My question is for the Minister responsible for Seniors. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my Member's statement, June is Senior Citizens’ Month in the Northwest Territories. Some jurisdictions in Canada recognize the importance of the elders in their community by creating the position of an advocate for seniors. An elder advocate is someone who will defend the rights of elders, raise awareness of the challenges they face, and act on their behalf in navigating the complex systems of services and supports for our seniors. Mr. Speaker, my question, in the absence of a seniors' advocate, if an elder resident has an issue or grievance with the government what channels should they follow to find answers? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister responsible for Seniors.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this point the GNWT does not have a seniors' advocate, but there are many, many avenues for which an individual who has concerns with programs and services delivered by the GNWT can seek additional clarity on those programs as well as information. The government service officers in most of the regions can provide significant guidance to seniors how to navigate the system; in fact, that's one of the reasons that they're created. There are different positions, different appeal mechanisms that are available to all residents including seniors. But, at the same time, Mr. Speaker, there are a number of fantastic seniors' organizations and advocacy groups here in the Northwest Territories who have a wealth of information and can provide information to seniors. As the Minister responsible for Seniors, I have a relationship with those organizations and I meet with them regularly and I'm committed to meeting with them regularly. They can share broader concerns with us and I bring those into the ministries, to the different ministries they may be affecting and share that information and try to help them move those files forward, but there are many mechanisms. We don't have a seniors' advocate, but there are many mechanisms where individuals can bring their concerns forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I certainly appreciate the Minister's response. I'd like to ask the Minister if this government is considering creating the position of an elders’ advocate for the NWT? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this time we haven't considered creating a seniors' advocate in the Government of the Northwest Territories. We are interested in working very closely with the different seniors' organizations to ensure that residents, seniors, have a streamlined process through using some of the existing mechanisms. We work with the different groups to develop things like the seniors' handbook which clearly outline many of the programs that are available to seniors across the Northwest Territories. As I've indicated, we will continue to work closely with those seniors' organizations to make sure that their voice is heard both within this House but also at the Cabinet level. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thanks again to the Minister for his response and this will be my final question. Mr. Speaker, the NWT Seniors' Society has adopted a broad action plan that sets goals in four areas: cost of living, eliminating inequalities, improving access to health care, and creating safe communities for elders. Mr. Speaker, can the Minister tell the Assembly how his department or, as Minister responsible for Seniors, he, is working to support these goals? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in the last Assembly, the Government of the Northwest Territories came forward with the Our Elders: Our Communities Framework which was building upon a significant amount of work done within the government but also building upon what I would consider to be a seniors' charter, which were those four pillars that the Member has identified, and those pillars, the work that was done, came to form Our Elders: Our Communities which has seven priorities that include healthy and active aging, home and community care services, integrated and coordinated services across the continuum, caregiver supports, elder responsive communities, accessible and current information available through things like the elders handbook that I talked about earlier, as well as sustainable best practices. This is about ensuring that our residents, our senior residents, have the best services. We also have things like the extended health benefits for seniors which is a program that is not offered in most jurisdictions in this country. We are moving forward on Our Elders: Our Communities in developing the long-term plan for long-term care. We're in the development stage of that and I will be certainly working with committee as we've got more options and ready to have some discussion with the direction we're going to take moving forward. A significant amount of work happening on this file, Mr. Speaker, and we will certainly engage stakeholders and Members as we move forward.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.
