Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of Motion 13-18(3), a motion by my colleague from Yellowknife Centre to increase women's participation in the Legislative Assembly, and I want to thank her for bringing this important motion forward.

We began the 18th Assembly directed by our electors with a commitment to openness and transparency, and we have taken some positive steps in that direction, Mr. Speaker, and that's good, but when you look around this Chamber and do a simple count, Mr. Speaker, it tells a different story.

Of 19 Members, only two are women. What does that say to young people who look into our proceedings and wonder how we reflect the needs and realities of their communities? Is our system truly open and transparent to women? What does that say to aspiring young women who want to take on leadership roles in their communities? How does that encourage young women to step up and make their voices heard?

It doesn't, Mr. Speaker. It is a failure of our process that this Chamber is a very poor reflection of the territory and people we are here to represent. Mr. Speaker, I have spoken in this House about the influence that my mother has had on my life. As a working single parent, she was my role model. She embodied the values that I have come to respect and value most in life. The fact that she, and people like her, are left without a fair and equitable voice in this Assembly is a flaw in our system and in public representation, Mr. Speaker.

It is not your fault, nor mine, Mr. Speaker, or the fault of any other MLA, government, past or present, but our system must improve its representation of women. Motion 13-18(3) puts a measurable goal on that improvement and commits us and those who follow to taking specific actions to achieve that goal, and for those reasons, I will be supporting this motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. To the motion. Member for Kam Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support this motion. I don't think I could possibly begin to embody the spirit of the motion as my friend the honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre did, but I did want to take some time to speak about the difference that elected representatives can -- and we have two here today who have been working tirelessly since the term began, the honourable Members for Range Lake and Yellowknife Centre -- make a difference and actually find meaningful ways we can improve representation in politics by getting more women elected and more women interested in the system. We have seen campaign schools. We have seen more education of the male Members of this House on how our attitudes might not be the most conducive to encouraging women in decision-making in this place, and I want to thank them for that, but I also want to recognize the other women parliamentarians who are doing this work.

The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians group is a network of members of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association's parliaments and legislatures, of which the NWT legislature is a Member. The CWP is an integral part of the CPA and works for better representation of women in legislatures and the furtherance of gender equality across the commonwealth. This is a means to build the capacity of women elected to a parliament or a legislature to be more effective in their roles and improve the awareness and ability of all parliamentarians, male or female, and encouraging them to include gender perspectives in all aspects of their role, legislation, oversight, and representation, and helping parliaments become gender-sensitive institutions.

According to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, 28 parliaments and legislatures have reached the Commonwealth Heads of Government target of 30 per cent representation of women, of which only two have over 50 per cent representation. Nine have 40 per cent representation. In Canada, that's Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Yukon.

Over 20 Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians from 16 countries have met to discuss gender priorities in 2017, and they formed a working group which is sitting well beyond 2017 to develop strategies to solve this problem. These include looking at formal and informal quota systems and talking through strategies to engage men in gender agendas, agreeing on the importance of gender budgeting, leveraging social media as a tool to engage and educate society about the importance of gender equality, and seeking out partnerships to strengthen the work of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians network, and these kinds of activities are ways that we continue to move the dial, working with other parliaments to see how we can learn from each other to make meaningful changes in our electoral systems and in our parliamentary institutions.

As part of the International Women's Day celebration in 2017, the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Canada region continued their commitment with the Daughters of the Vote initiative, where young women from every federal riding in Canada are invited to the Canadian federal parliament and provincial legislatures to discuss their visions and a vision for the future of Canada. I know that our women parliamentarians here participated in that exercise and brought young northern girls and women to the parliament to discuss that. These kinds of mentoring opportunities are just another way that we can help encourage women to take up roles in public office.

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Women's working group, the Canada Regional Steering Committee, met further in 2017 and have continued to assess the dire need to continue to increase this. Even though some provinces are making strides, the overall representation still falls short of where it should be. They have developed very strategic plans. They have developed other ways that our parliament can get involved.

I want to encourage all Members of this House to consider how we can work within these existing frameworks of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and work with our women colleagues to find ways to support the work both inside and outside the House to be more gender-inclusive and ultimately to achieve our goal of getting more representative legislature at the end of the day.

Mr. Speaker, in another life, I was involved with recruiting candidates, and it's a lot more challenging to recruit a woman candidate than a male candidate. The first question they will ask is always, "Well, I have to think about my family." If you ask a man, he says, "Okay, when can I start?" I think that is the problem that we need to address. We need to have a more sensitive way of understanding the different perspectives on the workplace, on employment, and we also need to ensure that your legislatures and democratic institutions are both family-friendly and gender-inclusive. Things like daycare programs, shorter sittings that allow people to return home, these are all the kind of initiatives that seem very minor but help in a big way. So I look forward to hearing further debate on this motion and ultimately supporting it and seeing what work we can do to turn what is aspirational into meaningful action to solve this problem by 2030. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the motion. Member for Frame Lake.

