Thank you for the opportunity to speak to this important motion, Mr. Speaker. Often I find myself at Avens talking to people who don’t necessarily live there but they see one day that they may be there. But quite often what I hear from them is they just don’t see the room available for them to retire in a particular place like Avens. This story or narrative could be applied anywhere really, I mean whether you live in Inuvik or Hay River or Fort Simpson, and even in places like Fort Providence or McPherson. I agree with the MLA for Mackenzie Delta that people in his communities probably want to retire or spend their final years around their family, their food, their language, and certainly their friends and loved ones.

I don’t think that this motion is as complex as we’re making it. I think the motion really speaks to the fact that we need a strategy. We can call it a vision. We can call it a plan. I mean, we can even name it after the Minister; I don’t really care. But it talks about doing something useful and saying we need to know where we’re going. As far as I’m concerned, we need to know where we’re going because that will help define how to get there. If we don’t know what we want to do for seniors housing, what do

you think the seniors feel about this particular situation? How do you think the elders in our communities feel about this situation?

Often I get told by these people who are seniors or elders or certainly good friends, I would definitely define most of them as very, very good friends, but they always talk about affordability every single time, access to an affordable place to spend their time. As they look down the path or the journey that they’re going to be taking, they see affordability as a major hurdle. Many of them are working today. They will tell me they can’t afford to retire. That’s the reality. I mean, cost of living is no new subject line for this Legislature. It’s an unfortunate situation, but I know many seniors who continue to work into the years that they really wish they could fully retire. They dreamt of retiring. One day their turn would come up. They were loyal to the system; they paid their taxes; they did their duty; they’re good Canadians and they love their country. Now they’re wondering: does anyone love them as they struggle to find a way to spend those special years without having to go to work if you’re 60 or 65 and, in some cases, even older? There are many cases where I talk to seniors who are just simply, their health is running down and they shake their head and go, we just can’t afford to retire and this is our only option to live, is to work.

I call that an undignified way of treating our special people that we care for very much. I mean, there isn’t a day that doesn’t go by that I hear people talk about how important our elders are, how important our seniors are, how important and we should always keep them in the forefront of our mind. I was listening to Chief Joachim Bonnetrouge the other day and he talked about spending more time with elders and how important those things are. I mean, the point that I’m raising here is the fact that we always have to make sure they are foremost on our minds and we are certainly taking care of them to the best of our abilities.

At Avens in particular, but this could apply anywhere in the Northwest Territories, whether it’s Fort Smith, and soon-to-be Behchoko, it may someday be Fort Providence, a senior or an elder should not think it’s like they hit the lotto if they get in. They should know that their turn is coming, and they will wait. I know the elders in our territory are so respectful and they will wait and they will bide their time. But frankly, many cannot wait, and many will never see a list that big.

In Yellowknife in particular, there’s a waiting list of 50 people. Three are from out of town and the rest of the applicants are spread across particular units, whether it’s the Aven Court, the Aven Ridge, its subsidizer markets, even the dementia centre. Many people want this opportunity to be taken care of, but they want to be part of the solution as well. I don’t want to think of how many seniors have to

struggle just to survive day to day. They’re looking for a fair opportunity and this motion really sets that into motion, as a matter of fact. This motion says that we need a strategy or a vision and we need to find our lens. This is one particular partner, such as the Avens folks.

I mean, there could be different combinations, different ways, whether it’s with a community government. I encourage all community governments to come up with solutions for their seniors and elders. That is the way it gets done. I mean, it’s going to be a long time for us to sit here and wait for the GNWT to do everything. It’s just impossible to imagine. I could make light of that, but that is the fact; it’s going to be a long time before the government solves these problems. So, partnership is the only solution and the only way that should matter because it is the only way that does matter.

I’m going to finish by saying that there are so many people who have led the charge for us, who have blazed the path, taught us many things and they certainly deserve our support. What I’ll say is up until now, they certainly deserve better. Thank you.