Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In Mr. Roland’s fiscal update yesterday to the people of the Northwest Territories, there were two potentially positive announcements that could have a positive impact and a serious effect on our capital infrastructure in the Northwest Territories. The first was the $18 million increase in the operating surplus for the last fiscal year, and the second was the commitment by the federal government to respond to a request to remove the $300 million debt limit by the end of this year.

Mr. Speaker, two things arise out of this. The first one is, I’m definitely concerned that we may be overtaxing our citizens in an unnecessary way to have such a large surplus. The next one is, well, now that we have the money, what are our plans to do with it, this un-projected windfall?

The reason I raise this, Mr. Speaker, is there’s a capital infrastructure project in Yellowknife that definitely needs serious attention from this government, Mr. Speaker. Of course, if anyone hasn’t figured this out yet, I’m talking about the territorial dementia centre to be built here in Yellowknife in partnership with the Yellowknife Association of Concerned Citizens for Seniors. This would be a great godsend to the people of the Northwest Territories and Yellowknife that are struggling to care for their loved ones with these types of diseases.

Our present hospital and long-term care facilities do not have the equipment to deal with the demands that have arisen because of these problems. Advanced dementia in the hospitals and the costs associated with them are a difficult course that we follow and it’s difficult to pay for those and treat folks in a proper and fair way.

Mr. Speaker, what I’m really saying is, we need a dedicated dementia facility today and we have heard yesterday that we have, potentially, the funds to do this. Mr. Speaker, we need this facility because our residents with these advanced cases of dementia need to be cared for in an environment appropriate to their specific medical needs and we cannot treat these folks in the manner that we are.

I know the government has to make tough choices, Mr. Speaker, and sometimes we have to advance projects over others, but now we have possibly identified a source to get this project moving. So I believe, as many of my colleagues do, that this was positive news yesterday. So let’s do something positive with it. We have a territorial dementia facility plan. We have a group that wants to work in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Services, or Government of the Northwest Territories, in a positive way to do constructive things for our citizens.

So, Mr. Speaker, in closing, I will have questions for the Health and Social Services Minister later today to expect some decisive action about ways we can help solve these problems. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause