Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too rise today here. I’d like to thank our mover of the motion, Mr. Bromley, and Mrs. Groenewegen for seconding it.

You know, the Avens concern is nothing new to this House and I’m glad today we’re having a chance to finally discuss its importance. The crux of it is, the motion is very detailed but the motion raises the important issue of critical and a crisis that is pending. That crisis is that many of us in this room are reaching that critical age, some sooner than others, so I am hoping that this resonates loud and clear for those that are closer to that threshold.

With that, Mr. Speaker, there is a concern that we have been waiting on this side of the House for many opportunities to address this issue, and we’ve been very patient. We have waited for such things as Our Elders: Our Communities report which was tabled, I believe, on June 2nd of this year, and we

were hoping that that would have laid some of the foundation of concern for dealing with the long-term care beds and dementia, but clearly, and shamefully, there was no targets or timelines, and I guess that was a disappointing factor.

We did wait for the Aging in Place Action Plan, which is a bit of a side issue in terms of trying to allow a senior to live in their places for a longer period of time, which I do agree with, but again nothing really substantial to formulate how we’re going to make this happen. Then, of course, you heard from some of my colleagues about the continuing care review. Again, all great initiatives in

their own part, all speaking a certain sense of wanting to do something but, really, with no targets or timelines and with no financial commitment, it really is hard to come to grips that we do have a policy and a strategy moving forward.

Really, what are we looking at? The motion speaks to developing a long-term care plan, indicate the steps, the timing, and it enacts to include possible partnerships. These are all realities we live with today, and these are simple asks. We are not asking to build a rocket ship here; we are asking to design and develop something to which everyone will be in at a moment in time and, as I said earlier, some of us sooner than later.

I do support the motion. I believe that what we’re looking for here is a NGO that is looking for our government’s support. They have asked for a memorandum of the support, we have talked about this issue in our capital estimates last week, and clearly, even though it appears they have come forward numerous times to this government, we haven’t been to the table or at least haven’t been forthright in supporting them. I am hoping that through this motion, through this action, we are able to diffuse this situation that we have in the Northwest Territories and provide this territorial facility to allow a pressure relief, so to speak, with the aging in place concern that we have.

Again, I do like to thank Mr. Bromley and Mrs. Groenewegen for bringing this forward and I will be supporting this motion. Thank you.