Caroline Cochrane

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Minister McLeod is correct. This money is actually just for the implementation of the playgrounds and a couple of washrooms. The cost was higher in the northern communities than we projected. The money for the relocation of students for Sissons School has not been determined yet. They are still working out the allocations on where those children will go with the school board, the Yellowknife School Board is doing that, and also, what the cost, what the needs will be, whether they will need modules, et cetera.

Until that work is done, we won't know what the cost is. If...

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.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This motion is one that I hold dear to my heart and I really do support it. I hope everyone will support it. I just want to share that women are well-known within their communities as leaders; however, they tend to be on the ground in providing services that stay in the communities, and they don't usually get to the higher levels such as being an MLA or a Minister or Premier. My own experience is I worked for over 20 years with homeless women and low-income women. I came into the government not because I wanted to be a politician, but because I felt that our needs weren't...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I also am going to support this motion. For many years, I was a single parent, and childcare was always a barrier. Women traditionally are known to make less income. This is not the same in the Legislative Assembly, but it used to be, in a time when women were told, and I am going to be kind of blunt, that, "You make your bed. You lie in it." So women stayed in relationships, in my mother's day, throughout their lives, happy or not. Those times have changed. We now have more single parents. The majority of them tend to be women, although there are men who are single...

I will have to get back to the Member on that. We have 10 education authorities. We usually provide the curriculum. I am not exactly sure how they get the student feedback, but I take note, and I am expecting that they do get student feedback. If not, then I will put that forward as a recommendation. I will get back to the Member and find out if we currently do, and if we don't, my recommendation at the next education leaders meeting will be that they get as much feedback from students as possible on all topics.

It is not acceptable that we would limit this funding to only licensed daycare centres. If we had licensed daycare centres throughout the Northwest Territories, I might be more willing to go that route. However, we don't. We need to provide as much parenting support as possible. Within that funding, though, I do want to say that the funding stream isn't going to be open for everything. We do have some agencies that are using it for operational, et cetera, and not actually providing support to parents. The funding will be for one-on-one support or one-to-multiple-children, group support for...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Most definitely. When we look at the results of our early development instruments, our EDI, it shows that children's vulnerabilities are increasing. The research shows that earlier intervention such as parenting supports will have a positive effect on that. I am totally on board with supporting as many parenting programs as we can. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, income security programs are a vital piece of the societal safety network that together help address the needs of NWT residents. Those who access programs within this complex network are often at a point of vulnerability in their lives. It is good government practice to continually review and evaluate programs, especially social ones, to ensure that those in need are being provided appropriate supports and services.

Over the past three years, the department has implemented a number of enhancements to its suite of income security programs to better support NWT residents. By seeking...

I want to thank the Member for clarifying because, if it was a $1-million question, I couldn't support that, of course, because I don't have $1 million to give to one parenting program. I will give a commitment that, although we may be changing the program, any program that is currently providing parenting support will actually be either getting the full amount through the Healthy Children Initiative or they will be supported in applying for the application for the new program called the Supporting Child Inclusion and Participation. Anyone that is providing parenting support to community...

Through the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, the major pot of funding for parenting programs would be what is currently known as the Healthy Children Initiative monies that will be changing into the Supporting Child Inclusion and Participation. That is within Education, Culture and Employment. That is where our pots for parenting are. I should also say that Health and Social Services also has the Healthy Family Program that goes throughout the territories.