Hon. Rebecca Patterson: Senator Lankin, I support this bill 100%. What I do want to do is talk about a very distinct and unique intersection of children in Canada, and they are the children of military members. As you know, military bases are federal territory within provincial jurisdiction. Very often, provinces don’t like going on to federal land in order to provide services, and it’s an afterthought.

We also know from repeated studies that we are actually impacting the ability of jets to fly in Cold Lake and ships to sail in Halifax because parents can’t find child care for their families. In all the research that you’ve done, and since you have such an extensive background in this, even though children are the jurisdiction of the provinces, have you seen anywhere in anything that you have read that there will be an acknowledgement of very distinct groups?

While I am not from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, I would suggest that RCMP families, where they are often dual-service couples, also struggle with this, and it directly impacts first responders. Have you seen anything?