Madam Speaker, two years ago I spoke in the House on behalf of the senior citizens of Southeast Vancouver, the Southeast Vancouver Seniors' Arts and Cultural Society and the chair, Lorna Gibbs.
There is a dire need for a seniors centre in this area of Vancouver. There are at least 25,000 seniors living in the southeast quadrant of Vancouver in my riding. That is almost a third of the total senior citizens living in Vancouver. There are nine seniors centres in the city of Vancouver, eight of them on the west side, west of Main Street, only one east of Main, and none in this particular area.
In 2009, the park board had dedicated land at the Killarney Community Centre for the project. This year on February 1, Vancouver City Council voted for $2.5 million toward the project.
There is an urgent need for financial commitments from both the federal and provincial governments. I would urge the federal government to work with the City of Vancouver and the provincial government to make this senior citizens centre a reality for the senior citizens of Southeast Vancouver.