Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, between 2003 and 2021, the senior population in the NWT rose from 2,787 to 6,920. Although we should continue to focus on attracting people of all ages to the Northwest Territories to live and work, we must also focus on supporting our seniors and their ability to age in their home communities within the Northwest Territories. We have many benefits for seniors, including resources to help access medical care and medication which makes the Northwest Territories an attractive place to live, work, and retire for seniors. However Mr. Speaker, I worry that the government is not reacting fast enough to our growing rate of seniors.

One area we need to continue to support is housing for seniors. I look at the Avens pavilion as a piece of infrastructure which will help support a key demographic that brings so much to our community. The goals of the expansion of Avens include providing Northwest Territories seniors with:

• Increased residential living choices, including:
• (92) one-bedroom units; and,
• (10) two-bedroom units.
• Adequate, accessible and affordable housing;
• Energy efficient homes;
• A sense of community within a multifamily complex; and,
• Support seniors so they can move seamlessly through the continuum of care without leaving the Avens community.

This critical piece of infrastructure must be complemented with aging-in-place services, resources for seniors, and a strategy from the government to systematically ensure our seniors have what they need so they can continue to play the vital role they do in Northwest Territories society.

More work is needed as the NWT's population continues to age. We must ensure services and programs are in place that encourage our most precious resource, our seniors and elders, to stay in the North.

I want to thank Great Slave constituent Daryl Dolynny and the staff at Avens for advancing their pavilion project and the myriad of community members who worked tirelessly and raised funds to support them. I would also like to thank the Yellowknife Seniors' Society for the important work they do, the programs they run, the information they provide, and the overall support they give to this important group. And I want to congratulate their recently elected board and I look forward to collaborating with them in the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.