Julie Green

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Given the fact that the number of income assistance cases has been going up steadily, I am wondering if the budget will now take into account a certain amount of forced growth, or maybe it already does, for income support. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this Assembly recommends that the Legislative Assembly make childcare an allowable election expense.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the support from the Minister responsible for the Status of Women, and I would like to request a recorded vote.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. At several places that we met, we heard from women that one of the things that stood in their way of serving in the Legislative Assembly was their responsibility as caregivers for their families, especially for small children. They heard that they would like to be able to access childcare, whether in their home community or here in Yellowknife when they are sitting in this Legislative Assembly. So, as such, we recommended that childcare expenses be included in the constituency work allowance expense. My further clarification there is that people who claim childcare...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that this Assembly recommends that the Legislative Assembly Board of Management make allowance for Members to be absent from the Assembly without financial penalty for up to four months due to pregnancy, childbirth, or the care of a Member’s child following birth or adoption. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The Special Committee to Increase the Representation of Women in the Legislative Assembly worked hard to deliver the interim report that was tabled today and read into the record yesterday. We travelled extensively between the new year and the beginning of this session. We started in Fort Smith and then went on to Hay River, Fort Providence, and Detah. We also met with the public here in Yellowknife and at the Association of Communities earlier this month. We received a few written submissions. We are grateful for the dozens of people who took part in informal...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. If you went into most of the coffee shops in Yellowknife and you were with someone who required a baby change table, there is a good chance that that person would find a baby change table in the women's washroom. That is not the case here at the Legislative Assembly. There is nowhere for a parent to change a child except for the floor. There is also nowhere for a parent to calm a child or breastfeed or do other family-related activities.

The purpose of this motion is to make this building more family-friendly while it was designed by men and for men. Because it is a new...

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to waive rule 100(4) and to have Committee Report 14-18(3), Interim Report of the Special Committee to Increase the Representation of Women in the Legislative Assembly, moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration later today. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I request a recorded vote.

Thank you to the Minister for that response. I am concerned that this issue is fairly straightforward and that there are a number of sets of guidelines available to review from across the country, including from the College of Family Physicians, and I feel that it would be possible to move directly to implementation without streaming everything through additional studies. I guess my question for the Minister is how to improve uptake by medical practitioners to use some kind of screening brief intervention and referral tool.