Caroline Cochrane

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have said again, many times, all over the place, that a society is based by how we treat our most vulnerable in society. I came here to advocate for low-income people, and this, in my opinion, fits that model. Our constituency assistants are paid, on average, just above the living wage that was brought out. Thank you to Alternatives North for bringing that out. These people end up being, many of them, not all, but many of them suffer, and dental is a luxury that many people on low income cannot afford, myself included as a single parent. I've never seen a dentist for...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just as yesterday, when we were talking about assisting women to get into politics and I spoke about not knowing the roles and responsibilities as a Minister, I know that, when we first became elected Members, we were given an orientation session, but in all honesty, it was a blur. Things came really fast. I hardly remember any part of that.

One thing I have learned, I have learned my roles. One Minister I have to give credit to, the MLA from Great Slave, who taught me to never do anything unethical, illegal, or immoral. I respect that, and I have upheld that throughout my...

I do have to give credit to this Assembly, all of our Members. The implementation of junior kindergarten has provided free childcare spaces, free early childhood development programming to all four-year-olds throughout the Northwest Territories. Over 500 children are taking advantage of this currently. That is only a start. I know we still have zero to three to do. It is not only about spaces. Every community is different. That is what is really important to notice. Smaller communities, when they only have three or four kids who might need daycare, does it make sense to have a full centre...

The Member is probably right. My assumption of what guaranteed basic income was based on my own thinking. The research that I have done has mostly been on TED Talks. One of the Members actually shared with me some information on it. I was a little bit startled on it. I am more than interested in meeting with the Member if she wants to sit with me and educate me further on what basic guaranteed income is, because I think it is something we need to look at, as well.

What more support: there is more than just the start-up money, the safety money, and the expanding. There are the daily rates. Right...

I do appreciate the Member's acknowledgment that our capital budget is being passed. We are at the end of the Legislative Assembly. There will be no new capital budgets coming forward in the term of this Assembly. I mean we have a 20-year capital plan, so, even when I found out there were difficulties with a roof in a school, it was a stress. I had to go for supplementary funding for that. So there is no extra money at this point to actually provide capital for daycare centres. It is quite expensive. I think that, one, we need to put it in a transition report. I think we need to remember...

Eleven communities not having any daycare services, it identifies a problem. It is a bigger problem than that. Many communities, not only do they not have daycares, they don't have any early childhood development support whatsoever. I have said over and over in the House how important it is to have supports for parents and for children. Not all parents have babies and know how to take care of them. I, myself, with my first child, didn't even know how to bathe my baby. We need supports for parents. The 11 communities, however, Mr. Speaker, the majority are smaller communities. The number of...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to once again recognize a constituent, a Page of ours from Range Lake, Brooke Vallis, and, of course, all the other Pages who have done a fantastic job. I really want to pick out Brooke because, even though it's the second time I've recognized her, as the Minister of the Status of Women, I'm hoping that this is the beginning of a long-time look at what you can be when you decide. This is a viable career that I'd like you for you to consider, as well, entering politics. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I, as well, will not be supporting this motion. As I have said previously and many times, society is based on how we treat our most marginalized populations. It would be very hypocritical of me to look at any type of increase, no matter what, until society is treating those who struggle to provide food on their table with a decent level of care. I cannot, in all honesty, ethically support this motion. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's well-known that my degree is in social work, and the basic concept of social work is wellness; mental wellness, as well. Never in my career have I ever been in a position that I have had so many people appreciate my work and so many people hate me for my work. I am a degreed social worker. I have had 20-some years' experience in that. I know self-care, I know where to go for clinical support for myself. I'm not 100 percent sure that other people do have that.

The other issue is that, when you leave here, depending on how you do in this House, you might not be offered...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. One of the reasons this motion is important is it is not only a women's issue. We are asking for a family room. The dynamics are changing, now. It used to be, again, that women were expected to stay home and raise children. That is not the norm anymore. It might be prominent, but it is not the norm. It is not only a women's change table in a women's washroom. It needs to be a change table in a family room that men who are caring for children also have the option to provide for their infants. Thank you, Mr. Chair.