I can comment on that. I'm from a very small village in Alberta of 600 people. When I first got elected.... My last baby was born on a Friday and she came to Monday night's council meeting with me. I've been there. I've done it. My kids have coloured underneath meeting room tables. They've lived the life.
I think there has to be some concern for proper compensation as well. When I was first elected as mayor, I was paid $50 as a per diem for every meeting I attended. With a babysitter for four kids, I went in the hole. For two years, until I convinced council to allow us to raise the rates to $100 per diem, I actually lost money on every single meeting that I attended.
It wasn't financial gain. It wasn't anything else. It was because I truthfully believed in and loved what I was doing. I think it's really important to ensure that we look at everything as a well-rounded balance, to see where we can offer extra services, especially in rural communities. We don't have a day care. You rely on the girl down the street. You hope that she's free so that she can come and watch the kids for you in the evening, but it could be that she has an exam the next day and has to be back home by nine o'clock.
I think that we have to look at how we can ensure that we have these resources in place that are fully rounded for absolutely everybody, regardless of where we are geographically and what age our children are. Are there opportunities for us to be able to bring them to work where we can have that accessibility to them if they need it?
We are making vast improvements. The change from 2004 to 2018 is wonderful, and it's amazing to see the moms who are bringing their babies into the office with them. I hope that continues, but as I said, I think there are other areas we can look at, especially in the remote geographical areas. This is still a real issue for them.