Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm rising today because I want to talk about Northerners living healthier, longer, and retiring in the North.

Mr. Speaker, it is a shifting demographics and makeup like the seasons in nature, people's lives similarly follow their own course. People travel from their spring to their summer to the fall and even to the winter cycle of our days. Each journey is different, and each journey certainly has its own supports and needs. We need supports through independence, care, but always through respect as we go through these stages.

Mr. Speaker, seniors are certainly one of the fastest growing demographics we have in the Northwest Territories. Between 2003 and 2021, that section of our population grew by 250 percent. It went from 6.5 percent of our population up to 15.2% of Northerners, Mr. Speaker.

Seniors are living longer. Some are working because they want to. Many work because they need to, Mr. Speaker. Our economy does need them in the workforce, but the reality is some of them are working because they absolutely are struggling, and they need help. While the median income in the Northwest Territories may appear high in respects to what it is in Canada, it has considerably dropped for seniors over the age of 65.

Now everywhere I travel throughout the North, all I hear about how important are our elders and our seniors, and I couldn't agree more. They are a revered piece of our population that deserves our greatest respect and dignity, Mr. Speaker. But to do that, many even question why we don't have a Minister responsible for seniors. It almost seems like a shame they've been forgotten. Often, I hear about how the government and our people extol the great virtues of seniors and why we need them, but where is that Minister?

Mr. Speaker, I also want to point out how do we define and demonstrate our continued respect for this community? Seniors' benefits only go so far. They are also mapped all over the government. It's difficult to follow even for someone like myself who's familiar on how to find these types of things. We could, as a government, create a hallmark piece of legislation and policy that could codify seniors' benefits by calling it a seniors' bill of rights for our elders. Why? Because they matter that much. We put pen to paper, and we demonstrate it through our commitment here every single day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.