Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just in regard to that, I think there should be an increase looked at, because of the cost of living. These individuals who are elderly, and people with disabilities, do not have the opportunity to work extra, if they're allowed to. If you're going to do that, I think that the program established should be monitored in regard to increasing, because the cost of living in the North is only getting higher and higher with the cost of food and just the cost of living as a whole. If they're going to do this, they should be increasing in regard to helping our disability and our elders. Because, right now, if you're not employed, everybody goes to nanak's and dadak's, your grandparents' house, to go eat and they're not going to say no to you. These are the ones who are hurting the most in regard to that, because they get their pension cheques and, you know, it's tough to see in regard to that because they're utilizing all their monies just for food, to help their family. Everybody is like that. You know that, Madam Chair, in regard to how we treat our families back home. So I think something like that, the Minister should really take a look at it; increasing for our elders. Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. At this point, I'm not going to make a commitment that we will actually specifically increase more money for elders or disabilities within our Income Support Program, because, I'm trying to remember back, now, I believe, and it is late and I am tired, but I do believe that it was only a couple of years ago, if not, that we actually increased it. I think it went from $300 a month to $405 a month for people with disabilities and Income Support. So, again, we have a lot of priorities. It was just increased, so we need to make sure that we can spread the money around as appropriate. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Member for Nunakput.

Thank you, Madam Chair. No, I don't think the Premier has been shopping in our local communities. For $405, you probably get about two or three bags, if you're lucky. I think that has to be looked at, in regard to that. That's just a comment to that, but my next question is the 25 beds that you have in the Inuvik long-term care facility, already, and you're looking at another 44, so that's going to take it up to, how much, 48. Wow. I need some of those beds, Madam Premier. The thing is, what we have to do is aging, everybody in our communities, I have of my friends who watch their parents until they're 99 and 100 years old, and sacrifice themselves to take care of their mum or their dad. I think aging in place, people, like I said, I brought this up a few times, Madam Chair, in regard to people who are shipped out to Inuvik. The only time you'll see them is at medical. The travel is over $2,000 for some of those return tickets, just for Sachs Harbour to Inuvik, or Paulatuk, or Ulukhaktok. You'll never see the person who is in long-term care unless you're going for medical. I think something has to be done in regard to working with the community, and that's what I'm trying to do.

Because, for me, seeing all those beds in Inuvik, it's good for Inuvik, and the jobs are going to be good; I have no problem with that, but, at the end of the day, I want my elders, because, as Inuvialuit, we take care of our elders, and it's really disheartening to see family, when they're being pulled away and they know it, and the only time they're going to come home is in a box. That's how it works. That's got to change; the mentality of that has got to change. If we could build six beds for long-term in Ulukhaktok and maybe four in Paulatuk, same thing in Tuktoyaktuk; but the thing is, again, it's really tough to see. Like I said, I have nothing against Inuvik in regard to getting those beds, but at the end of the day Nunakput needs to take care of our own elders.

As an Inuvialuit beneficiary and working with the Inuvialuit Development Corporation, our government wants to work together with local community governments to do stuff like this. I really need this for my communities, Madam Chair, and within the next four years I'm going to have it. That's what I want from our Premier, and the commitment. I know you're going to say, no, we can't do that, we're broke; but you have to find money. We're finding money for Stanton. You're finding money for all these other big projects for you guys. Thirty-three communities; we need help. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Nunakput. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. It's a heartbreaking story that you share, and I understand the need to be with your family members. I've also got aging relatives who I love dearly. If it was as simple, Madam Chair, as just saying, "I will give you five beds and you can take care of your own in your community," I would do that right now. I would go down to Quality Furniture, or wherever, a Brick and buy five beds, out of my own pocket, and give it to the Member. The issue is not about the beds. The issue is one of our priorities: we don't have enough staff, health service staff, so one of our priorities is increasing our health professionals by 20 percent. We don't even have the staff to meet the needs of the buildings that we have now, so to expand on a program that we're not doing an adequate job with currently, is that best practice, Madam Chair? That is the question we need to ask. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Premier. I will go to the Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm very happy to hear discussions around a seniors' strategy being brought up, and also the seniors home heating fuel, so it's nice to know that we're all on similar pages on this side of the House. My first two are comments, and then I have a question. My first comment is just in regard to the identifying gaps, and that being in summer 2021 that is our targeted timeline for that. I feel like a year and a half to just identify where we're not doing enough seems like not enough. Then, also, in terms of "amend NWT Housing Corporation policies to allow more low-income seniors to access housing supports," and not starting that until summer 2021 doesn't seem like enough to me, as well, but those are just comments. My question is: the mandate item of amending NWT Housing Corporation policies to allow more low-income seniors to access housing supports, how can we see that the policies are amended if we can't see the policies anywhere online, and is the Premier or the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation willing to post the policies online right now so that we can see them as they stand right now? Thank you.