Merci, Monsieur le President. I would like to thank the mover and the seconder for bringing forward the motion and for continuing the public debate around gender equity and political leadership. It's consistent with what I have always said and believe, and I look forward to the day when my daughter, her daughter, and indeed all of our daughters fill this House, so I will be very happy to support this motion. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. To the motion. Member for Nahendeh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak to this motion. I would like to thank Ms. Green and Ms. Cochrane for developing the motion before us this afternoon. I support this motion and am interested in the work we will need to do to make this goal a reality. Women's representation in government is not a new subject. It has been a topic of discussion in the NWT for many years, and I know it's on the table in other governments across Canada and around the world. It is definitely something we need to look at. Right now, this motion tasks us with supporting an ambitious long-term target that stretches over the next several Assemblies, but the reality is that, for this 18th Assembly, our legacy is going to be the actions we take within the next two years and that that time is going to go fast.

The motion calls on us to work together, and I see that as a place to focus our efforts. I see an opportunity here for Cabinet Ministers and Regular Members to work together, especially when it comes to engaging the public and getting the research and the public debate started. I will stop there, Mr. Speaker. It's a big project, and we need to get started. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. To the motion. Member for Tu Nedhe-Wiilideh.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too rise to support the motion here today. I have been in the Assembly for three terms, and I know that, in each term, we have had only two women as MLAs. I think that the women in this Legislative Assembly for all the three terms that I have served in the House have brought a perspective that maybe would be missing if there were no women in the House. I find that that is an important perspective, and, as the motion indicates, developing legislation without the perspective of women would be difficult and we would not be able to develop a full legislation that covered all perspectives, so I support the motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

To the motion. Member for Range Lake.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Increasing the number of women in politics is critical. MLA Green did a wonderful job of talking about why we need to increase the numbers, so I am not going to do that again. I do want to say that this government has made it a mandated priority to support initiatives designed to increase the number of women running for elected office in the Northwest Territories. We are moving towards this through campaign schools to support women with the tools they need to run for office. When we do this work, we cast the net more broadly than running for a Member of the Legislative Assembly because we know that gender representation is important for all levels of government and that women who have some leadership experience or, at a minimum, a knowledge of the process have increased likelihood of running.

That said, Mr. Speaker, two of the most important ways that women need to be encouraged is, one, by being asked and by being supported. Asking multiple times by multiple people and providing the financial emotional and physical support needed to run is critical. This motion is an indirect way of calling on women in our territory to run, and it is also a commitment by all of us to ask and encourage in a way that extends past our current term. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Cabinet, we give full and enthusiastic support for this motion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Masi. To the motion. I will allow the Member for Yellowknife Centre to conclude her remarks on that motion.

I rise to express my support to my colleagues on both sides of the House for supporting this motion. I think it represents a milestone that we can all be proud of in moving our territory towards gender equality. Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote. Mahsi.

Masi. The Member has requested a recorded vote on the motion. All those in favour, please stand.

All those opposed, please stand. All those abstaining, please stand. The results of the recorded vote: 16 in favour, zero opposed, zero abstentions. The motion is carried.

---Carried

Colleagues, as today is International Women's Day, I draw your attention to our table here in the Legislative Assembly. Today, we reach another milestone in the history of our institution: we are supported by table officers who are all women today. Masi.

Motions. Item 18, first reading of bills. Item 19, second reading of bills. Item 20, consideration in Committee of the Whole of bills and other matters: Committee Report 4-18(3), Standing Committee on Social Development Report on Adult Residential Addictions Treatment Facilities Tour 2017; Minister's Statement 1-18(3), North Slave Correctional Complex Inmate Concerns; Minister's Statement 19-18(3), Aurora College Foundational Review Process; Minister's Statement 32-18(3), Update on the Northwest Territories Disability Framework and Action Plan; Tabled Document 63-18(3), Main Estimates 2018-2019. By the authority given to me as Speaker by Motion 7-18(3), I hereby authorize the House to sit beyond the daily hour of adjournment to consider the business before the House, with the Member for Hay River North in the chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, committee would like to consider Minister's Statement 32-18(3), Update on the Northwest Territories Disability Framework and Action Plan, followed by consideration of Tabled Document 63-18(3), Main Estimates 2018-2019, with the Department of Infrastructure as items for discussion. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Does committee agree?

Thank you, committee. We will consider the documents after a brief recess.

---SHORT RECESS

I will now call Committee of the Whole back to order. Committee, we have agreed to consider Minister's Statement 32-18(3), Update on the Northwest Territories Disability Framework and Action Plan. I will ask the Minister if he has any witnesses he would like to bring in. Minister Abernethy.

No.

Thank you, Minister. Comments or questions from committee? Seeing none, does committee agree that this concludes our consideration of Minister Statement 32-18(3)?