[English translation not provided.] Mr. Speaker, today I will be making a Member's statement on aging in place. Aging in place will keep seniors in their own homes and their own communities for as long as possible. In order to do this, the NWT Housing Corporation will have to make adjustments and changes to their repair programs. Mr. Speaker, aging in place, when the NWT Housing Corporation works with the Department of Health and Social Services' homecare program, can defer $125,000 per year per senior. That, Mr. Speaker, is the current cost of having one senior in long-term care for one year, not to mention the cost of building more long-term facilities. The capital cost of building long-term facilities is between $100,000 and $200,000 per bed. Many seniors across NWT are now finding it difficult to remain in their homes. Most of them need their units to be retrofitted to a barrier-free or senior-friendly state so that they will not have the burden of a poorly functioning house in their later years. Once the seniors have their homes retrofitted to meet their needs they will need homecare services to remain in their home, and the NWT Housing Corporation and the Department of Health and Social Services must work together to make this possible. In addition, the seniors themselves want to remain in their homes and in their communities for as long as possible. Seniors wish to remain as independent as possible. This will give them the independence they so desire. Currently about 15 per cent of the population across Canada is 65 years and over, and this number is expected to grow by about a half per cent per year, actually slightly under a half per cent per year. Therefore, the government should have programs for the costs of modifying the homes to accommodate the changing needs of aging elders and support should be put in place so they can continue to enjoy a high quality of life in their own homes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mahsi. Members’ statements. Item 4, returns to oral questions. Item 5, recognition of visitors in the gallery. Honourable Premier.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm very pleased to recognize the NWT Tourism executive director, Cathie Bolstad and marketing director, Ron Ostrom. Welcome.

Mahsi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Hay River North.

This week we have two Pages from Diamond Jenness Secondary School in Hay River. I'd like to recognize them, Riella Bordey and Marcel Frise. They're grade 9 students and they'll be helping us out all week, and I thank them. I'd also like to thank my constituency assistant, Anne Peters, in the gallery. She's also a constituent. Prior to this, she was an executive assistant at the Chamber of Commerce in Hay River and spent 22 years with the Canadian Armed Forces. I'd also like to recognize Mandee McDonald and Erin Freeland Ballantyne from Dechinta University.

Mahsi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Kam Lake,

Mahsi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to also recognize a couple of Pages from East Three Secondary School in Inuvik: Kylie English-Traer and Chantal Schab. They are here with my constituency assistant, their chaperone, Christine Cardinal.

Mahsi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Inuvik Boot Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Along with my colleagues, I'd like to recognize Mandee McDonald and Erin Freeland Ballantyne, who do some very good work with Dechinta University. Welcome to the House.

Mahsi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. Member for Yellowknife North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I must, like my colleagues, pour it on. I want to recognize Erin Freeland Ballantyne and Mandee McDonald from Dechinta. Dechinta’s offices are in the riding of Yellowknife North. Like the Premier, I also want to take the opportunity to recognize the executive director of NWT Tourism, Cathie Bolstad, as she is also a resident of Yellowknife North. I thank them all for coming today.

: Mahsi. Recognition of visitors in the gallery. If we missed those individuals in the gallery I'd like to welcome everyone for being here today with us. It's always great to have an audience in the gallery.

Item 6, acknowledgements. Member for Yellowknife Centre.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to acknowledge and congratulate Janet Diveky on her retirement from Public Works and Services. Mrs. Diveky taught throughout the Arctic before moving to Yellowknife with her husband and family in 1988. She joined Public Works and Services as a Library Technician then and again in 2003, with a return to teaching in-between. Mrs. Diveky is known for her volunteer efforts, especially with the Yellowknife Association for Community Living. She's also well known for her skills as a potter. I'd like to congratulate Mrs. Diveky on her career at Public Works and Services and wish her and her family well in her retirement.

Mahsi. Item 7, oral questions. Member for Hay River North.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further to my Member’s statement today, I have questions I'd like to direct at the Minister of Transportation regarding the dredging of the port of Hay River. Given the importance of safe marine operating conditions to the physical well-being of those using the waterways and the economic well-being of the industries that depend on those waterways what, if any, responsibility does the GNWT have in regards to ensuring safe marine operating conditions?

Mahsi. Minister of Transportation.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Government of Canada has legislative and regulatory authority and responsibility for marine operations and conditions. The Government of Canada is also the federal regulator responsible for safe marine operation and conditions on navigable NWT waterways, including the Great Slave Lake, the Mackenzie and Liard Rivers, and the port of Hay River. The Department of Transportation’s advocacy regarding marine issues with federal departments, including the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard, including safe operating conditions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Given that during that the last Assembly, the then Minister of Transportation recognized the importance of a viable harbour in Hay River to the economic well-being of the community, the region, and the territory, has the government analyzed the potential economic benefits of taking concrete action in regards to dredging?

The economic importance of the Hay River harbour to private industry, commercial fishing industry, tourism, and recreational users in the public sector, the Canadian Coast Guard and the National Defence marine supply operations will have an impact on the cost of living. Twelve communities depend on marine resupply for delivery of essential cargo; four communities depend exclusively on marine and air resupply. Fifteen per cent reduction in maximum barge loads last summer for Hay River; a significant infill and the siltation are key locations in the Hay River harbour and East Channel impacts on NTL's commercial fishing vessels and other vessels.

Because the GNWT does undertake the obligation to encourage the federal government to dredge, has there been any progress on this issue during your meetings with the new federal Minister or with the Prime Minister?

I recently met with Minister Tootoo, the federal Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, in January in Ottawa. We discussed the NWT marine issues, including dredging of the Hay River harbour. We also followed up with Minister Tootoo on a formal request for reinstatement of the federal Arctic marine resupply sites and the management program within the NWT, with emphasis on critical need for proper maintenance of the 14 federally owned and operated community marine facilities in the NWT, including the Hay River harbour. Proper maintenance is essential to safe and timely cost-effective marine resupply in NWT communities and industry.