Thank you, Member for Kam Lake. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. That would be a commitment the NWT housing Minister would have to address, so I'll turn it over to the Minister.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Madam Chair. That's a commitment I am going to make, because we are reviewing that right now and I want those policies online so people can access them themselves. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Madam Chair. That makes me very happy to hear. So I'm happy, thank you.

Thank you. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Madam Chair. You know, I was really happy to see this one, and word it the way we did; dignity is so important. Just before the session we were downtown here in Yellowknife and I saw an elderly lady, it was just busy, moving really slow, and I stopped my vehicle. I didn't care if people were ticked off behind me. I stopped my vehicle, I got out, and I helped this lady cross the street, and she had a handkerchief on, slow, and had a cane. I took my time and I talked with her, I joked with her. She thanked me; she spoke really good English. She still had a little accent, but she said, "Mahsi cho," and I said, "It's all good. You're going to be good for another 30 or 40 years." Of course, she laughed really loud and got a good laugh out of it. That's how you have to treat your elders. You have to joke with them and talk with them, and make them feel important. To me, that's what's important, to treat them with dignity. That's the way I operate, and any time I see, when our elders are having any sorts of barriers, it just angers me; it motivates me, I guess. I want to try to do as much as I can.

One of the things, too, with the policies I see here, there are changing policies with the NWT Housing Corporation. For example, there are still a lot of elders having lots of troubles. There are still a lot of mobility issues. I brought some up in the House, and I know that the Minister from the Housing Corporation wanted me to ask some questions. I still haven't asked. I just want to let that sit for a little bit, because it's important. I want to give a lot of departments, let the Ministers think. We have to treat our elders like royalty, like gold; that's what they deserve. They brought many of us up, and that's how we should treat them.

Going back to what I was saying about many policies, I'd like to see a little bit more of that. I know that we made a change for NWT Housing Corporation to help with small businesses, but I want to see a little bit more for getting more policies and getting more funding to help out with mobility, for example. I don't know what that's going to look like. I know that we're under some fiscal constraints, but in these areas, I think it's really important, especially mobility. It helps; if you help elders around their homes be mobile around the home, it will keep them in their homes longer, so we don't have them ship them off to places like Inuvik. It's not right.

So I just want to see if the Premier or the Minister would be committed. I want to hear what kind of commitments they're going to make in terms of changing policies. I want to hear specifically what kinds of policies they're going to change. Mahsi cho, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh. Madam Premier.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll let the Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation address the policy changes.

Thank you, Madam Premier. Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Right now, I don't want to display a commitment or specific policies that we are reviewing, because I want to look at them all. I know that there is quite a bit, but then I need them to meet the needs of the Northwest Territories and I want to work with the programs that we have, because I do hear the Members. Our programs are hard to access. So, going forward, as we progress within our department, I will inform the Member of the policy changes we are making going forward. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister responsible for the NWT Housing Corporation. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Sorry, I'm getting a little bit fatigued. I have nothing further, thank you.