Caroline Cochrane
Range Lake

Statements in Debates

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 74)

Thank you to the MLA for reminding me. Actually, that was one of the bigger concerns that I had. If people are getting, for example, their utility bills in and it's our fault that we are late and then we are not paying their late fees and they are getting late fees, that is a sin on our side, in my opinion. We are not giving a lot of money to people. We are not giving any money for late fees, so it's coming out of their food or their clothing allowance, and I am not okay with that. We have already implemented that, if the error is on our side, we will be paying late fees. If the error is on...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 74)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The MLA is absolutely correct. There is not enough time to do them all. I would love to be able to do them all, and I cannot, so what we have done is, just as when I had the housing portfolio we had done the short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals, that is the process that we are in now. We will be sharing that with the MLAs and the standing committee within the next couple of weeks, and also the NGOs, because I do believe in "nothing about us without us." It was their meeting. We have been keeping them engaged right through.

The short-term goals that we are really...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 73)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We have amazing constituents at Range Lake. We have so many hours given back to our community, but what's more exciting is to see our youth stepping up and using the community lens. Part of our climate change activists who are here today is Ms. Anusha Sivakumar, who I know personally, has been our Page. I know her mother. She's a wonderful person, and we're hoping that you'll keep this up right through as you become an adult. Congratulations for all you do, all that you all do for our future.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 73)

Mr. Speaker, the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre has acted as the territory's museum for the past 40 years. The institution cares for a large collection of objects representing the peoples, cultures, history, and land of the Northwest Territories on behalf of all people who live here. Yet, the heritage centre is more than a museum. For 40 years, it has produced exhibitions, housed the NWT archives, undertaken archaeological expeditions and place names research, and administration. It also provides technical, logistical, and financial support to individuals and organizations involved...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 72)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to table the following document entitled "Follow-up Letter for Oral Question 562-18(3): Recruitment Process for Associate Deputy Minister of Postsecondary Education Renewal." Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 71)

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...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 71)

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...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 71)

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...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 71)

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...

Debates of , 18th Assembly, 3rd Session (day 71)

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...