hits upon a nerve that should be a value that we wear on our chest every single day here. I mean, this Assembly quite often talks about its respect for elders and our seniors, and this motion replies to that call for action. It says that we should be helping people age in place. Aging in place is a philosophy out there to ensure that aging people are allowed to stay as independent as possible with the support of those around you, and at time that actually means government coming to the assistance to ensure that we help people age in place. In some particular cases that means home repairs, sometimes it means changing the old style bathtub into more of an accessible style or just updating hand railing and changing doors.

Mr. Speaker, it’s great value when we can allow a senior or an elder to be able to stay in their own home and not take away that independence. Mr. Speaker, it’s kind of like caging their spirit when you send them off to an institution or seniors home. I’ve heard the complaint from many seniors that there’s no way that they’re leaving their house, at least on their own two feet. It’s like taking their heart from their chest. To allow them to live in poor, unhealthy conditions, is society allowing to stand by and saying, but that’s okay. I believe that’s wrong. Mr. Speaker, I don’t want to see the spirit ripped out of seniors who can live on their own, and sometimes it’s in these unhealthy conditions that have been

mentioned here that I think we could be doing a lot for.

Mr. Speaker, when a senior loses their house because it’s become either unaffordable or, of course, its maintenance has fallen into such disrepair, I’ve heard many people have referred to it as it’s like losing a loved one; the pain of being shipped off into a new place. Now, there are seniors' homes and they’re designed for certain reasons, but I think, by and large, we can allow ourselves to find ways to continue to support our elders in a loving way that shows them the respect and dignity they deserve.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, this motion is more than just home repair, it’s speaks to the spirit and the independence of our seniors and our elders and that can’t be lost. Mr. Speaker, again, I’ll be supporting the motion. I look forward to the rest of my colleagues in this as well. Thank you.