Marsi cho, Mr. Speaker. I believe this will be my last Member's statement on "Aging in Place." Over a number of years, I have been talking about the huge benefits of allowing seniors to age in place in their own communities and in their own homes.
Mr. Speaker, this government has decided to build long-term care facilities in Hay River and Inuvik, both with 48 beds. However, there aren't many seniors who actually look forward to moving into these facilities. In Inuvik, the majority of the elders going into long-term care are from surrounding communities, and most, if not all, have no desire to be uprooted and institutionalized in another community. In fact, that is the opposite of what people want. No seniors have ever called me to say that they were looking forward to moving into a long-term care facility. Yet here we are, planning to build and fill up new facilities with seniors at a rate of over $140,000 per senior, per year.
Mr. Speaker, I believe we need to approach this issue with a different strategy because, while I do recognize the need for more long-term care spaces in the future, I believe we must also consider ideas from other jurisdictions that have potential to help improve our existing homecare policy in the NWT. For example, in British Columbia, there are several options people can choose prior to entering into long-term care facilities, all of which are a variation of homecare delivery, which includes community nursing, community rehabilitation, home support, choice of supports for independent living, caregiver relief, end-of-care services, assisted living, and short-term residential care facilities.
Another example to consider, Mr. Speaker, is the homecare policy of Ontario, called "Home First," which is a philosophy that aims to keeping frail patients out of the hospital and back into their homes as soon as possible. The Home First model includes three components: the Wait at Home Program for daily living, errand and social support; the Enhanced Wait at Home Program, which includes up to 56 hours per week of personal support for seniors in need of more help; and the Stay at Home program, which helps seniors delay or eliminate the need for LTC placement. Mr. Speaker, I speak unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted