Wednesday, March 13, 1968 Hon . M. Lome Bonnell : Mr. Speaker , yesterday evening I gave a resume of my De¬ partment of Tourist Development and started a Department of Welfare regime. I would like to say that during the year the Department of Welfare took over the administration of at Montague, and at Alberton . This provides us with fifty one beds at each centre where we are able to provide the best of care for another group of our Senior Citizens. As in the past we continue to operate and the Home for the Aged, caring for 131 patients at and 115 at the Home for the Aged. Another step forward in accommodations for people under our care this year was the opening of a Special Care Unit at the Provincial Sanitarium. In this unit we have accommodations for thirty people between the ages of sixteen and sixty who need care and have no one to look after them. People cared for in this institution are those suffering from such handicaps as multiple sclerosis, paraplegics, quad¬ riplegics, and other such serious and disabling illnesses. In addition to maintaining these homes the Department has also assisted fin¬ ancially in caring for patients in , the Sacred Heart Home, and Sun¬ set Lodge. Our contributions to these institutions was the same as that in those we operate. They receive contributing amounts if the patient is unable to contribute towards the cost of his or her keep. The cost that we contribute is shared fifty per cent from Federal funds. During the year we paid Old Age Security Supplements amounting from one dollar to twenty five dollars for approximately 3,000 Senior Citizens who did not qualify for any part of Federal Guaranteed Income Supplement. This payment is sufficient to guarantee the Senior Citizens at least $100.00 a month income. During the year we have taken over the financing of the male wing at River¬ side Hospital and the financing of patients in the old female wing as well. In the future we realized that the Province needs more homes for special care. At the present time thought is being given to erecting a building or buildings in the Charlottetown area which will provide enough accommodations to properly care for those presently located in our two wings at Riverside, at and the Home for the Aged. This plan, of course, was necessary due to the conditions and the age of these buildings presently being utilized. L. George Dewar : (Remarks inaudible). Hon . M. Lome Bonnell : Mr. Speaker , , to my knowledge, is operated by the Senior Citizens Housing Authority, or Provincial Housing Authority, and I don't think we call them guests; they are people who rent apartments and it has nothing to do with guests, as we know them, under our Manors, or Home for the Aged. L. George Dewar : Not under welfare? Hon . M. Lome Bonnell : Not under welfare. L. George Dewar : Oh I see. I thought it was the same type of residence as you have in the Manors at Montague and Alberton . Hon . M. Lome Bonnell : No, it is a Senior Citizens Home like we have in Tignish . The Department of Welfare is also considering the possibility of establishing a Division of Aging. L. George Dewar : A division of what? Hon . M. Lome Bonnell : Age, old age, when you get old you will know about it. This Division eventually will have jurisdiction over not only allowances for older people, but, we hope, provide supervision for homes which have been established by the Senior Citizens Corporation, and possibly arrange for recreation and other ser¬ vices for our older citizens. During the year, the next year, we will no longer receive any applications for —247—