Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Since the beginning of this session, I've spoken a lot about the anxiety and worry that myself and our residents are feeling as this pandemic continues on. For myself, personally, I live alone and found the restrictions imposed over the last year, and particularly during the initial phase of the lockdown, very hard to adhere to as a single person. My social life, my human interaction, comes from people external to my household. When that was removed and even a hug from a friend made me feel guilty, the isolation that can come from living alone was only amplified. As I continue to address mental health issues in my role as an MLA, I've had numerous residents come forward to tell me that they feel the same, and some of these people are our teachers.

Many of our teachers come to the North from the South. Often, they are young, new to the profession, and have not spent a lot of time away from the bustle of southern cities or in locations as remote as they may find themselves in the NWT. Often our teachers rely on vacations and visits south to their families in order to recharge and maintain wellness, as is the case for a lot of NWT residents in general.

Given the nature of the work teachers do, they do not have the option to work at home like many of us. Their jobs require them to be in close quarters, sometimes under less than hygienic conditions, which, given a global pandemic, must be causing a huge burden of stress not previously felt. Just ask any teacher how quickly the common cold, or a flu, would rip through a school in pre-COVID times. Now that illness brings the possibility of death and, with it, a rise in anxiety for employees.

I already feel that teaching is an underappreciated profession. I have childhood memories of my mom on the picket line, in the pouring rain, fighting for a cost-of-living raise of 30 cents. Often, I watched her work into the night preparing lesson plans and spending easily one-quarter of her own salary every paycheque on supplies for her classroom. Teachers are dedicated. They care. In return, I want to show them that we care, too, and I will have questions for the Minister of ECE at the appropriate time regarding supports for teachers. Thank you.