Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Our elders in the Mackenzie Delta are growing old gracefully. There is a high number of elders in our region, many of whom still live in their own communities. I would like nothing more than to have our elders reside at home in their elderly age, be taken care of, and have homecare when needed.

Mr. Speaker, we all know that there is a waiting list at the Inuvik long-term care. I can name many, many of our people who have gone there and suffered loneliness. Being away from their own home takes a toll on life. We need to have our own elders' care facilities in our communities. We have our Aurora College, which graduated many nursing students as well as homecare.

Mr. Speaker, I am sure, once we have our community set up with elders' homecare facilities, staffing won't be a problem. Think about us as we get older into the elderly category. Wouldn't my colleagues want to stay in their own home or in their community in an elders' home where staff can take care of you if needed? We need dollars put aside to start planning for homes in each of our communities. This is one of the priorities for my riding.

Mr. Speaker, I do believe we have a high number of elders in the Mackenzie Delta. Numbers are high because they are still at home because they are smothered with love by their family, and more importantly, in familiar surroundings. We need long-term care facilities for our elders, and not only in our regional centres. There's nothing more than giving them the best care since they are the ones who paved the way for our territory. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I'll have questions later today.